Hitting Coach Will here -

1)You need a plan going up to the plate
Saying I'm going to get a good pitch to hit is not enough, its a start for a good mental focus but you still need hitting plans , and you need multiple zones you like to hit in when you get into a 2-0 3-1 count .

2) Lay off the power swing/ button on counts not 2-0 3-1 with hitters less than 75 power
If you are not ahead in runs on the scoreboard or tied ,they have a harder time trying to barrel the ball then power hitters just like in real life , as you score runs and take a lead you can take more risks with them I add 3-5 points to the power rating they have in 1-0 2-1 counts , Example if you are up 3 runs you take a power rating Right hand hitter of 65 that now is 80 , its not really 80 but you are ahead so the at bat is alot more comfortable trying to power swing and fail good instead of you pressing which slows down reaction time (trying to hit a 3-run homerun with nobody on) ,

3) Every at bat you should have a plan zone in the at bat for the counts
0-0 , 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 and 2-1, 2-2 3-1 , simple thing to do is make 9 squares and rotate those squares around a 9 box zone this does 2 things 1 , the pitcher can't go to the same spot every at bat and never knows where your hard contact focus is ,
3-0 Counts Don't Swing until you are comfortable with your zones.

4) Turn off hot zones ,
This will make you hesitant to swing in certain zones if they are blue, the only time you need to really avoid a cold blue zone is 0-0 , 2-0 3-1 when runners are locked into a dp situation , lets say zone 9 (low and way to a right hand hitter is a weakness don't swing in that zone until you have a 2 strike count , for me I will look somewhere else on 2-1 and if the pitcher throws a 2-2 strike in that area my 2-2 approach will be that zone.

5) Nobody on 0-2 and 1-2 swing with contact,
These are high chase counts and non slider strikes unless the bases are loaded and then look at power rating vs contact and swing appropriate to the player strength, as you make contact or foul pitches off you can think about normal swing again

6) Practice Mode B.P before a game to get warmed up the correct way , take 1 round with fastballs in your favorite inside , outside , up and down location , then add a slider , then add a change-up , these are the 3 speeds of baseball to stay balanced on those family pitch types (Example Slider will help you hit a split, slower then 90MPH 2-seams sinkers , Fast breaking curves, this is why Ted Williams , Manny Ramirez hit off the slider on even counts so they could react to all the offspeed and if the pitcher hung the fastball in that location they were looking smoked it , bad focus would be looking 12-6 curve and trying to hit a fastball you will never catch up unless its in the middle of the plate (the place no pitcher want's to live), help with take 1 round with locations and practice laying off the swing button if its not 1 zone away from the zone your current count swing focus is on.

7) Call it out before looking
As you make contact and put the ball in play before looking at the pitch location or swing path, say what pitch you hit before looking, this will help you start to learn the depth and movement of pitches and your timing will start to muslce memory into those timings when you swing.

Back to the hitting plan
And this if you are serious , take 9 of your favorite baseball players or team logos and each at-bat you make an out on , rotate those pictures in 1 of the 9 boxes , lets say your favorite player is Tatis or Trout, Okay so wherever that Tatis or Trout picture lands as you shuffle that's the zone you are going to look in on 0-0 , and then so fourth 0-0 3-1 is what I use for my favorite picture because its what I used to do on my armpad in real life of my team logo in high-school , college ,all the way up to rookie A-BALL & then a final comeback independent league before I got hurt and had to call it quits , but anyway as you get runners on its a good idea to make your favorite team or picture the 1-1 count why?? Because you are going to want to swing so bad with runners on you will alot of times expand your hitting zone (easy double plays etc) if you make it 1-1 it will keep your focus on getting the right pitch to hit that you can handle or continue to battle for count leverage where the pitcher has to come to you. 1-1 , as this is the most common count with runners on in the ball , strike caa and mouse game pitchers use in real life and online that's baseball . Now If you are getting hits work off the same game-plan just work on your second and 3rd favorite zone or anywhere but as soon as you make an out switch the plan and get discipline again. When I say have fun as you get hits lets say you want to swing with power its 1-0 is the center of the zone a picture of a power hitter in baseball then look for the same location you did 0-0 but maybe a little bit more center cut to the middle.

Have fun.

