============================================================================== MLB '11:THE SHOW Pitcher Career Mode FAQ(Version 1.0; March 17,2011) Written by: Aj_the_one ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.Version History B.Introduction C.Legal Stuff D.Making a Pitcher(!!NEW!!) E.Pitches E1.Fastballs E2.Breaking Balls E3.Off-Speed Pitches F.Ratings G.Delivery H.Starting your Career H1.Spring Training I.Regular Season and Playoffs I1.Schedule I2.Around the League II1.Standings II2.Statistics(!!NEW!!Advanced Stats) II3.Team Rankings II4.Who's Hot II5.League Roundup II6.League Leaders II7.Accolades I3.Personnel(Changed from Player Management) J.Career Home Menu J1.Locker Room J2.Advancement Goals J3.Interactions J4.Training(!!NEW!!) J5.Pitcher Training Games JJ1.Knockout JJ2.Simulated Game JJ3.Pitch Location(!!NEW!!) JJ4.Pitch Type(!!NEW!!) J6.Player Performance Evaluator(!!NEW!!) J7.Player Card J8.Edit Player J9.The Show Stop L.Off-Season M.Retirement N.Pitching Tips O.Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.Version History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0- Main FAQ Completed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ B.Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once again it's baseball season baby and that means another edition of MLB:The Show!!! This years game is much improved from last years with a new UI and some neat features to the RTTS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ C.Legal Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site except for www.gamefaqs.com and www.ign.com or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Copyright 2011 Armand Sellers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D.Making a Pitcher ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The most notable change from last years game is the option for you to choose what kind of pitcher you want to become or modify your Play Style as it's called in game. Depending on what you choose your starting ratings will be different. You can design and change your pitcher appearance after you finish this. !!!IMPORTANT!!!You should choose this very carefully as it will make your early career easier or harder depending on what you choose. On the same token though you should go with whatever pitching style makes you comfortable. STAMINA-Moving the slider farther to the left will put your pitcher on a closer path to be a being a efficient workhorse who keeps the ball in the park Ratings Starting Point Higher-Stamina, HR/9, Pitch Control Lower-Pitching Clutch, H/9 Unchanged-K/9, BB/9, Pitch Break POWER-Moving the slider to the right will make your pitcher start out as more of a power pitcher, getting strikeouts with fast pitches Ratings Starting Point Higher-P.Clutch, H/9, Pitch Speed Lower-Stamina,HR/9, Pitch Control Unchanged-K/9, BB/9, Pitch Break CONTROL-Moving the slider to the left will give your pitches more control though you'll have less break on your pitches. I'd recommend this as your pitch location is vitally important to having a great career. Ratings Starting Point Higher-BB/9, Pitch Control Lower-Pitch Break Unchanged-Stamina, P.Clutch, H/9, HR/9, K/9 MOVEMENT-Moving the slider to the right will give your pitches more break, though this will make your pitch control much lower. I can't recommend this as raising the break on your pitches is easier than raising the control Ratings Starting Point Higher-Pitch Break Lower-BB/9, Pitch Control Unchanged-Stamina, P.Clutch, H/9, HR/9, K/9 BALANCED APPROACH-By moving the slider to the left your pitches will be more balanced with their speed, movement and control. Ratings Starting Point Higher-Pitch Control Lower-Pitch Speed Unchanged-Stamina, P.Clutch, H/9, HR/9, K/9, BB/9, Pitch Break DOMINANT PITCH-By moving the slider to the right the ratings for you 1st pitch will be higher than the others Ratings Starting Point Higher-Pitch Speed Lower-Pitch Control Unchanged-Stamina, P.Clutch, H/9, HR/9, K/9, BB/9, Pitch Break ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E.Types of Pitches ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is one of the most important choices you can make for you pitcher. You have alot of pitches to choose from and I would recommend you go with your favorite pitches. I will outline each pitches movement with a clock system (1 to 9 etc.)description of the pitch and a speed range. Like last year you can only choose three pitches from the start. E1.FastBalls 4-Seam-This pitch is normally thrown by gripping the area where the seams are furthest apart. It is thrown with little movement and is the fastest pitch your pitcher can throw. Movement-Little or none Speed Range-80-102mph 