Fastball, fastball, fastball... catcher pitch logic awful

[Aviator87AC]

What is with catchers calling for the same pitch back to back to back throughout a game? A deadred hitter could be up to the plate with an 0-2 count and catcher will call for gas down the middle.

I'll step off the mound 10-15 times and finally get him to call something else. Seriously immersion breaking - is there any way to have the catcher call for something offspeed? I swear there is little to no logic behind what they call.

[countryboy]

I get a good mixture of calls from the catcher, and if he calls something I don’t want to throw I just throw what I want to throw.


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[Aviator87AC]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

I get a good mixture of calls from the catcher, and if he calls something I don’t want to throw I just throw what I want to throw.

That's just listening to the catcher when you want. Another thing I'd like to see added are cross-ups.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Aviator87AC

That's just listening to the catcher when you want. Another thing I'd like to see added are cross-ups.

Yeah but there is no ability, at least I’m aware of, to shake off the catcher. So in the event we aren’t on the same page I pitch what I think is best


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[Caulfield]

I dont let the catcher call my game. I know more about what I'm trying to accomplish than Sony. The same as I dont let Madden call the shots either. I also wouldn't say the logic is awful. I'd say what I want to throw matches what my catcher wants a good 75% of the time. matter of opinion I suppose. I think letting the catcher call the pitch is a good idea for less experienced players, on easier difficulties though.

[JPCaveman13]

Sometimes the logic is pretty bad. Other times, it seems passable, as viewed by a former catcher.

There have been times where I've been paying attention to how the catcher is calling a game, I've noticed that they'll make calls based on the heat-map of the hitter and they tend to value the confidence in the pitch as well. In one game, my pitcher had his screwball working and ended up with 52(70+% strikes) thrown in a 110-pitch outing (his poor simulated arm). In another game with a different pitcher, I couldn't get the splitter to find the zone (even with perfecting the release and having aimed the break to be dead-center) in the first two innings (threw 12 with 0 strikes), I didn't see it called again until the 8th inning (finally landing it for strikes on whiffs).

I do think there is a somewhat hidden mechanic for catchers on how they call the games though (similar to how certain pitchers have the "Pick-off Master" quirk) because there's a bit of difference in having Yadi, Mathis, Avila, Posey, or a random CAP in AA/AAA call the game.

[Blzer]

Logic has been decent for me, I think.

What's funny is when the catcher calls a pitch and I opposingly choose another pitch, if I'm successful with it it seems like he'll go: "Hey, that wasn't bad! Let's do that again!" So say he wants a low-and-away fastball, and I want to try and freeze the batter with a front-door slider and nail it, that next pitch he seems to want to call about that same slider. Kind of nifty, really.

The per-pitch confidence has quite a bit to do with how often a catcher will want something called, as well.

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Now, the problem with the game calling the same pitch type multiple times in this year's game is I think the developers are punishing players for doing it over and over, eventually leaving a ball over the plate or something like that. I know they made mention of it, to prevent cheesing online (like getting someone with the same changeup constantly). So while the logic might even seem proper to throw four fastballs in a row, it might cause an issue for you to execute that way, even against the CPU.

[countryboy]

Using the same pitch over and over, at least in offline play, doesn't result in the game forcing you to throw a meatball over the plate. There have been plenty of times I've thrown nothing but fastballs in an at-bat (5,6,7 pitches) and was able to either record the strikeout or induce weak contact.

In offline play, throwing the same pitch over and over, or pitching the same pattern repeatedly, will result in the CPU adjusting and recognizing and making your margin for error smaller, but if you execute your pitch (hit accuracy line on meter) then more often than not you're going to be successful in your pitch.