Although MLB The Show 17 is a serious baseball sim at its core, the game remains accessible to casual fans thanks to its refined, relatively simplistic control scheme. Even with its pick-up-and-play identity, though, if you go into a game swinging away at pitches without giving it much thought, you’re going to run into some trouble with friends. Worse still if you plan to tangle with hardcore baseball fans in online matchmaking. While batting difficulty scales according to your skill against the computer, when facing a real opponent, it helps to strategize.
If you’re looking to hang some serious numbers on the scoreboard, here’s what you should keep in mind.
Putting bat to ball
In order to score some runs, you will have to hit the ball. Since baseball is a game of reaction time and reflexes, there’s no better teaching mechanism than stepping into the box and swinging away. Still, if you find yourself striking out a lot, you may want to take a step back and reevaluate your strategy.
- Watch the windup: Each pitcher in The Show has a unique pitching motion. Some motions are elongated, some are abrupt, and many are in-between. Keep your eyes on the pitcher’s throwing hand to see the point of release. By watching the ball from the moment it leaves the pitcher’s hand, you’ll have a better chance of tracking it as it pummels towards the plate. This becomes even more important when playing in a match with one of the pitch guessing sensors on such as PCI. Here, you’ll have to move the cursor towards where the pitch crosses the plate to make solid contact.
- Check pitches: Each pitcher has up to five different pitches, from four-seam fastballs to curveballs to changeups to sliders, and more. Depending on your settings, you can check the opposing player’s list of pitches by pressing R2. Now, it’s hard to guess what pitch your opponent will throw, but knowing which types of pitches are possible certainly doesn’t hurt your chances.