2-Seam-This pitch is thrown by gripping the area where the seams are closest together then rotating the ball so the seams are perpendicular to his body. This pitch ranks second in terms of velocity. Movement-Will appear to have an inside-out movement and will move downward a little bit. For right-handed pitchers the pitch will move right then left and for Left-handed pitchers it will do the opposite and move left then right. Speed Range-75-97mph Cutter-This pitch is thrown basically the same way the 4-seam is thrown except it is thrown with slight pressure from the tip of the middle finger. It's difficult to hit if thrown hard because it breaks and still moves 90-95 mph making it harder to see. Movement-This pitch is a cross between a 4-seam and a slider and it's break is basically an 11-7. Speed Range-75-95mph Splitter-This pitch is thrown by splitting your index and middle finger an equal distance apart on the ball. This pitch is hard to hit when thrown hard because it moves fast and it tumbles downward making it harder to hit. Movement-This pitch will drop straight down with a 12-6 break and will also break harder the faster the pitch is. Speed Range-75-93mph Running Fastball-This pitch is basically a two-seam fastball without the downward movement and it has a much more severe break. It also moves around the same speed as the 2-seam. When it's at good levels and is thrown in the right location it will make hitters look like little leaguers. Movement-This pitch will move towards the pitchers throwing hand. If it thrown by a Right handed pitcher to a right handed batter the pitch will move in on the hitter with a severe 9-3 break. Speed Range- 75-98mph E2.Breaking Balls Curveball-This pitch is thrown by placing your index and middle finger on the top of the ball and curving your thumb on the bottom of the ball. This pitch is significantly slower than a fastball and has a sharp break which will throw off the hitter's timing. Movement-This pitch most often has a 12-6 break but there are a good amount of pitchers who throw this with a 10-4 break. Speed Range-63-86mph Slider-This pitch is thrown the same way the curve is except the thumb is closer to the third finger. Also the pitch is released off the middle finger most commonly. Movement-This pitch will have a lateral movement, similiar to a 9-3 break. Also the faster the pitch is thrown the harder the break, making the pitch alot harder to spot. Speed Range-68-91mph Sinker-This pitch is thrown basically the same way the 2-Seam is except you can add sideways movement to the pitch by putting more pressure on the index or middle finger. This pitch is essential for producing ground-outs when hit. Movement-The pitch will break downward sharply as it approaches the plate. It will also move in on left-handed batters and away from right-handed batters. Speed Range-76-92mph Slurve-This pitch can be thrown with 2-seam or 4-seam grip. With the 2-seam grip the pitch will have a stronger break but less speed and the 4-seam grip will have more speed and less break. As it's name implies it's a cross between a Slider and a Curveball Movement-As it's name implies the break will normally be 11-5 with a late break. Speed Range-73-87mph Forkball-This pitch is thrown the same way the splitter is except the ball is wedged more tightly between the fingers and the ball breaks a little later than the splitter. Movement-This pitch has the same break as the splitter with a 12-6. In addition to this it also breaks later than the splitter. Speed Range-70-87mph Knuckle Curve-This pitch is thrown just like the curveball except the index finger is bent while the rest of grip is like the curve. This pitch moves slower than the curveball and has a more deceptive break to it. It's also very hard to control(Both in the game and in real-life). Movement-This pitch is thrown with a 12-6 break and breaks sharply as it approaches the plate. Speed Range-62-80mph Screwball-This pitch has an appropriate name because the movement and the finger placement is crazy. This pitch is thrown by holding the ball with a 4-seam grip and upon release turning your wrist clockwise(sounds confusing? I know). Movement-This pitch will start to move towards the batter then move away. With right-handed pitchers the pitch will break right then left, and with left handed pitchers it will break left then right. Speed Range-63-75mph 12-6 Curveball-As it's name implies this is a curveball which drops straight down with a 12-6 break and no lateral movement. Depending on how high the Break rating is this pitch will be very hard to keep in the strike zone and as such it's one of my favorite 2 strike pitches. Movement- As it's name implies it has a