Pitch Counts in MVP 2005

[LetsGoOakland]

I am not sure if this is true on this board but every other MVP message board has people complaining about pitch counts. Someone at OS summed it up really well - pinned it down perfectly before I could get the wording out.

We all notice the low pitch counts on both sides, human and computer. I do not see this as a flaw in the game because of a few reasons. One, when we hit, we tend to swing at anything that looks decent. Some of us are good at taking pitches and a lot of them are strikes, that's true, but more pitch selection would definitely raise their pitch count. Also, when we are on the mound, yes it is easy to hit the large green zone for a perfect pitch, but in real life pitches do not always aim for inside the strike zone. I think some people do not purposely throw one out to try to get the computer to chase. I have had good success with that (in terms of getting a good combination of the CPU chasing and taking pitches outside the strike zone).

From the videos we saw, it looks like EA realized this and greatly reduced pitchers' stamina. It seemed to go down really fast. Mark Prior had 66% in the 6th or 7th inning without giving up a lot of runs. Now this is just a theory of mine since last year, you would be in the same situation but with that much stamina going into the 8th or 9th inning with Prior. If that is the case, and don't get me wrong I could be way off base here (I am merely just speculating), I would seriously hope the pitcher fatigue slider is not merely just "cosmetic" because I am going to purposely throw more selectively.

Did anybody make the same assertion about the pitcher fatigue?

I am also very interested in seeing what they did with the players in terms of fatigue. Although many say if they added it, it would be touted rather than hush-hush.

[Yankee4Life]

Once again, you can't tell anything from a video. Don't form any opinions on anything you see from a video. EA releases these videos. They want you to see what they want you to see. You won't know anything about the pitch counts and the answers to your questions until you play about ten games when you finally get the game in your hand.

[LetsGoOakland]

Actually, you can tell stuff from the video (such as being able to throw someone out from third after a dive). I was merely just speculating. Also, some of the videos produced are not from EA. The gaming websites produce the videos from their games.

[Yankee4Life]

I don't trust anything I see in the videos.

[LetsGoOakland]

Well obviously people watch these with some cynicism and such, which is rightfully so. I was merely just wondering if anybody noticed that and what they thought since pitcher fatigue is a hot topic apparently.

[daddy]

I noticed that I keep the ball <target> on when I pitch. Therefore I pitch more IN the strike zone than out. If I turned off the strike zone AND the ball <target> I think I would pitch more out of the strike zone, therefore it should give me a higher pitch count.

I also tend to swing at just about anything, lowering the CPUs pitch count. This could be because *I* tend pitch more in the strike zone therefore I *think* the CPU will do the same. So I tend swing at more pitches.

I may try an experiment with this.

[LetsGoOakland]

I am sensing sarcasm.

In any regard though, if you turn off the strike zone and hot/cold zones, it makes pitching a long harder. And I think this year it would be slightly harder with varying umpire strike zones.

[daddy]

No sarcasm on my part, I've NEVER turned off the strike zone/hot, cold zones. Just because I've never really thought about it. It certainly would make the game more of a challenge.

[NYM]

i play wih the picthing cursor, hot/cold zones, and strike zone off.....i hate them......makes the game more realistic with them of...plus more chalenging.

[LetsGoOakland]

i play wih the picthing cursor, hot/cold zones, and strike zone off.....i hate them......makes the game more realistic with them of...plus more chalenging.

Yeah, plus, if you don't know where the hot/cold zones are, you are more likely to give up runs that way (via home runs, singles, doubles, etc.). I hate being in 2-1 games all the time.

[hoserthehorrible]

Last year I started with the pitching aids on but eventually turned them all off. I also started off trying to hit everything pitched, and throwing everything for strikes, but eventually became more selective in my hitting and threw more balls out of the strike zone. The results last year are that I can work the opposing pitcher for 100+ pitches a game on average and my pitchers will throw 100+ pitches a game on average as well. I am able to draw 1 - 2 walks a game but rarely do I walk a batter.

So, I agree with the original theory to a certain degree but I also think that MVP2005 needs to be tougher when it comes to pitching. I'd like to see a higher pitch count for the CPU and human controlled teams and I'd like to see more walks, specially for the human controlled pitcher. I'd like to see somewhere closer to 120+ pitches per team a game on average and 2 - 3 walks a game per team on average as well.

If the new pitch meter helps in this regard then I'm all for it.

[LetsGoOakland]

There is also a slider for accuracy for CPU pitchers so that could help (if it actually works). I will try to be more selective this year around and definitely be looking for MY pitch and not just swinging at something just because its close (unless I have 2 strikes obviously).

[Hudson_Vasquez]

It all really depends on how you play. I like letting the CPU play (it's much more fun for me) and that way, the pitch counts are pretty realistic. I was playing a Braves-Mets game and the Mets worked John Thomson for 76 pitches by the end of the third inning!!!

If you control it, pitch counts will probably be unrealistically low. Let the CPU control both sides, play on All-Star, use a realism mod, and you'll have a pretty authentic game.

Strike-outs are totally unrealistic tho. The batters are pretty patient, but their eye is terrible.