I'm 68 years old. I've been playing the show since 2014. I played several years on line and faired pretty well winning about 70 percent of my games. I quit playing DD a few years ago because i tired of the nonsense that went on with several of my opponents( rage quitting when they were behind by one or two runs, sending disparaging texts, etc) today I play franchise on legend difficulty. I was playing on HOF but was not getting realistic results regardless of how much I adjusted the sliders. Playing with the Giants, I hit .311 at the all star break and Jorge Soler had over 50 home runs. Pitching numbers weren't working either. I've played 10 games thus far with the giants and I'm 9-1. That said, it is much more difficult. I can hit a fair share of homers and score runs (although not as many as HOF). My batting average is .259. One thing is for sure, you're going to strike out a lot more, which drives me nuts ! Because of some of the things that go with aging , I've purchased a Dual sense controller (200 bucks worth) and a monitor ( which I'm betting doesn't help off line). Control freaks on my left joy stick I find to be moderately helpful. I spend a lot of time in custom practice mode to improve my hitting.
Here's a few hitting tips I find to be helpful:
• PCI placement can vary based on the pitchers repertoire - set it lower vs sinker ballers. Set it higher vs flame throwers. Set it inside vs left handed cross grain throwers like Chris Sale .
• Keep your hands relaxed when the ball is released and don't jump the pitch by by tightening your hands . This gives you a chance vs an off speed pitch.
• watch the pitch out of the pitchers hand starting by eyeballing the logo on the pitchers hat
• constantly remind yourself what the pitchers fastest and slowest pitch are. Timing is even more important than PCI movement. You should realize the PCI IS going to lift a bit every time you swing early and drop when you're swing is late , so good timing is crucial.
• be willing to take pitcher strikes until you get 2 strikes (pitches on the corners) . At that point you must govern the entire strike zone. Early in the count look for pitches that take a fat part of the plate and are within range of your PCI.
• don't overreact if you strike out looking on a ball buried in the corner of the strike zone. These pitches often never look like strikes and will have you flailing at bad pitches if you're constantly swinging at them.
• the only time I bunt is with 0 outs and runners on first and second or safety squeeze with runners on first and third with less than 2 outs(I've had a great deal of luck with the safety squeeze) . Be mindful of who the hitter is before you deploy this strategy.
• guessing which pitch is coming is fine early in the count. If you guess wrong don't swing.
• your PCI movement should be short and smooth - I like to practice the various spots I might have to move the PCI before the pitch comes.
• Rather than push buttons , I use the paddles underneath my dual sense controler. For me, this triggers my swing faster than pushing buttons. The controler also can be set to "quick" which moves the PCI faster.
• it is much tougher to get foul balls on legend difficulty but I've had no luck with a contact swing. I have been constantly experimenting with my thumb placement in the left stick. ( vertical thumb, under surface of the thumb, pinch grip. Etc) I have found this is totally geared to the comfort of the gamer.
• when I played on line I took a lot of pride in never quitting! As discouraging as it may be I always looked at it as another opportunity to get in a few more swings (not to mention it is a weak , non-competitive way out)
• with 2 strikes I think in terms of being a fraction later with my swing so I can handle off speed pitches. I'm more willing to hit the ball to the opposite field. This has become more difficult on legend difficulty because of the increased pitch speed.
I'm certainly no expert but I have played the game for 10 years and have studied dozens of YouTube videos as well as reading countless information on the net. Hope you get something out of it