VERY STRONG 12-6 break from the moment it leaves the pitcher's hand. Speed Range-63-86mph Sweeping Curveball-This pitch is similiar to the 12-6 Curveball in the sense that it's a variation of the Curveball but it moves like a more vertical version of the Slurve. Movement- This will have a hard 10-4 movement and looks very much like a slider. Speed Range-65-84mph E3.Off-Speed Pitches Changeup-This pitch is thrown by placing three fingers on the top of the ball while keeping the other finger off the ball and the thumb placed on the bottom of the ball. Movement-This pitch will break downward slightly as it approaches the plate with a 12-6 motion. Speed Range-59-82mph Circle-Change-This is thrown by placing your index finger and thumb together around the ball while gripping the ball with the other three fingers. Movement-This pitch will have a downward break and will move in the opposite direction of the pitcher's throwing arm(Left-handed pitch will break away from a right-handed batter). Speed Range-69-83mph Palmball-This pitch is thrown exactly as it sounds, by placing the ball in your palm. Movement-Similiar to a changeup with a 12-6 late break. Speed Range-60-73mph Knuckleball-This pitch is most commonly thrown by holding the seams of the ball with your fingernails and releasing the pitch straight out of your hand. This pitch has an extremely erractic motion and is hard to both hit and control. Movement-I couldn't chart the movement of this pitch because it was so crazy but the most common pattern I have noticed(by the game showing where the pitch was intended and where it landed) that it breaks in the same direction of the throwing arm of the pitcher. Speed Range-55-69mph ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ F.Ratings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this section I will outline all of the pitching ratings in the game and explain each one and how they should be developed for a successful career. STAMINA- This determines how many pitches you throw in an outing. The higher the bar the more pitches you can throw and the more innings you can go. If you are creating a Starting Pitcher then this will be an important rating starting out because it will allow you to keep a good level of energy throughout a game which in turn makes it easier to throw your pitches with control. RECOMMENDED- 5 Points(Starters/Closers) If you are creating a Starter then you should put the bar at the max. This ensures that you won't have to touch your stamina throughout the season and will allow you to focus on your Hits per 9, Balls/9 and your Strikeouts/9. PITCHING CLUTCH- This rating allows your pitcher to dig deep and get out of tough situations(Bases loaded, no outs). This is important for starters but really important for relievers because they will most likely come in the game in pressure situations. RECOMMENEDED- 5 Points(Starters/Closers) Since the amount that this will go up won't be much i can't recommend wasting the points which you can put toward your pitches and per 9 ratings. HITS PER 9- This rating determines how easy it is for batters to get hits off you. Needless to say this is important for both starters and relievers. If you make the mistake of not touching this stat and focusing on your pitches you will be sorry because your pitches will get hit frequently by all batters good or not. RECOMMENDED- 5 Points(Starters/Closers) Max this out as it's only 5 points and is one of the most important stats for your pitcher. This will make it harder for you be hittable which is vital in racking up points fast and improving your player. HOMERUNS PER 9- This rating determines how hard it is for your pitcher to give up a homerun or a deep fly ball which could turn into a double or triple. This is important for both Starters and Relievers because nobody wants to give a walk-off home run or a bases loaded jack which will severely damage your ERA. RECOMMENDED- 5 Points(Starters/Closers) I maxed this out since it was so cheap and you will reap such a benefit from not getting taken deep all the time. STRIKEOUTS PER 9- It took me a while before I realized how important this stat was. This stat determines how easy it is for your pitcher to get a strikeout. Since I am a closer I found this to be important because if I can strike out the side I don't have to worry about the runners on base. This is less important for starters because if you get alot of strikeouts, your stamina will suffer because you will throw more pitches. MAX- 5 Points RECOMMENDED- 5 Points(Starters/Closers) Like most of the per 9 ratings this should be maxed out. Not only will this help you get strikeouts it'll increase the points you get also. And I still like