Newbie To The Series! Also Need Some Understanding of Baseball

[JSmooveIV]

Ok guys i'm a newbie to the series, by the way I havent owned a baseball game since mvp baseball. Ive been hearing good things about mlb the show series. I bought into buying a baseball game this year especially with my Cards coming off maybe one of the best postseason runs in history. SO im pumped for some baseball. I'm not really deep deep into baseball but i want to get a better understanding. As a newbie what are some things I need to know about the series. Also, how do you guys pitch, do you guys try to throw strikes everytime, and also when is a good time to warm up relieve pitchers, like what innings and what situations

[BlueSkies7776]

Honestly, my best advice is to just play the game at your own pace, take your time and learn the different modes and everything the game has to offer. Don't expect to be hitting home runs every other at bat, and try not to get frustrated if you play 10 games and still can't get very many hits. It's a sim game, a hardcore sim game. So don't expect it to be easy or pick up and play friendly. The learning curve is a lot more steep than MVP.

[metal134]

Well, one thing to know about the series is that there are a lot of options of for batting and pitching. Play around with the different types and see which one fits the best. Also, make good use of the practice modes. BlueSkies was spot on. This game has a steep learning curve, so practice. There's a whole slew of batting practice modes where you can work on all sorts of things such as timing, discipline and pitch recognition. For some pitching tips, there's a famous quote by pitching great Warren Spahn that sums up the whole thing. "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." That's basically all you're trying to do upset the hitters timing. For example, if a hitter is geared up for a fastball and you throw a changeup, he is either going to swing and miss, or he'll hit it weakly. Strikeouts are good, but you don't necessarily strike everyone out. Often, just getting them to hit the ball weakly will result in a lot of grounds or weak fly balls. And how do you do that? By mixing speed and location. Throwing strikes is good, but if you get ahead in the count, throw a pitch or two out of the zone and see if they will chase it. Probably the two most important pitches you will throw in a AB are the first pitch, because you will either be ahead 0-1 or behind 1-0 and a 1-1 pitch because you will either be ahead 1-2 or behind 2-1. Sounds small, but it can really change what you have to work with. And despite everything I've written here, the most important thing is not overthink things. Just make the pitch that seem most logical at the time.

[R9NALD9]

To add to the op's questions..

Can someone please give some hints what to look out for in Franchise. I've played MLB 9/10/11 and always just play exhibition or Rtts. The reason I'm not trying Franchise is because I live in South Africa and don't have a very good understanding how the different types of contracts work, different options for player contracts work etc.

What must I look out for when starting a franchise, what must I look out for at the end of the season. How often does a starting pitcher get to play? etc. etc.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm dying to try a franchise, but I'm intimidated by all the options.

NFL is a lot less complicated and starting a franchise in Madden is nothing compared to the in-depth stuff of MLB the Show.

[mountaindew77]

As these two said, just play it and find how to fit the game to your liking. There are plenty of options for batting/pitching, so you can mess with them until you find something you're comfortable with. If you just want to hit with a single button, you can use the Timing method and it's as simple as that. On the other hand, you have Zone plus Analog, where you must use both sticks precisely in order to get some good hits. And there's options in between.

The best advice is to stay patient. Pick your pitches carefully, mix it up, and have some fun.

[Mabster]

Quote: Originally Posted by JSmooveIV

Also, how do you guys pitch, do you guys try to throw strikes everytime, and also when is a good time to warm up relieve pitchers, like what innings and what situations

Do as real pitchers and managers do. The AI in The Show is very realistic. If you always throw strikes, it'll catch on and you'll get hammered. Warm up pitchers when your starter is getting tired or having a bad outing early. In later innings take lefty/right match ups into consideration and plan ahead.

Play like it's real baseball, this is not an arcade game. Good Luck.

[JSmooveIV]

Thanks guys i really
Appreciate The tips...my mane problems i have always had in baseball games was the act of beig patient...i would take every at bat with the thought of getting the big hit and i would
Swing at almost any and everything...pitching wise i would throw strikes the entire game...by the way it take sp longer to warn up than relieve pitchers...and it take closers the shortest amount of time correct...so how long should i let a starting pitcher warm up if im in the situation where i need to bring in another starter, how log should i let a relieve pitcher and close warm up