Tip - If using PCI Hitting change the options to off except for the type (Circle , Diamond Altitude etc) and make the color of that a light color with extreme opacity so you can barely see it , one thing in baseball is when you move from your soft gaze into a hard gaze to track from the release point you don't wan't anything extra moving or causing your eye focus to move towards it. Also the outter rings and such make it seem like you should crush that pitch no that's like the limit to be able to reach/foul off put weak contact on a ball , turn those off and only that very small type I use diamonds that means you will learn to match that up to your swing and the rest will take care of itself with a good hitting approach at the plate. Hope that helped.

That's because you believe the ball has to be in that zone to swing.
The zones are the hitters strengths and weakness of his bat path to get through the hitting zone to pitches that land in the hitters strike zone of the strike zone.
Red zones = that bat path is highly used by that hitter and his timing is best through those zones, so unless you hit the edges any ball timed right that is not on the edge and catches too much of the plate to that side of the plate, has a chance to get smoked , blue means its hard for that hitter based on his natural swing to get through the zone.

In baseball we call this staying as long as possible with your hands in the hitting zone , for example up and away is crushed by a red zone bat path from lower away up through the ball cut if the timing is correct where the hitter gets his hands through that zone with force up into the baseball.

This is why being in the middle of the plate is always bad for a pitcher unless he has a weak hitter all around at the plate because the middle zone connects every swing location to some sort of hitters best swing path . Hope that helped.

Another Example a cold middle in right hand hitter but has a hot away middle , his swing path can get to that middle in if its in the strike zone and not on the black , his natural bath path brings his hands in =inside out hitter and can pull that ball just as effective. The pull of the swing will be based on his timing but his strength is taking the ball the opposite field and has the largest window for his swing timing if he is trying to hit to the opposite field.

Pedro Martinez and Mike Mussina

I think I might have made a mistake by choosing the XBOX sign up instead of the PS4/PS5 , hopefully not. This year definitely looking to give back to the community coaching new players to develop a hitting plan that gives them a hitting plan of confidence on every pitch.

My hitting tips thread I gave another player
https://forums.theshow.com/topic/31255/hitting-for-an-xbox-user/2?_=1620355929149

Might help

Breaking Ball Home-runs
Home-runs on breaking balls before they touch the dirt happen a ton in real baseball. Pitches can be smoked that are not in the strike-zone, it happens all the time its just not a good habit to get into unless you are protecting 0-2 1-2 behind in the count as a hitter , usually if someone hit a home-run on a breaking ball its zone 8 (down the middle low which will also make the bat path if they time it correct come up under the strike zone catching the ball out in front before it hits the dirt) they have analog in direction or with zone analog they can put the swing path below the zone even more . It's usually from a player trying to throw a non competitive breaking ball right blow the zone but still trying to make it look like a strike , you have to throw that curve with as much effort as your setup pitch so that curveball will cause the hard break downward action!....T he risk is the catcher might not block it correctly just like in real life , Good TIP: Throw sliders change chase pitches to fast hitters , curve-balls to slow hitters so if the catcher misses you can usually still throw the runner out. Check Swing - I did like the check swing ratio in the tech test , it seemed very realistic to real life.

HOF OR Higher Difficulty - Stops 99% of most players who swing at everything and make contact , you have to have real to life timing and placement otherwise its either foul or missed. All-star is acceptable for casual fun but still will hit lots of chase pitches with bad timing.

The mode was a test mode, where they can randomize outcomes for the same situation "such as one time the ball hitting the wall or the other the player taking the correct route and catching the ball . Usually in that type of build the graphics and shading are at the lowest . The game is going to look beautiful

@groux_xbl said in Dev/Bug Team How Do I Sumbit A Game Crashing Bug For XBOX SERIES/X:

https://theshow.sonysandiegostudio.games/hc/en-us/requests/new

Thanks appreciate the help , sent them a video clip of the game crashing every single time.

@sheyworth_xbl said in Hitting for an Xbox User:

@willgdesigns_xbl said in Hitting for an Xbox User:

Hitting Coach Will here -

1)You need a plan going up to the plate
Saying I'm going to get a good pitch to hit is not enough, its a start for a good mental focus but you still need hitting plans , and you need multiple zones you like to hit in when you get into a 2-0 3-1 count .