Strikeout pitchers. BALLS PER 9- This stat basically determines your pitchers overall level of control on his pitches.This is very important because if he has no control then your pitches won't go where you want them to and that will make it easier to give up walks or even worse hits. MAX- 5 Points RECOMMENDED- 5 Points(Starters/Closers) Max this out like the other per 9 ratings. The reason for this as stated above is control. With little or no BB/9 your pitches will rarely go where you want them to and the result will either be a HR or a hit. DURABILITY- This determines how frequently your player will be injured throughout his career. This also determines the rate at which your stamina goes down while pitching MAX- 5 Points RECOMMENDED- Starting Point(Starters/Closers) I put my points in my per/9 ratings and my pitches but you can also put 5 in your Durability if you like. This is a little harder to level up than your pitches though. FIELDING ABILITY- This determines how many fielding errors your pitcher will make. Since your pitcher really won't have that much interaction on the field don't worry about this stat until you have points to spare(meaning all your pitches are maxed out). REACTION- This determines how fast your player reacts when as the ball comes off the bat. Useful for getting those amazing on the mound catches but I wouldn't put any starting points in this. ARM STRENGTH- This determines how strong your pitchers are is in the field. Like fielding ability this also isn't important until you have points to spare ARM ACCURACY- Like Arm strength this isn't important for you pitcher because most of his throws in the field will be short anyway so he won't need to have accurate because he is so close to his target. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.Delivery ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is important for a couple of reasons. First and foremost it determines how your pitcher throws the ball. I have broken down the different types of deliveries and I will explain what pitches have the most break with each delivery and also what the arm angle is on the delivery. !!IMPORTANT!!It should be noted that this also boils down to your preference. If you like someones delivery just go with it. More important than the type anyway is the pitching motion and how easy it is to get a perfect pitch off. I like Tim Lincecum's delivery because it's fast and easy to time. OVER-HAND DELIVERY As the name implies your pitchers release point is over his head and more often than not his wrist his facing straight down after he releases the ball. I have found that pitches that have a downward break are more effective when throw from an over-hand delivery. Depending on the pitcher the ball will also be hidden until it leaves your pitchers hand which makes it harder for the batter to recognize what's coming. On the other hand I don't like throwing pitches that a sideways movement from this delivery because it doesn't break as much(Primarily Sliders). Best Pitches to throw- Anything with a downward or 12 to 6 break meaning curveballs, splitters, changeups, Knucklecurves and Sinkers. SIDE-ARM DELIVERY Also like it's name implies your pitcher's release point is at his waist level. Pitches from this delivery will most likely move a little more than you want them to(i.e. my curveball thrown to inside of a left-handed batter will move a little more towards him than a over-hand). This isn't a bad thing, I find it to be quite useful because it not only do my curveball and splitter have a 12-6 break, they also appear to move up then down as opposed to an over hand delivery in which the pitch would just tumble downward from the release point. I love throwing sliders with this delivery because they have more of a side to side or 9-3 break to them. Fastballs are also effective because it feels like you get extra speed on the fastball(It feels that way, I haven't notices a speed difference). Best Pitches to throw- Sliders and Fastballs. Breaking pitches work well also just not as effective as with a over-hand delivery. THREE QUARTERS DELIVERY This is the most common delivery style in the MLB. Your pitchers realease point is slightly above his shoulder(Not quite a side-arm but not an overhand either, stuck right in the middle). There is good reason why most pitchers use a three quaters delivery and that reason is all pitches have a good amount of break to them. Fastballs come out fast, breaking pitches tumble downward with a bit or sideways movement, and off-speed pitches appear slower. You really can't go wrong with any of these deliveries. Best Pitches to throw- All pitches work wonderfully with this delivery. SUBMARINE