P
Got my first big fish inside one of these packs when I pulled Justin Verlander. Turned around and sold him for 75K stubs and was off to the races purchasing several other Live Diamond players to compliment my team. Wishing others similar luck and even better, hope you pull a Mike Trout out of your next pack. My next giant target is Aaron Judge 
Play On , Good Luck & have fun
Locked animations and scripted (boringly nerfed hitting) gameplay which rivals Derek Jeter All Star Baseball more than any of the recent renditions of MLB The Show. OP is correct, the game leaves a lot to be desired. How many errant throws can we possibly throw into second base from the outfield? A million LOL Same as hitting into double plays and "very late swings" as the bat speed is so terribly nerfed as well. I could go on but I digress. Long as I get my Florial Call Up Card ASAP I will continue to play on & grind.
"I’m on the PS5 not sure if it’s something screwy on that. But I shouldn’t lose control of my players." It does not matter what console you are playing on, YOU do not have control of your players or the outcomes of any sequence. It doesn't take a scientist to understand this game created by SDS, the AI controls the game and every single outcome play by play. All we are doing is smashing buttons thinking we are responsible for outcomes of plays. We are not the CPU's artificial intelligence is! There are often visual and audible hints as to what is going to happen next, watch & listen for them. As Versus 2 said in several of his Madden videos the game has a precise script it is following and we are allowed good poor and even terrible outcomes to every sequential play. That is in fact what MLB has become. Tell me it is normal that my hitter's bat becomes a wet pool noodle on certain pitches at certain times regardless my timing or contact info. The countless double plays, the dying quails into the outfield, the ball reaching the warning track (Vaskershon says with empathis ) then drops straight down into a fielder's glove, the ground rule doubles (a fault for years in The Show) the I didn't check swing BS as the AI halts my swing mid swing! All this and so much more added here in this post about hitting since the updates ........ gents, this game is scripted, it is not predicated on "stick skills' or baseball knowledge or personal prowess at playing the game, it is all predicated on what the CPU determines will happen play to play. You have as much chance of determining the outcome of any given swing as you do getting a Diamond player in a pack. SDS determines BOTH. For all those moaning about how their hitting skills are lacking this year compared to last renditions (you know when the game was fun) it is NOT you. It is the changes SDS made to the game this year and mostly affecting things now, the update to cull positive outcomes on contact swings. Admit it, they ruined the fun of the game by over adjusting this feature. The AI is using sticky substances on pitching to fail your hitting with spin ratio hahahahahaha Seriously, the game sucks now compared to release day because the fun is removed from it. Scripted, CPU controlled and AI cheats are at the center of the problem. "Yet ANOTHER perfect double play ground ball hit to the shortstop, to second for one onto 1st for the ten thousandth DP you have hit into" LOL Worse yet, it was the 700th perfect/perfect swing!!!!
Don't know how else to explain it, twice now in the month of July, the 2nd and 13th I have pulled first Mookie Betts then this morning again Aaron Judge inside of 15,000 stub 10 packs. Just amazed at the good fortune inside of the most nominally priced packs. Wishing others Luck of the Irish and such great fortunes as my own little pot of gold. Good Luck
Excellent post OP I agree with everything you have said here. It is a shame that SDS employs cheating and locked animations as frequently as it does if at all. By doing so, they are teaching younger players that cheating is an achievement mechanism which is the greatest shame of all. However, as he has never suspended a single Astros or Red Sox player for their roles in the cheating scandals of recent and since he has reinstated both Hinch and Cora, I am certain Rob Manfred approves 1000% on SDS importing an AI predicated on cheating against it's own customers. Anyway, thanks for the post!!!
Thank You SDS for creating the Estevan Florial Call Up Card a 94 OVR and rightly so. He ended up batting .300 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in his brief stay with the Yankees as he is returned now to Triple A Scranton. 6 for 20 is a solid start and I personally would have prefered his presence in NY over Greg Allen's. He will return at some point in the season and hopefully for the long haul. Until that time, Thanks SDS, I got my wish
Well said OP my sentiments exactly. SDS ruined the game with the update which was purely intended to appease the complainers about "contact swings resulting in Home Runs ect". Now they have nerfed hitting so badly it takes the fun out of playing. Even in batting practice everything the CPU generates are negative outcomes ......... an AI which is predicated upon any means necessary to deny the user/customer/player success. Anyway, Thank You for posting this and all who took the time to reply to your post here. So we all continue to grind knowing full well the AI is going to lock us into animations and cheats which make the game more comparable to Madden gaming than our beloved MLB The Show series.
It (the flaw) is in the game, absolutely nothing to do with hardwire vs wifi.
I was debating, buy Acuna (12,600) or buy a 15,000 10 pack. I gave into my passion for opening packs . First pack I open I pull Acuna. Just a lucky stroke because recently my pack openings especially BIAH packs has been horrible. Just a 3am lucky strike. Good luck to everyone out there I hope you get lucky and are as satisfied as I am right now. Not withstanding, I would've been even happier with Aaron Judge lol
Update: Today Taillon was named A L Pitcher of the Month of July 5-0 with 1.16 ERA
I hope with the implementation of the DH in DD that SDS creates a Ron Bloomberg tribute Yankees card as he was the first ever DH.