2) Lay off the power swing/ button on counts not 2-0 3-1 with hitters less than 75 power
If you are not ahead in runs on the scoreboard or tied ,they have a harder time trying to barrel the ball then power hitters just like in real life , as you score runs and take a lead you can take more risks with them I add 3-5 points to the power rating they have in 1-0 2-1 counts , Example if you are up 3 runs you take a power rating Right hand hitter of 65 that now is 80 , its not really 80 but you are ahead so the at bat is alot more comfortable trying to power swing and fail good instead of you pressing which slows down reaction time (trying to hit a 3-run homerun with nobody on) ,

3) Every at bat you should have a plan zone in the at bat for the counts
0-0 , 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 and 2-1, 2-2 3-1 , simple thing to do is make 9 squares and rotate those squares around a 9 box zone this does 2 things 1 , the pitcher can't go to the same spot every at bat and never knows where your hard contact focus is ,
3-0 Counts Don't Swing until you are comfortable with your zones.

4) Turn off hot zones ,
This will make you hesitant to swing in certain zones if they are blue, the only time you need to really avoid a cold blue zone is 0-0 , 2-0 3-1 when runners are locked into a dp situation , lets say zone 9 (low and way to a right hand hitter is a weakness don't swing in that zone until you have a 2 strike count , for me I will look somewhere else on 2-1 and if the pitcher throws a 2-2 strike in that area my 2-2 approach will be that zone.

5) Nobody on 0-2 and 1-2 swing with contact,
These are high chase counts and non slider strikes unless the bases are loaded and then look at power rating vs contact and swing appropriate to the player strength, as you make contact or foul pitches off you can think about normal swing again

6) Practice Mode B.P before a game to get warmed up the correct way , take 1 round with fastballs in your favorite inside , outside , up and down location , then add a slider , then add a change-up , these are the 3 speeds of baseball to stay balanced on those family pitch types (Example Slider will help you hit a split, slower then 90MPH 2-seams sinkers , Fast breaking curves, this is why Ted Williams , Manny Ramirez hit off the slider on even counts so they could react to all the offspeed and if the pitcher hung the fastball in that location they were looking smoked it , bad focus would be looking 12-6 curve and trying to hit a fastball you will never catch up unless its in the middle of the plate (the place no pitcher want's to live), help with take 1 round with locations and practice laying off the swing button if its not 1 zone away from the zone your current count swing focus is on.

7) Call it out before looking
As you make contact and put the ball in play before looking at the pitch location or swing path, say what pitch you hit before looking, this will help you start to learn the depth and movement of pitches and your timing will start to muslce memory into those timings when you swing.

Back to the hitting plan
And this if you are serious , take 9 of your favorite baseball players or team logos and each at-bat you make an out on , rotate those pictures in 1 of the 9 boxes , lets say your favorite player is Tatis or Trout, Okay so wherever that Tatis or Trout picture lands as you shuffle that's the zone you are going to look in on 0-0 , and then so fourth 0-0 3-1 is what I use for my favorite picture because its what I used to do on my armpad in real life of my team logo in high-school , college ,all the way up to rookie A-BALL & then a final comeback independent league before I got hurt and had to call it quits , but anyway as you get runners on its a good idea to make your favorite team or picture the 1-1 count why?? Because you are going to want to swing so bad with runners on you will alot of times expand your hitting zone (easy double plays etc) if you make it 1-1 it will keep your focus on getting the right pitch to hit that you can handle or continue to battle for count leverage where the pitcher has to come to you. 1-1 , as this is the most common count with runners on in the ball , strike caa and mouse game pitchers use in real life and online that's baseball . Now If you are getting hits work off the same game-plan just work on your second and 3rd favorite zone or anywhere but as soon as you make an out switch the plan and get discipline again. When I say have fun as you get hits lets say you want to swing with power its 1-0 is the center of the zone a picture of a power hitter in baseball then look for the same location you did 0-0 but maybe a little bit more center cut to the middle.

Have fun.

This is excellent advice - and I will add one more thing to it.

Remember, you are playing a human being. Now, obviously at your level this isn't as vital as when you get to the higher levels, but this will help in BR and in Events especially to start. This is a tip for when you master the advice above.

