Operation Sports MLB 2K13 Community Impressions Thread

[Money99]

Fired up the new rosters and got in a game between the Mariners (me) and Houston.
Cruz hit a solo shot in the 2nd, and then I was able to go base-to-base in the 3rd socring 2 more for a nice 3-0 lead.
Houston came right back in the 4th with 4 runs, 1 of which came from a solo shot off the bat of Springer.

Altuve and Correa were both steller on either side of the plate, soaking up everything in the middle while providing timely hits.

My bats went cold and I wasn't able to get much going the rest of the game.
Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Lind gets a 1-out double.
Seager goes to swinging before Chris Iannetta comes to the plate, laughs at 2 week sliders on the outside before turning on a 91MPH fastball on the inside to give the Mariners a walk-off victory!

Man I love this game!!!

[Pourvision21]

Yeah I really like the last 3 versions of 2k. The innings seem to fly by unlike some other game I won't mention.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pourvision21

Yeah I really like the last 3 versions of 2k. The innings seem to fly by unlike some other game I won't mention.

I hear you.
I adore the analog pitching. I actually find it more fun than hitting - which is usually not the case with most baseball games.
And it's not just the analog pitching, but the various dynamics involved.
For example, today after Springer hit a bomb, Karns got rattled so his control was way off. Especially with the pitch that just got tagged.

I had a game the other day where Smyly got hurt after throwing a pitch and so his delivery circle was incredibly quick to the point where there was no way I wasn't going to overthrow a ball. I had to quickly warm someone up.

There's just so much depth to this game. It's amazing that a 3-year old game can still provide so much value.

[Shpati]

Well I've been playing MLB The Show 16 for a while on the PS4. The graphics and animations are great. And it's nice to have official rosters.

But I kind of miss 2K. For a few reasons.

Pitching and pitcher stats, especially in My Player Mode (Road to the Show in MLB the Show)

It just made more sense to me on 2K did it.

In the Show, on top of your pitcher's pitch type stats, you have B/9, K/9, H/9, and HR/9. That's a little much for me and really doesn't make sense. B/9, K/9, H/9, and HR/9 should just be measurement rates, not actual player ratings.
- Velocity and Break should affect your K/9 rate. There shouldn't be a completely separate K/9 rating that offsets hitter ratings.
- Control and Composure (which the Show doesn't have, but they have Clutch) should affect your B/9 rate. I'll write more on this later.
- Change of speeds, break, and control should all affect H/9 rate.
- Offspeed pitches, control, and velocity should affect HR/9 rate. But in the Show it only matters in simulation, so it doesn't really matter.

In 2K, you have a pitching rating for Left handed batters, and right handed batters, which I thought was a nice touch to add a general stat that can offset hitter stats. Because in real life, some pitchers are just better or worse against righties or lefties. It much better than having H/9 and K/9 as an offsetting stats.

I do remember 2K having a HR stat that I wasn't a fan of. Because imo, allowing/not allowing homers mostly depends on your pitching style.

And most importantly, I miss composure. My ball cursor would rattle in 2K a lot if I allowed 2 on with no outs. It made things a little tougher and gave a presence of pressure. In The Show, you have Clutch. But I'm not sure what that is exactly. But I'm not even sure if you have poor clutch, it makes you give up more hits when you have runners on. Or if it just a rating that makes you less likely to give up hits when you have runners on. All I know though is that in the Show, I have runners on all the time, and I don't feel a presence of pressure.

[inkcil]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

I hear you. I adore the analog pitching. I actually find it more fun than hitting - which is usually not the case with most baseball games. And it's not just the analog pitching, but the various dynamics involved. For example, today after Springer hit a bomb, Karns got rattled so his control was way off. Especially with the pitch that just got tagged. I had a game the other day where Smyly got hurt after throwing a pitch and so his delivery circle was incredibly quick to the point where there was no way I wasn't going to overthrow a ball. I had to quickly warm someone up. There's just so much depth to this game. It's amazing that a 3-year old game can still provide so much value.

Speaking of the pitching, can you get rid of the big circle and wording indicators (i.e. MAX) around the bat catcher? I just want the ball cursor and nothing after that. Thanks!

[Money99]

No idea why I haven't touched the My Player mode up till now. Just started a career as a starting pitcher and having an absolute blast.

I chose 'Random' when selecting a system and it came up Boston. Not too shabby.