DELIVERY Like the name implies(I know it's getting old) your pitcher's release point is at his thigh to the point where his hand is almost scraping the dirt. I really have no complaints about this delivery and it actually is my favorite for a couple of reasons. First it's easy to confuse batters with this delivery. Next when I throw my fastball(which tops out at 102mph) it looks like it's going alot faster than 102mph and batters are always late swinging at it. Also my slider has a ridiculous amount of break when thrown from this delivery(I can leave the ball in the middle of the zone and it will slide outside of the box) My splitter and curveball also have a small amount of 9-3 motion when thrown which is great when thrown into or away from the batter. Best Pitches to throw- Fastballs, Sliders and Splitters. All other pitches work well also. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ H.Starting your Career ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMPORTANT!!!!In the first year there is no Spring Training. You start out in AA with the Regular Season starting. You are however awarded 500 training points which you should use to make your pitcher better. H1.Spring Training If you are on the team's 40-Man Roster then you will be invited to Spring Training. This definitely won't happen in your first year and probably not your second year either. You'll play with your major league club through spring training and if you do well enough and your ratings are up to par then they'll offer you a spot on the major league club. Otherwise you'll be sent to AA or AAA. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I.Regular Season and Playoffs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once spring training is done you will enter the regular season and a number of menu options available for you to cycle through. I will give a synopsis of the options and also go into depth a little bit. I'm going to assume that everyone who is playing this game knows how the regular season progresses so I'm not going to explain that in this section. Since they changed the interface again this year, you can access everything by moving the D-Pad or Analog Left/Right I1.Schedule As it's name implies this is where you see your teams schedule and where you have to go to play your games. In this installment they added the Play Next Appearance option which is the same as the Sim to Next Appearance in last year's game. I2.Around the League This is basically your stats central. If it's a stat it can be found in this menu. I will break this down section by section to make it easier to read and more comprehensive. II1.Standings This is where you come to check the standings in the league. You can see what your overall record is, How many runs your team has scored, Runs given up, Winning Streak,record of last 10 games played,Record against division, Home record,Away record, Day record and Night Record. Yeah I know it's a lot of stats and you probably won't look at them through most of the season. II2.Statistics In this screen you can see the individual statistics for the entire league, broken down team by team. There is a very comprehensive list of stats and if I listed them all this section would be alot longer so I am going to name the primary ones which are:Games Played,At-Bats,Batting Avg,Hits,Runs scored, doubles,triples,homeruns,Runs Batted In,Stolen Bases,Times Caught Stealing, stolen base percentage,Base on Balls, Strikeouts,Slugging Percentage, and On-Base Percentage.For the pitchers it is:Games Played,Wins,Losses,Earned Run Average,Games Started,Complete Games,Shutouts,Saves,Blown Saves,Holds,Innings pitched,Hits allowed,Runs,Earned Runs,HomeRuns,Bases on balls and Strikeouts. !!IMPORTANT!!If you choose to you can buy the Advanced Stats DLC for .99 USD. This will give you access to expanded stats which include: Range Factor, ERC( Component ERA), DIPS(Defense Independent ERA), PFR(Power-Finesse Ratio), BIPA (Balls in Play Average), K/9(Strikeouts per 9 innings) III3.Team Rankings In this screen you can see what your team is ranked in every offensive and defensive category an also see the top the three players on your team in that category. III4.Who's Hot Here is where you can see who's hot in the league or who's been on a tear in the past month. This is useful for seeing who you should avoid when you play a particular team. III5.League Roundup This is where you can monitor all the transactions in the league. Signings, trades, releases everything involving the movement of players either from the DL or to another team or even moving up and down from the minors. III6.League Leaders Here is where you can see who is leading the league in a good