When you take a bad swing

You will still take bad swings. I'm not a top tier player but I'm the level below. I frequently go 9-0, 10-0, 11-0 in BR before getting my first loss.
I finished just about .600 in Win Pct last year in RS with a .282 average.

I still take bad swings. Even the top guys will get fooled and take bad swings.

But most important thing when you take a bad swing: remember it. Remember what they threw and where they threw it.

Here's what I'm getting at. They WILL go back to it. More than once.

I remember one game predominantly - keep in mind I didn't grind, and I didn't play much in 20. I never had the best cards, my PCIs were always smaller than my competition's. My endgame lineup featured several guys with low vision.

I had HELL facing Bauer. The cutter is my personal weakness. On a righty, plop a cutter in the bottom corner and I will roll over to 3rd on it.

It took about 3 starts against Bauer. But I started noticing that before my "bad swing" - he'd attack either middle or middle in with a fastball, because it really hid itself well against the cutter (they looked the same).

After my third bad game against Bauer, and my 3rd or 4th bad swing of the game - I paused and said to myself - it's not a fastball. It's a cutter. Slow down, don't worry about getting beat if it is a fastball, and follow it to the bottom corner. He's gonna keep going back to it because he's ate me up with it thus far.

Sure enough over the next 4 innings I hit 4 of those cutters over the fence the opposite way. Lost 5-4. Looked him up after the game - he was ranked 172nd in the world.

Remember that they know your bad swings, and they're gonna keep trying to tackle your weakness when you've shown them. Adjust to that and make it your strength, and ignore your strength (mine is fastballs inside).

Great points bro , to the original poster have 1 of the team icons for strike 1 that means if that icon comes up in your scheme you put the crosshair on that location and try to learn to hit that pitch with time you will be crushing because muscle memory and your eye focus will have the timing for that spot to swing or lay off.

Hope to see yall on the virtual dimaond soon as I get this Crashing issue with the series X fixed. Great points fellaz

@sheyworth_xbl said in Hitting for an Xbox User:

@willgdesigns_xbl said in Hitting for an Xbox User:

Hitting Coach Will here -

1)You need a plan going up to the plate
Saying I'm going to get a good pitch to hit is not enough, its a start for a good mental focus but you still need hitting plans , and you need multiple zones you like to hit in when you get into a 2-0 3-1 count .

2) Lay off the power swing/ button on counts not 2-0 3-1 with hitters less than 75 power
If you are not ahead in runs on the scoreboard or tied ,they have a harder time trying to barrel the ball then power hitters just like in real life , as you score runs and take a lead you can take more risks with them I add 3-5 points to the power rating they have in 1-0 2-1 counts , Example if you are up 3 runs you take a power rating Right hand hitter of 65 that now is 80 , its not really 80 but you are ahead so the at bat is alot more comfortable trying to power swing and fail good instead of you pressing which slows down reaction time (trying to hit a 3-run homerun with nobody on) ,

3) Every at bat you should have a plan zone in the at bat for the counts
0-0 , 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 and 2-1, 2-2 3-1 , simple thing to do is make 9 squares and rotate those squares around a 9 box zone this does 2 things 1 , the pitcher can't go to the same spot every at bat and never knows where your hard contact focus is ,
3-0 Counts Don't Swing until you are comfortable with your zones.

4) Turn off hot zones ,
This will make you hesitant to swing in certain zones if they are blue, the only time you need to really avoid a cold blue zone is 0-0 , 2-0 3-1 when runners are locked into a dp situation , lets say zone 9 (low and way to a right hand hitter is a weakness don't swing in that zone until you have a 2 strike count , for me I will look somewhere else on 2-1 and if the pitcher throws a 2-2 strike in that area my 2-2 approach will be that zone.

5) Nobody on 0-2 and 1-2 swing with contact,
These are high chase counts and non slider strikes unless the bases are loaded and then look at power rating vs contact and swing appropriate to the player strength, as you make contact or foul pitches off you can think about normal swing again

6) Practice Mode B.P before a game to get warmed up the correct way , take 1 round with fastballs in your favorite inside , outside , up and down location , then add a slider , then add a change-up , these are the 3 speeds of baseball to stay balanced on those family pitch types (Example Slider will help you hit a split, slower then 90MPH 2-seams sinkers , Fast breaking curves, this is why Ted Williams , Manny Ramirez hit off the slider on even counts so they could react to all the offspeed and if the pitcher hung the fastball in that location they were looking smoked it , bad focus would be looking 12-6 curve and trying to hit a fastball you will never catch up unless its in the middle of the plate (the place no pitcher want's to live), help with take 1 round with locations and practice laying off the swing button if its not 1 zone away from the zone your current count swing focus is on.

