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If someone throws 98+ mph You basically have to guess and sit fastball and hope you are close to the location you are focused on. 102mph is a real headache and I honestly don't believe Walter Johnson threw 102mph from start to finish... I mean Rob Dibble could throw 102 or 103 for one inning maybe 2 innings but he had constant arm troubles. Nolan Ryan is really the only one who should throw 100+ as a starter, so this game gets it wrong in my opinion. Some people have a really good fast twitch reflex and you will never get a fastball past them but they will be susceptible to slow pitches so you can slow their bat down and dabble with the fastball later. Anyhow if someone senses you are sitting off speed you can expect a barage of fastballs and you will have to adjust and sit fastball. But its a constant guessing game. I know there are some people that can hit any pitch in any location at any speed, but those people are autistic freaks and you can't expect to be that good. Just try to play smart baseball, guess location and pitch type on the first two strikes then get defensive and fight anything close off till you get something you can handle. If there is a pitcher you can't solve and its upsetting you just move on to the next match and hope for someone more to your liking.

You see those big elbow pads many hitters wear? There is a reason for that. There elbow hangs over the plate and when you keep pitching high and inside with impunity there is a risk of hitting a guy's elbow. That's called realism. But this game you can just poor in the high octane gas aim for the corner and if you miss no big deal, never a HBP unless you try to do that.

Now don't get me wrong I live and die by the high inside fastball just like most of us, it's become a ridiculous element to this game, do we sell out and sit on a high inside fastball and make it very difficult to cover the rest of the zone? Well one thing that would def. make us all more reluctant would be the risk of HBP and it would keep this game more honest and fun.

I know there are some freaks that can hit both an inside fastball and an outside cutter or slider and they will probably try to say I am wrong because I am trying to prevent that kind of advantage over the rest of us mere mortals. I am sorry, this game is just too much about throwing high velocity inside fastballs and it is utterly stupid at this point and is killing the game. You've scared off all a whole lot of baseball fans, the events are literally dominated by world series GOAT badge holding guys and it is no fun at all.

I don't want to hear about get good.. because I shouldn't have to be able to hit high inside corner fastballs as a matter of routine... I can do it if I sit on it, but that is what this game has now become, an exercise on guessing when that pitch is going to be thrown. LAME.

If the goal is for the game to be more realistic, it is absurd how you never hit a batter mistake when throwing high and inside.

END of RANT but christ this game makes me so angry when it could be so good with a few minor and realistic programming adjustments.

I have no problem guessing for high inside fastball and I have hit many a HR that way... but I just realized how I basically have to spend the entire game sitting on that pitch ... which again might be how baseball works, but are you going to argue and say it is realistic no one gets tagged on the elbow... Rizzo makes a living sticking his elbow over the plate and getting the HBP. Can't do that in this game. There is no price paid for pitching high and inside and too many guys can throw 102 so unless they are going to be kept honest with the occasional HBP this game is now just a guessing game on high and inside fastballs and then adjusting to off speed when he sees you are looking for the high inside gas. You all know that is how this is playing out, some of us are better than others at playing cat and mouse, but this would be much improved if you had to think twice about throwing high and inside that is my point.

@eatyum said in Should be way more HPB when throwing high inside:

It would not be improved, it would not bring people back. It would just frustrate the hell out of people. "I got a good release on a fastball up and on the corner and it hit him instead". Your proposal is not a solution, it would just cause more anger. Guess what, thats how real baseball works against fireballers. Guess fastball and adjust offspeed, you are literally talking about how baseball actually works.

Then it is far too easy to get your perfect release.. I am sorry it is not that easy to pinpoint a fastball on the corner.

And I laugh at the notion that you seem to understand why people don't enjoy playing this game and give up. How would you understand how someone else perceives the game that can't handle the fastball as well as you do. Your arrogant which is what I would expect from a Cardinals fan.