i made the switch last year to directional and havent looked back.
I've played the show since the ps2 days and before that the high heat series which used 'zone hitting'.
But I've gotten old and my skills are not what they were so I went with directional (MVP Baseball hitting basically). I enjoy it as i find it's a bit more casual for me and I can sit back and enjoy the game.
I use to be a zone hitting snob too like most people who are pro-zone are. I still think zone is the most realistic hitting option but it's a videogame, i want to have fun, so i am good w/ directional.
I play 99.9 percent offline nowadays so can't really comment about zone/direction for online play.
I just find directional more relaxing to play.
Here is the ULTIMATE DIRECTIONAL HITTING GUIDE over at OS :
https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/mlb-show/907904-directional-hitting-guide.html