portion of the statistics that were listed above. If you are a stat nut(as most of us are) then you will spend alot of time in this menu option looking at and glossing over your stats. III7.Accolades It is in this menu screen that you see who the front runners are for the yearly awards and also look at the MLB single-season and career records in addition to being anle to look at the list of all the players inducted into the Hall Of Fame. You can also see where everybody is in terms of the All-Star voting. Depending on how good your numbers are you will spend some time in the awards and the All-Star voting sections. I3.Personnel In this screen you see your team's batting order and pitching rotation but since your a player not a manager you can't mess with any of the lineups or rotations. This means you have to rely on the manager putting you in the game which can be very frustrating. By pressing O you can see your player card which has your information on it such as your stats for the current season and the one before it,all of your ratings, your contract info and your scouting report which can be interesting to read. This is where you can see where you measure up with the rest of the league. The scouting report for the most part is accurate to your player. It's also interesting to see what they are saying about you as a player. Since you can't edit anything you would only come here to see how good your team is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ J.Career Home Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I decided to dedicate a whole section to this area of the game because it has some really important options that need to be discussed in depth so everybody can have a good understanding of how they work. Also I will break this up into sections for ease of reading. !!IMPORTANT!!They have greatly improved the Promotion and Manager AI for this years game. If your pitcher is better than most in the majors and you hit your advancement goals you'll be promoted. Also the managers seem to keep you in games longer now if you are doing exceptionally well, regardless of your energy level. J1.Locker Room Since they changed the UI this year, most of the information that was inside of the Locker Room is one the home screen. Now Locker Room displays your game stats, your career stats vs. all the teams, The Player Performance Evaluator, your overall career stats, your Achievements and your career graphs JJ1.Play Next Appearance You can choose this if you want the game to simulate to your next appearance. New to this years game is where they'll tell you situation before you actually enter the game and you can choose to either play the situation or sim it J2.Advancement Goals These basically boil down to the things you need to do to move your way up. They consist of improving specific ratings to to a point and also keeping a certain feilding %, Getting a certain number of Quality Starts or giving up a certain number of hits over the goal period. If you follow these goals you'll move your way up in the rotation and find yourself closer to being on top in your career. Once again if you succeed in your goals but if your stats or ratings aren't up to par they won't promote you. J3.Interactions At any given time the interaction options will change. If you are a starting pitcher and you get removed from the game there will be a option to talk to the manager about it under the category of Manager Meetings. The only thing that stays there consistently is the Retire option, unchanged from last year's game. RETIRE-"Retire from major league baseball and ride off into the sunset like a true professional." Reaction- Retiring will allow you to look at your plaque with a statement of how you did in the league. You will be able to look at your numbers one last time but you won't be able to play with your player anymore and you will also have to start another career mode. POSITION CHANGE-"Do you think you have the makeup to be in the Starting Rotation? Sit down with your manager and discuss it." J4.Training Okay!! This is where you will spend most of your time in your career because it is here where you will make your pitcher better by using the training hours that you accumlate through your pitching performances. !!!NEW CHANGE!!!In this year's game you can go up to 8 weeks without touching any of your ratings before they start to Decline. You can take advantage of this and points into ratings that you're actually using Long Distance Running- "Distance running improves stamina and durablity" Primary Attributes- Stamina Seconday Attributes- Durablility Pitching Coach- "Work on your pitching mechanics" Primary Attributes- H/9, HR/9,K/9,BB/9 Seconday