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Played this dude in a game to start 5-0 in BR and jumped out to 5-0 lead.

His controller disconnects three times over the course of an inning. He lets some time run off each time.

But the third time, induced a freeze off or at least I suspect it did. Is this a known exploit?

@sheyworth_xbl said in Hits with PCI nowhere near the ball:

I wanted to speak to this because I think I've figured out what they've done with hitting this year, and even if I'm wrong, it might bring some solace to people who are complaining.

H/9 and HR/9 after their patch last season became heavily important. When I started playing 20, I was hitting everything out of the park against otherwise very solid pitchers. It would take the top tier pitchers to keep me in the park on All-Star. But then there was a patch (which those of us who followed the game last year knew about). And suddenly, a lot of them ended up on the warning track. And I very quickly realized that H/9 and HR/9 mattered more.

Especially in custom leagues, this was very important to notice, because I suddenly was investing my trades and drafts (we did live drafts) on guys with heavy stats in those categories. Dallas Keuchel was an absolute beast for me last season after the patch in custom leagues. Jordan Hicks, a 72 overall, was unhittable. In comparison, some of his 102 mph brethren were very hittable. Which only helped me dive into my theory more.

These weren't the only stats that were important - clutch rating, especially in playoffs, played a huge effect. Keuchel and etc were suddenly giving up MORE homers but definitely not MORE than guys who had bad H/9 and HR/9. In regular season they were unbeatable. In playoffs they were beatable if you squared it up.

Anyway, onto this season.

We know that they told us last year was nearly 50-50 input. That means, 50% of the result was based on the card, 50% of the result was based on the user's input.

This year it's 70-30. And it's perfect. Don't change a thing guys please, if you want a game that continues to thrive in the competitive market + becomes something where there are various levels of competition, it needs to stay.

But let me get back to the forum readers rather than talking to SDS - 70-30 means 70% is based on user input. 30% is based on the card.

So. We're suddenly getting hits, or homers off the PCI theoretically. I have experienced it on both sides of the ball. That's actually fine, and let me explain why. I know I've said before "that's baseball" but I have figured out their theory I believe, after way too many hours of grinding the offline modes to get all the new stuff. My brain is visually wired - I have autism - and I really like to break down this stuff as a dev.

So you have your PCI on screen. Provided you haven't made any changes, you have two brackets, and three dots in the middle. I think we're all smart enough to realize if the biggest of the three diamonds is the top one, they're a "lift" hitter. I'm going to focus this convo specifically on those types of hitters because it'll double the post length and really won't be necessary because if you're using a ground ball hitter, that's your prerogative but it won't get you very far in Ranked Seasons or BR.

Okay so why are balls outside the PCI going out?

It's quite simple. The 30% is still comprised of the same theory. H/9 and HR/9.

Take your top diamond from the PCI and draw a circle around it. That's your "lift" area. Draw a circle around the middle diamond. That's your "line drive" area. Draw a circle around the bottom diamond. That's your "ground ball" area. These are hidden from us, but they exist. And what affects them? H/9, HR/9, and a little bit of Clutch but mostly the first two.

The lower the H/9 and HR/9, the bigger those invisible circles are. The higher the H/9 and HR/9, the smaller those invisible circles are.

And even more specifically, HR/9 affects the top circle the most, and H/9 affects a combination of all circles, PLUS the timing window (which is another thing we don't see - but have you ever noticed one guy will come out throwing 92 and you're hitting them perfect, and the next guy you're very early on who is also 92? That's your timing window changing.)

They've always explained that the PCI is a representation of the hitting area for the batter. What I've explained to my friends before, is that you pressing the button, and putting the PCI in a certain place, is simply "giving the hitter PERMISSION to swing in that area." Now, in this case of 70-30, it's more than ever an emphasis of your skill, but it's still 30% based on the card you have, and the card you are facing.

Anyway, I can go on forever on hitting theory. But in other words, those invisible circles are what "gives your player permission" to swing above the PCI. Their H/9 or HR/9 is low, and your card's contact, vision and overall hitting stats are good.

