@nomo: Great input for the developers!

After approx.100 seasons of RTTS since MLB 08 I've never had the feeling that there has been a comeback script. Maybe the difference between elite RP, CP and mediocre ones is too big. Especially a bad CP can kill you big time.

I think once your pitcher hits around 60-70 in the pitch count things start to get a little haywire. That's when mound visits and having somebody warm comes into play big time. I don't know about y'all but if things don't go my way. I Slow Down. I take my time because if I don't I'll throw some meat, and next thing you know a 5-0 ball game turns into a 5-4 ball game.

I have experienced way too many comebacks by the AI in late innings to dismiss it as just chance or me losing my cool. And it often happens when I'm playing against much weaker teams. It may not necessarily be a comeback code, though. It could just be that the effects of pitcher fatigue and AI learning your pitching tendencies in the later innings is tweaked a little too high. I really don't know.

My personal feeling is that even if there is not an AI comeback code, late inning AI rallies feel unfair at times because of the nature of The Show's gameplay design. The problem for me -- and let me emphasize the "FOR ME" part, so as not to start a flame war -- is that so much of the outcome of an at-bat, from the pitching or hitting perspective, is taken out of the user's hands. There's just too much randomness for my tastes. Now I know this is what a lot of people love about this series -- that so much emphasis is placed on the players' stats. But as beautiful and authentic as The Show is, I feel a real disconnect when playing it, because I often don't know why I'm winning or losing a game. And it's not just when I'm losing that I feel this disconnect. I could be running up the score, but there is still this feeling that it's not really me doing it. I mean, yes, my being patient at the plate, waiting for a good pitch to hit, and locating and timing my swing perfectly helps me to achieve better results than if I'm swinging away at everything and falling behind in the count, but in that instant where I swing and connect with the ball, there is still the feeling that it could go almost anywhere, regardless of where my swing was located and how it was timed, in relation where the pitch was located and how it was moving. And while the new physics have gone a long way to rectifying this issue from previous years, it's still not quite there for me. I wish I could enjoy The Show more for what it is, because it does get so much right as simulation of baseball. But I play baseball videogames for the same reason I play any other videogames: to have fun. And when I feel like the AI is taking over and deciding the outcome of a game, even if it just feels that way and is not really the case, I stop having fun.

Anyway, I hope it doesn't seem like I'm getting off topic here. I really just wanted to give my thoughts on the whole comeback code argument, and don't mean for this to be a diatribe against The Show. I know a lot of you wouldn't want the game to be any other way, and love the fact that players' stats have such a huge effect on at-bats because it keeps their numbers realistic throughout the season, and that's what's most important to you. I guess that's also why a lot of you play MOM, so you can keep it as sim as possible. I personally don't understand this mentality, but I respect that everyone's idea of fun isn't the same.

There is no comeback code, or logic, or whatever you want to call it, plain and simple.

This game is the most realistic baseball video game ever. Almost to the point that we have to play it as if we ARE the players who's likenesses we are controlling. We have to play this game as if we are actually managing a Major League Baseball team. What I mean is this....

As in real baseball, what works in the first few innings, may not work in the latter innings. You aren't going to blow away hitters throwing just fastballs (unless you play on Rookie). That told, if you keep pitching with the same pattern (IE fastballs on every first pitch, a curve/slider as a strikeout pitch) sooner or later, the CPU will catch on, and start "looking" for those pitches.

Keep an eye on your pitcher's confidence. If it starts to go down because of a couple hits, or a walk, USE A MOUND VISIT!!!! a well timed mound visit can mean the difference between a pitcher working out of a jam, or throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire.

Also, when bringing in a reliever, DON'T ignore the warm up pitches. These warm up pitches accomplish several things. First, if you are using meter pitching, it lets you get used to how the meter moves for that individual pitcher. Second, throwing pitches gets the pitcher more "game ready". And lastly, and most importantly, throwing warm up pitches actually gains confidence for that pitcher.

You need to "think" like a manager, In the later innings, if the CPU has a scoring threat, with a tough lefty hitter at the plate, BRING IN A LEFTY reliever.

In other words, don't just play the game, MANAGE the game as if it were a real baseball game. If you do this, you will find that the CPU will "come back" on you less and less. I am 10-2 with my Tigers in my franchise this year, and in both of my losses, I was down early, and couldn't get back in the game. I haven't experienced a cpu comeback at all this season. In last year's game, I played every single game of my Tiger's franchise, and had just ONE blown save, playing on ALL STAR.

That said, don't get discouraged when the CPU does come back on you every now and then. After all, it DOES happen in the real MLB.

Nomo I assume your results r based on CPU vs CPU which IMO would more easily result in your findings as opposed to hum vs CPU.

Nice work! I think the sample size is sufficient to show the trend but as someone else posted it can't be said that any of these runs were comebacks or not.

As for what it is causing this? Fatigue, loss of confidence and perhaps poor AI in using the bullpen (too late, too soon, MR who isn't quality).

I haven't seen this at all in '12 and it's an issue I thought was there in previous iterations. It 20-25 games so far I've had the CPU come back and tie it up in the 9th to force extra innings.

I've done a much better job managing matchups (ala Tony LaRussa ) and I think I've had some great success in late innings because of this. Keep in mind that the bullpen pitchers aren't as good as starters in most cases. This is similar to tired starters in the 6th or 7th and beyond. Pay attention to the confidence as well.

If this analysis is based on CPU v CPU then managing matchups is not a factor

I think for the most part, once people get into the later innings, they are unaware of how to manage their team. Any fool can manage a game from the 1st to the 6th inning. But once the 6th inning comes and later, the strategies change and the game becomes harder. Not just MLBTS but real baseball in general. Anyone who keeps their starter in the game past the 7th, is just asking for trouble, either by score or by injury. I rarely and I mean RARELY experience the CPU comeback to beat me after the 6th inning and many times I win the game 1-0 or 2-1.

@Curahee right, I rarely do experience late inning rallies of sorts in my own managed game. That doesn't mean I'm good at managing my own game, but it merely says that my playing style doesn't give rise to the issue that I see here. And it is also true that managing late innings are difficult... basically you have replaced your best pitcher (i.e., starter) from the game, and need to get away with pitchers of lesser qualities. However, I say that there may be some issue about how less effective relievers should be, and my feeling is that the current confidence system makes a pitcher just coming into the game much less effective than he probably should be. Closers are the best relievers, and if you are really bringing in the better pitchers you shouldn't be seeing the slight scoring hike in the 9th like we see here.