Attributes- H/9, HR/9,K/9,BB/9,PCLT Simulated Game- "Pitch a simulated game" Primary Attributes- Pitching Clutch Seconday Attributes- H/9 4SFB Velocity Session Primary Attributes- Velocity Seconday Attributes- HR/9 4SFB Control Session Primary Attributes- Control Seconday Attributes- BB/9 4SFB Movement Session Primary Attributes- Break Seconday Attributes- K/9 SL Velocity Session Primary Attributes- Velocity Seconday Attributes- HR/9 SL Control Session Primary Attributes- Control Seconday Attributes- BB/9 SL Movement Session Primary Attributes- Break Seconday Attributes- K/9 RFB Velocity Session Primary Attributes- Velocity Seconday Attributes- HR/9 RFB Control Session Primary Attributes- Control Seconday Attributes- BB/9 RFB Movement Session Primary Attributes- Break Seconday Attributes- K/9 New Pitch- "Learn a new pitch"(Requires 200 points minimum) Batting Cages vs. RHP- "Fine tune your hitting skills in the cage". Primary Attributes- Contact R Secondary Attributes- Contact L Batting Cages vs. LHP- "Hit off southpaws in the batting cage" Primary Attributes- Contact L Secondary Attributes- Contact R Weight Room- "Beef up your power by hitting the weight room" Primary Attributes- Power L, Power R Seconday Attributes- Power L, Power R Batting Coach- "Work with your coach to improve your swing" Primary Attributes- Vision, Plate Discipline, Clutch Seconday Attributes- Discipline/Clutch, Vision/Clutch, Vision/Discipline Bunting Drills- "Learn to bunt with presice accuracy" Primary Attributes- Bunting Ability Seconday Attributes- Drag Bunting Drag Bunting- "Learn how to bunt for hits consistently" Primary Attributes- Drag Bunting Seconday Attributes- Bunting Ability/Speed Stretching- "Keep yourself limber and loose to avoid injuries" Primary Attirbutes- Durablity Secondary Attributes- Reaction Time Sprints- "Sprints will help you improve your speed" Primary Attributes- Speed Seconday Attributes- Base Running Ability Long Toss- "Long toss will improve your arm strength" Primary Attributes- Arm Strength Seconday Attributes- Arm Accuracy Infield Drills- "Improve your fielding skills" Primary Attributes- Throwing Accuracy, Fielding Ability Seconday Attributes- Throwing Strength, Reaction Time Shagging Fly Balls- "Learn to take better routes to the ball" Primary Attributes- Reaction Time Seconday Attributes- Fielding Ability Base Running Drills- "Improve your skills on the base paths" Primary Attributes- Base Running Ability, Base Running Aggressiveness Secondary Attributes-Speed, Base Running Aggressiveness/Base Running Ability NEW CHANGE!!!! J5.Pitcher Training Games New to this years game are mini games which you play on your game day. This is a great addition because it basically gives you an idea of how your pitches will react to different release points and power levels. If that wasn't enough your pitches actually get better depending on how you do. JJ1.Knockout In this mini-game you have 8 square sections inside the strike zone and your job is to hit hit each section of the strike zone, thus hitting all the targets. You can use any one of your pitches you like to knockout the targets but the only pitches that you use will actually improve. So if you throw your 4SFB at max power and hit the targey your 4SFB Velocity will go up by 6 points. Not whole rating points but the blue bar under it. I'd recommend that you focus on one pitch that you want to improve and do your Knockout sessions with that pitch to make it better so you can use your training points working on another pitch in some capacity. JJ2.Simulated Game Returning from last years installment is the Simulated Game. The object of this game has changed slighty though. Now the object of the game is to get at least 3 good pitching sequences with 9 chances. Limiting your pitches/AB and not giving up hits is crucial as they will drop your ratings some. JJ3.Pitch Location(!!NEW!!) This mini-game is very similar to Knockout only in this game you are only given one square or "zone" to hit. You must use one of the pitches which is highlighted otherwise you will hear loud buzzer sound when you throw the pitch You have to hit 2 different locations which each one of your pitches twice. JJ4.Pitch Type(!!NEW!!) This mini-game is pretty much the same as Knockout location but you only use one pitch to hit a shifting location a couple of times. J6.Player Performance Evaluator(!!NEW!!) Replacing the terrible Batting Performance from last year is the Player Performance Evaluator which actually has a section for pitchers also. This nifty tool keeps track of your Strike and Ball Percentages, 1st Pitch Strike, Ahead-in-Count, How much you throw each pitch, your percentage against Poor Batters, Good