The other thing that I haven't fully consistently fleshed out the theory on, but the bat angle of the batter matters. Tatis, for example, has a much more "angled" swing to low balls, and is much more apt to put the low outside pitch over the left field fence despite it being high and inside on the PCI, barely touching it, because his bat angle is important.

The last thing I want to touch on before calling it on this very long post - is when you press pause, you will see what type of hitter they are. Extreme pull, pull, balanced, push or extreme push (I have not seen extreme push, just assuming it exists). This tells you what their preference window is. What I've noticed is:

• Extreme pull hitters will basically pull EVERYTHING early foul. You have to be in the green to get it within the foul poles. They are also the most likely to pull the low outside pitches over the fence. Perfect will go to gap.
• Pull hitters will pull very early foul, early fair down the line and within the green will go to the gap. Perfect will go to center field.
• Balanced hitters are very difficult to foul a ball off. You have to be VERY early. or VERY late. And even then, those might be fair. These hitters also have the best ability of fouling off pitches (backwards) but least ability to foul off anything to the 3rd base or 1st base line. These guys are the easiest to get to roll over to the base of your choice on an outside pitch because they're likely going to put it fair.
• Push hitters and extreme push hitters, flip the side of the field I'm talking about with extreme pull and pull hitters. I have had Yermin Mercedes since day 1 - his stats look incredible on paper - but he cannot pull a home run for the life of him. He's not built to pull. But that low outside cutter for example? Gonezo.

Anyway, that's my ever-adapting take on hitting. Now take that info and try it in game, I promise you will complain less about what's happening when you keep this stuff in mind.

This is gold.

@abbyspapa_psn said in Hits with PCI nowhere near the ball:

Ignore the opponent feedback and turn your pci off. This is the way.

@sheyworth_xbl said in What determines strike on corners?:

From my experience it has to be "more than half" in the box. If you're dotting an edge, that would mean more than 50% of the circle. If you're dotting a corner, it means you gotta be a little more than the corner of the edge, because the ball is theoretically only 25% in the box if you're perfectly centered on the connected lines.

This is what I originally thought, too, especially when the game first released but it almost seems they opened up a bit which I would be happy with if that were the case just struggling to understand the criteria.

@codywolfgang_mlbts said in Rule of thumb for vision/contact minimum in higher difficulties?:

Do you usually go above a certain number like 80? You can for sure tell the guys that don't have the proper attributes/quirks to do any damage against great pitching in a higher difficulty level such as CS or WS.

Curious what everyone goes for in regards to contact/vision and even power.

As high as possible without breaking the bank. I've been struggling with PCI placement this year so 90+ Vision if I can with Contact 80+. Went with Breakout George Brett at 3B when I was really in a rut.

@codywolfgang_mlbts said in What determines strike on corners?:

@realn8bake_psn said in What determines strike on corners?:

Was painting corners during a Ranked Seasons game with King Felix and wasn't getting calls. Opponent threw Frank Tanana, meanwhile, and he was getting corners - all of them. Is there an attribute or quirk that boosts these calls or is it random?

I was wondering that too. It can be such a huge difference in a game and there are times when it is clearly going one way. Must be quirks, momentum or maybe pitch release quality? I don't think there is a framing attribute for catchers.

If it is a quirk would it be the doesn't walk batters one?

Big differences throughout all modes and levels from my experience. FWIW, I'm not complaining either. There have been games where I'm getting corners and my opponent isn't.

Would love a quirk for catchers!

@dodgerslakers1 said in What determines strike on corners?:

Welcome to baseball.

Thanks for answering the question. Solid contribution.

Was painting corners during a Ranked Seasons game with King Felix and wasn't getting calls. Opponent threw Frank Tanana, meanwhile, and he was getting corners - all of them. Is there an attribute or quirk that boosts these calls or is it random?

I was winning a game 5-0 and hit another HR. Opponent dashboarded with ball in flight. I got the win but also received the unhandled server exception error. Now when I try to match up in BR, it says "Searching for opponent" with Min 0 and Max 0. It never matches me up.

Mainly worried about losing the Soler 2nd half card as I was one win away and had been grinding that since release.

I backed out of DD. I closed app. Neither worked.

Suggestions?