7) Call it out before looking
As you make contact and put the ball in play before looking at the pitch location or swing path, say what pitch you hit before looking, this will help you start to learn the depth and movement of pitches and your timing will start to muslce memory into those timings when you swing.

Back to the hitting plan
And this if you are serious , take 9 of your favorite baseball players or team logos and each at-bat you make an out on , rotate those pictures in 1 of the 9 boxes , lets say your favorite player is Tatis or Trout, Okay so wherever that Tatis or Trout picture lands as you shuffle that's the zone you are going to look in on 0-0 , and then so fourth 0-0 3-1 is what I use for my favorite picture because its what I used to do on my armpad in real life of my team logo in high-school , college ,all the way up to rookie A-BALL & then a final comeback independent league before I got hurt and had to call it quits , but anyway as you get runners on its a good idea to make your favorite team or picture the 1-1 count why?? Because you are going to want to swing so bad with runners on you will alot of times expand your hitting zone (easy double plays etc) if you make it 1-1 it will keep your focus on getting the right pitch to hit that you can handle or continue to battle for count leverage where the pitcher has to come to you. 1-1 , as this is the most common count with runners on in the ball , strike caa and mouse game pitchers use in real life and online that's baseball . Now If you are getting hits work off the same game-plan just work on your second and 3rd favorite zone or anywhere but as soon as you make an out switch the plan and get discipline again. When I say have fun as you get hits lets say you want to swing with power its 1-0 is the center of the zone a picture of a power hitter in baseball then look for the same location you did 0-0 but maybe a little bit more center cut to the middle.

Have fun.

This is excellent advice - and I will add one more thing to it.

Remember, you are playing a human being. Now, obviously at your level this isn't as vital as when you get to the higher levels, but this will help in BR and in Events especially to start. This is a tip for when you master the advice above.

When you take a bad swing

You will still take bad swings. I'm not a top tier player but I'm the level below. I frequently go 9-0, 10-0, 11-0 in BR before getting my first loss.
I finished just about .600 in Win Pct last year in RS with a .282 average.

I still take bad swings. Even the top guys will get fooled and take bad swings.

But most important thing when you take a bad swing: remember it. Remember what they threw and where they threw it.

Here's what I'm getting at. They WILL go back to it. More than once.

I remember one game predominantly - keep in mind I didn't grind, and I didn't play much in 20. I never had the best cards, my PCIs were always smaller than my competition's. My endgame lineup featured several guys with low vision.

I had HELL facing Bauer. The cutter is my personal weakness. On a righty, plop a cutter in the bottom corner and I will roll over to 3rd on it.

It took about 3 starts against Bauer. But I started noticing that before my "bad swing" - he'd attack either middle or middle in with a fastball, because it really hid itself well against the cutter (they looked the same).

After my third bad game against Bauer, and my 3rd or 4th bad swing of the game - I paused and said to myself - it's not a fastball. It's a cutter. Slow down, don't worry about getting beat if it is a fastball, and follow it to the bottom corner. He's gonna keep going back to it because he's ate me up with it thus far.

Sure enough over the next 4 innings I hit 4 of those cutters over the fence the opposite way. Lost 5-4. Looked him up after the game - he was ranked 172nd in the world.

Remember that they know your bad swings, and they're gonna keep trying to tackle your weakness when you've shown them. Adjust to that and make it your strength, and ignore your strength (mine is fastballs inside).

Great points bro , to the original poster have 1 of the team icons for strike 1 that means if that icon comes up in your scheme you put the crosshair on that location and try to learn to hit that pitch with time you will be crushing because muscle memory and your eye focus will have the timing for that spot to swing or lay off.