Batters, Great Batters. You also can your Training Levels for each of the training mini-games: Knockout, Pitch Location, Pitch Type and Sim Game training J7.Player Card You can view your player card by selecting this in the menu. This lets you see your player's Height and Weight, Age, Handedness, Age, Salary, stats and ratings. It's your one stop shop for everything related to your player. J8.Edit Player Just Like last year you can edit your player's secondary position, preferred number, throwing and batting hand, height, weight and pretty much all the cosmetic stuff including your pitching delivery. J9.The Show Stop Returning again this year is The Show Stop with some minor changes. For starters it's now accessed by pressing Select then choosing the $ on the shortcut bar. You can buy the Classic Stadiums, 1000 Training Points and you can heal your player from injury and buy the Advanced Stats $.99 USD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K.Off-Season ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Off-Season interface stays the same this year. Now you can still view the schedule and while there you can view your contract offers if you have them. You can also view your Career Progression to see how your player improved over the year. You have the Offseason Roundup which shows the deals and contracts which were made between all the teams, the TransactionHandbook and HOF Inductees. They also have the real dates of significance on the calendar like the last day you can offer arbitration to a player and the date of Rule 5 draft. If you want to take your chances you can not sign the contract put forward to you and see if someone will draft you in the Rule 5. You can't become a Minor League FA until you've played 6 seasons so if you are under that then you will have to sign the contract put forth to you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ L.Retirement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you choose the retirement option in the Career Home menu your manager will give you a message basically supporting your decision to retire. After that message you will see your plaque which will have a paragraph basically outlining how great or poor you were in your career. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ M.Pitching Tips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section I decided to make after I came across a couple of useful tips that will help you destroy your competiton both CPU and Human. From my time spent with the game these still apply along with some others i'll be adding when I find them IMPORTANT!!! Tip#1- Manipulate the pitching cursor. What I mean by this is intentionally miss the middle of the cursor to give your pitch more movement. For example lets say you place a slider on the bottom of the strike zone. When you see the pitch meter instead of getting the marker right in the middle, you get it before it reaches the middle. This will make the pitch go higher than it was supposed to. If you put the cursor after the middle point the pitch will go lower than you wanted it to. Manipulating the pitch cursor can help you fool human batters and will even fool the computer on occasion. Tip#2- Keep all of your pitches low in the zone. This makes it harder to knock out of the park. Also look at the spread chart for the batter you are facing. Tailor your pitches around where they don't like to hit(For batter who have a high percentage pulling the ball keep your pitches away, For batters who like to opposite side, jam them in on the hands. Tip#3- Work the entire plate. While you should generally keep all you pitches low, don't be afraid to come up in the zone with a Fastball or two. It's actually a great strategy to stay low in the zone then on a 2 strike pitch come up and in or away. Now i'd only recommend doing this is your Fastball is as least 95mph in the majors. In the minors slower should work. Tip#4- Take full advantage of the warmup sessions before a game. I can't stress how important this is. If you throw strikes it'll warm up your pitches so they'll be a little more effective and have more control in the game. Plus it's only a minute or two before you pitch so why not!? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ N.Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Sony for making another great baseball simulation -Gamefaqs for posting my guide -Wikipedia for again providing me with some of the pitch grips -My fellow gamers for reading and using this FAQ Any questions or comments please E-mail me at: Koolkid11434@yahoo.com There are also some really great and helpful people on the Gamefaqs forums for this game. I'd recommend checking that out also