Since the most recent update MLB has been on par with recent Madden games, boring, repetitious, loaded with in game AI cheats and ever degrading gameplay issues. Up until nerfing contact swings MLB was a fun game to play. Now the locked animations are further exposed and the dullness of the game is simply undeniable. Having rushed to played every day in Innings 1 -2 -3 (achieved 650,000 early) inning 4 brought with it the noted changes and a loss of interest on my part. Madden 21 was, in MHO, the worst Madden ever. Had SDS not made changes of late and literally ruined the game I had zero interest in giving Madden 22 any attention. For me, even SDS's dedication to expanding content releases which far exceeds any EA content for Madden, even that is NOT enough. So we get 92-98 players who hit no differently than 72-79 players. Boring. Right now, I share many of OP's feelings and am also taking a further look at Madden 22 as a viable option. The temptations increase as I read EA Play for Madden allows players to play the game as early as 3 days ahead and a most recent post suggests even as early as the 12th. The lure is there ......... I cannot say the same for MLB. All I am saying is OP has a right to express his opinion and many may agree with him. No need to vilify him for his sincere opinions no matter how he chooses to express them here. You don't agree with him? Just say so and move along to the next post on the forums. Last word, he is not alone.
OP your original post is both accurate and well said. The soundness of your follow up answers serve to add to the validity of what you suggest here. "Get Good" and "Don't like it, don't play" is a worn out lame cliche' that is as ignorant as it's mouthpieces at any and all sports video game forums. Thanks for the original post. As much fun as this game can be, it does have innumerable faults and weaknesses. "How many times have you read these words from some idiot on these forums? I don't know if those that repeat these pearls of wisdom are gatekeepers, SDS employees, trolls, or just simple-minded." TRUE
I hear ya'. Madden is a game which demands a cautious optimism at best, after all it is an EA creation. With the steady declination of gameplay the past several years (let's say 5 just as a number of years) I know what I am getting into each year, perhaps disappointment but maybe just maybe this year ........... we love sports games and EA has the NFL game for us so we follow our hearts. It is the second year on Next Gen consoles and hopefully they (the Devs) have strived for a better gameplay model. They say hope springs eternal well perhaps this year Fall drops us a miracle, ...... a genuinely refined Madden game which is playable and fun. We can hope, however cautiously that hope in us allows. Good Luck
I have bought (with coins) three 37,000 Coin 50 Packs and 3 15,000 20 Packs almost all of which has had a diamond or two in them. Monday 5th I bought one last 15,000 20 pack and drew THREE diamonds (Muncy, Olson and Bauer) . In each of these were also a spattering of golds and in two others I got Mookie Betts. I found great luck in the packs sale. I wish for you better fortunes in the future.
I would imagine that SDS allows these scandalous cheaters into the game because their game is filled with locked animations and nerfing AI mechanics and manufactured successes for the CPU and those wild throws to 2nd base drawing the man covering 2nd OFF the bag countless times (almost automatic) AND double plays being hit into etc etc etc AND Manford allowed the two condemned cheaters Cora and Hinch back into the league after not a single Astros or Red Sox player was penalized for CHEATING. Guess and I hate to coin the phrase, Cheating is systemic with SDS and MLB and is entirely acceptable. What all of this is teaching the next generation, young people who engage in this game, is appalling to say the least. If you want success, achievement??? C H E A T
I have Gary who is scary Sanchez ( John Sterling call) who hits like a monster for me and always has in MLB the Show game for years. Sanchez, and I will never sub for him save to garner stats and ABs for others I have on my team on occasion. Good Luck to all who use Schwarber ......I will take Gary Sanchez The Kraken!
Great post OP, thanks for having the testicular fortitude to compose and share it!!!!!!!!!!!!
He got his upgrade this week to a solid 78 OVR but you are correct, he has shown some pop with his power and has secured himself with the team. Remember he was a big question mark when they first signed him on. I don't think you're crazy at all. Maybe not POTM but certainly deserving of some love from SDS as a mid to high 80's Topps Card or like similar recognition. Oh, he has also been sterling on defense! So yes, SDS give the man his due.
As for all the fanboy excusers with the "it is internet lag, server issues" B S I have Xfinity 1 Gig and normally am at 850 MPS or higher, playing at my daughter's house when house sitting, on FIOS with less than 30 MPS on a 120 HTZ TV the game plays the exact same. It is frame rate changes the GAME uses to cheat outcomes and has absolutely nothing to do with band width/server issues/internet speed or issues. I play on a LG 55" C6 which RTINGS.com rated the best over all gaming TV available in 2018. And it is just that. I see things others using TVs do not. I have it precisely tweaked to RTINGS.com settings for best Gaming TV ability and it exposes every AI cheat/mechanism and or CPU glitch which are easily identified. My daughter has the LG G1 65" BOTH play the same with the exception being her's gets me 120HTZ. If I had her TV at my Xfinity speeds (far exceeding FIOS speeds) the game would play exactly the same. Don't fall for the B S excuses, It is in the Game not your/the SDS internet/server etc. Madden has the suddenly vanishing blockers, MLB has the suddenly vanishing pitches, pitching speed/location and or vanishing PCI accuracy built into the gameplay. Unless you believe hitting over all or hitting into DPs has anything to do with server/internet issues. It is built in AI SDS employs, .... period.