I'm in Portland right now (AA) and so far, through 12 stars, i'm 2-4 with a 2.14 ERA and 0.87 WHIP.
Why is my record so crap?
Because out of those 12 starts, my 'teammates' have only scored in 5 of them.
In my last start, I went 6.2 innings (my most yet - stamina is still an issue - that's what she said) and left the mound with a 4-0 lead.
Guess what? The closer allowed 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th.

My inbox is full of messages from my manager saying how I got hosed out of a no-decision.
What's maddening is that in the games where I don't pitch, these losers manage to record 5+ runs all the time!

I can't wait till I can demand a trade!

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

No idea why I haven't touched the My Player mode up till now. Just started a career as a starting pitcher and having an absolute blast. I chose 'Random' when selecting a system and it came up Boston. Not too shabby. I'm in Portland right now (AA) and so far, through 12 stars, i'm 2-4 with a 2.14 ERA and 0.87 WHIP. Why is my record so crap? Because out of those 12 starts, my 'teammates' have only scored in 5 of them. In my last start, I went 6.2 innings (my most yet - stamina is still an issue - that's what she said) and left the mound with a 4-0 lead. Guess what? The closer allowed 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th. My inbox is full of messages from my manager saying how I got hosed out of a no-decision. What's maddening is that in the games where I don't pitch, these losers manage to record 5+ runs all the time! I can't wait till I can demand a trade!

Got me itching to fire this game back up, Money. I miss having 2K baseball games as an alternative to MLB The Show. The analog pitching and commentary were great.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

Got me itching to fire this game back up, Money. I miss having 2K baseball games as an alternative to MLB The Show. The analog pitching and commentary were great.

Absolutely!
2K wasn't the prettiest game around, and the animations were clunky, but there was a lot to like about this game.

I'm preaching to the choir, but I feel obligated to post about how great the analog pitching is in this game.

So I'm in My Player and so far my guy's stamina and composure are both rated below 55.
As the game progresses my energy level gets lower and lower.
While in the first 2 or 3 innings, my pitch cursor was nice and slow, allowing me to take my time with the controls and hit my mark.
All is well until I get to the 4th inning with my energy below 25 and my pitch-count nearing it's limit.
The cursor is getting faster and faster to the point it's hard to throw any breaking stuff at all.
And then after allowing a couple of baserunners, the cursor is all over the place and because I'm pitching from the stretch, the release window is even faster, making my accuracy near non-existant.
Somehow, miraculously, I manage to get out of the inning thanks to a slick play by my SS who turns a potential run scored into a double-play.
I figure I'm done. My energy is 6. But my manager is a moron, so he puts me back out there for the 5th.
This is the furthest I've pitched into a game at this point in my career.
We're up 3-0 and I've only allowed 3 hits so maybe he has a lot more confidence in me than I do.
The catcher calls for a curveball and because I have next to 0 energy left, the release window is basically an eye-blink. I overthrow the ball, it goes down the middle, and the hitter slaps it hard into the gap for an easy stand-up double.
Now my guys confidence is shaken so not only am I working with a release faster than a freshman at prom, the friggin cursor is all over the map.
I shake off all signs for a curveball and throw a steady diet of change-ups and fastballs. I don't even try to aim it at this point. I'm just throwing down the middle and hoping that my lack of control will result in enough movement that I won't be throwing meatballs.
The inning goes a lot better than I expected as I get one guy out and only give up 2 runs.
I finally get yanked, the bullpen holds on and I get my first pro win. Woohoo!

This in a nutshell is why 2K really, REALLY, needs to get back into the genre and produce another baseball game.

The Analog control scheme is much more than just making funky movements with the stick to throw various pitches.
There's stamina, composure and each pitch has different ratings depending on the pitcher's attributes.
And that, in a nutshell, is what I think The Show needs to add.

IMO, no game has ever captured the pitcher-hitter dynamic like 2K. They nailed it.
It's the first baseball game where I enjoyed the defensive aspect more than hitting.
I find myself trying to get through my AB's just so I can get back on the mound.

I wonder how awesome MLB 2K17 would have be this Spring. If only.

P.S. This game is still selling for more than $45 CDN on Ebay.ca. Some copies are upwards of $80!
I know it took me a long time to find a reasonably priced used copy. I found one for $20.
After purchasing it, I found another for $15 on a Buy/Sell Facebook group. I should have bought it and sold it for $50 on Ebay.
I hope 2K sees that and reconsiders making another ballgame.
I doubt there's much money in it, otherwise they'd still be producing an MLB game. Still, one can dream.