Hope to see yall on the virtual dimaond soon as I get this Crashing issue with the series X fixed. Great points fellaz

Sinkers that cut in to right handed batters are not what you want to swing at until 2 strikes sinkers flatten out in zone 2 not 1 or 7 , 8 is okay when not in a dp situation early in the count , you want the sinker to be up in zone 2 or 3 - 5mid or zone 6 and 4 is okay as long as it starts middle of the plate and sinks in to the zone but sinkers which start in zone 1 , 4, 7 you are going to have issues as velocity increases above 93mph

zones are this for a right hand batter vs right handed pitcher

1------2-----3
4----- M5---6
7------8-----9

@tvsectog_psn said in Xbox series X crashing:

Check your power settings on your Xbox. Sounds like power management related, possibly. I have noticed that the network connections do appear to have persistence issues and have issues if the Xbox goes to sleep/you stop playing for xyz amount of minutes.

thanks TV , what settings on the power am I focused on once I get home and look? Appreciate the help.

@stormywalker18_xbl said in Xbox series X crashing:

Every time I load the game it allows me to play the game for about 5 minutes, then all of a sudden the game crashes my whole console and restarts it. It is the only game on the console that does this wonder why? Any help?\

In the same situation bro , The regular version runs fine but the Series x next gen between 1-4 innings will just freeze , and as you said after you exit out will cause a reboot. Question for you , where did you get your X-BOX series X I got mine from Bestbuy through the citizen Loan for the system and 2 years of XBOX Ultimate.

@borderwarrior4_xbl said in Still crashing after update maybe its my X-box series x or monitor:

@willgdesigns_xbl said in Still crashing after update maybe its my X-box series x or monitor:

Hey Guys,
Love the game , the new gen extra pop to rendering and graphics is stunning. But I can't play this game version for the X-BOX SERIES X , my game plays for a few innings then just freezes almost like clock work this will cause my X-BOX to then a few minutes later after closing out to restart, no other game does this so I'm confused on what to try next. Anyone else with Series X new gen version had this issue or been able to resolve? I have removed the game re-downloaded no change. I can play the regular version with no issues but would like to eventually play the new gen version. Any help would be appreciated or things to try other than re-download game which I have done 4 times.

Thanks for the help

I play on series x never had a problem with freezing or crashing, I have it on download not disc. Strange.

Thanks for the response I have mine also on digital download , Its weird the regular version plays fine and also the X/S does for 1 to 2 innings but then crashes , can I ask what view you play on pitching and hitting?

Pedro Martinez and Mike Mussina

@aaronjw76_psn said in Hitting for an Xbox User:

Bookmarking for future

glad to help

would be very careful , I'm trying to figure out why my Series X version crashes 2-3 innings into the game , the game will just freeze, which requires to exit out which then will restart the X-BOX no other game is doing this to me so I'm trying to figure out whats happening.

Hey Guys,
Love the game , the new gen extra pop to rendering and graphics is stunning. But I can't play this game version for the X-BOX SERIES X , my game plays for a few innings then just freezes almost like clock work this will cause my X-BOX to then a few minutes later after closing out to restart, no other game does this so I'm confused on what to try next. Anyone else with Series X new gen version had this issue or been able to resolve? I have removed the game re-downloaded no change. I can play the regular version with no issues but would like to eventually play the new gen version. Any help would be appreciated or things to try other than re-download game which I have done 4 times.

Thanks for the help

@go4stros25_psn said in Anyone else struggling on hof diff this year compared to the last few iterations.:

@lazy_toast_psn said in Anyone else struggling on hof diff this year compared to the last few iterations.:

@mrmealticket18_mlbts said in Anyone else struggling on hof diff this year compared to the last few iterations.:

Everyone seems to be using all sinker ball pitchers. The meta kinda sucks. Havent seen a fb thrown in like 7 games

Yup the new Burnes is Kluber from last year. Everyone’s just spamming his sinker high. Annoying af

Im new. Wouldn't a high sinker be a good pitch to hit? What is the benefit of throwing it high?

Depends on the sinker if its a below 93 mph sinker you will most likely be able to time it and get your swing path before it breaks and get a line drive or lift , but a sinker thrown up and in which starts as a strike and cuts in to say a right handed hitter going off the black from strike to ball is a pitchers strength , any sinker in zone 2 is a hitters dream any sinker down and in is a hitters worst nightmare especially if its a velocity hard sinker. Hope that helps