@hes-a-wall_psn said in Switching Positions:
As many do, I feel like the mark was missed for two-way players and my development. I’m looking to drop my position and go straight pitching. I think it’s the best chance I have to go up quickly...
Can someone affirm or educate me on position changing.. If I tell my agent that I want to drop fielding, is there an option to go back? Or with RTTS, once you drop two-way, it’s permanent?
Great question. As a first-time RTTS player I had the same dilemma and wasn’t sure what to do. I just figured I’d keep saying I wanted to be both until they told me otherwise... which is what happened. There’s no need to tell your agent to drop your position play and focus on pitching if you want to stay a 2-way player. However, the team may force you to choose if you want to get promoted.
That said, even that choice isn’t permanent. I believe if your overall rating is high enough as a position player it will give you another shot at being a 2-way player... which is what happened for me. But you need to perform to stay a 2-way player.
Here’s my story:
2021 - I started as an SP & RF in AA for the Red Sox. My pitching in year 1 was ok (9-8 with a 4.54 ERA). My hitting was awful (.143 BA with 2 HRs). I was using dynamic difficulty, and for whatever reason, it had me at HoF or Legend levels. I could deal with that pitching, but hitting was impossible. I also switched my archetype from Slugger to Sparkplug in the middle of the season since I couldn’t hit the ball, and that set back my development/progression.
While playing RTTS, I was also playing DD, but only as a pitcher. As such, I was moving up through silver & gold for my pitching loadout, but my hitting was stuck on bronze (with an overall rating around 65).
2022 - I get invited to spring training and do well. Both my overall rating & performance as an SP are equivalent with the ace of the staff (Chris Sale). My hitting is improved... around .250 BA. I get sent back to AA to start the season and kill it... both pitching & hitting. I’m only there for 8 games, winning both my starts (0.64 ERA) and hitting .409, before I get called up to AAA. I’m only there for a few weeks, going 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in 4 starts. However, my hitting is back to awful (.192 BA). I get the call into the manager’s office and I’m given a choice... stay in AAA to improve my hitting as a 2-way player or go to the big league club as a pitcher only..I have no interest in toiling in the minors when I’m ready to pitch in the bigs, so I drop the hitting and head to Boston. I make 23 starts and go 15-1 with a 2.39 ERA.
By year end, I’m maxed to diamond level on my pitching loadout. Since I have no need to progress it further, I start working on improving my hitting loadout playing Rookie difficulty Conquest games in DD. Before starting the next season, I’m up to gold and a 70 overall rating.
2023 - I start as the ace of the staff, but still no hitting. In between my starts, I activate my hitting loadout so the manager “sees” me as hitter. In the beginning of May he calls me into the office and asks if I want to try hitting again. I’m back in the line up the next day as the starting RF (DH the day before & after a start). I hit for about 6 or 7 games, and although I’m much better than my AA or AAA days, I have 2 terrible games and I’m hitting just under .250. Again he calls me into the office and says “enough of that experiment, you’re a pitcher”.
Whaaaat?!?!? Does he know how hours I spent playing those stupid DD Conquest games????
Luckily I had been saving files after each game (because of the random crashes and server issues). Since my last 2 games were both horrendous 0-for-5’s with 4 K’s, I went back and played them again, this time paying a bit more attention to what was going on and, more importantly, changing the hitting difficulty to All-Star rather than Dynamic. I come out of the games hitting about .260 and never look back. I finish the year hitting .333 with 19 HRs.
2024 - I’m in the middle of this season, but I play every day from the beginning of the season... 1 day pitching, 2 days as DH, 2 days in RF. I have just enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and I’m neck and neck with Aaron Judge at .377 with 23 HRs coming into the all-star break.
I’ll continue to play this season with All-Star hitting difficulty, and then think about upping it after the season. I still use Dynamic difficulty for pitching, which is annoying since it will increase it at the worst times... 8th inning of a 1-0 shutout bid after a lead off double allowed... but I can deal with that.
