Power Pros Forum

I am "effective" at pitching in this game, but would not say I am "good" – I rely on getting ground balls hit to my shortstop and second baseman, and rarely average as much as 1 strikeout per inning. I'm hoping to get tips on how to throw certain pitches for strikeouts.

In particular, following are pitches I just cannot seem to use as a strike out pitch:

Forkball
Cut fastball
2 seam fastball (level 2)
Sinking fastball
Slurve
Knuckle curve
Sinker
Shuuto

The forkball, in particular, is frustrating because it just seems that it should be a strikeout pitch and a lot of drafted players throw this. I can get ground balls on these, and the other pitches I listed, but as you know, the only way to improve a pitch by throwing it in the game is to record a strikeout with it. I am hoping to get advice from you other than "get your pitch up to level seven"! Assume I am working with a level 3 or 4 pitch. For example, I did not list a slider because there are two times I can semi-regularly get a strike out with a slider. First, a slider that tails inside - if I throw it up and in to a batter, it will sometimes work. Second, if my slider will tail away from the batter, I can sometimes get a strike out if I try a backdoor slider low in the zone. If the batter has level E or lower contact, a slider that starts in the outer-middle of the plate and tales away will sometimes work.

Any tips you have, like "have the pitch to start above the strike zone and fall in," or "this pitch will work as a strikeout pitch if you throw a fastball out of the zone before you throw this," are appreciated.

Thanks.

I play on Powerful, and I also find it almost impossible to get good strikeout numbers.

Looking at the Rockies log I attempted earlier this summer, I had a total of 12 strikeouts in 5 games that I played, with a total of 55 innings pitched. If your average that out, it's a team K/9 ratio of 1.96 strikeouts every nine innings. I'm pretty sure that's awful.

I'm sure everyone has posted about the good strikeout ability pitches - mainly curveball, knuckler/splitter, and then a nice high fastball. Using those types as your 'out' pitch is more effective - the ones ERISA listed above I mainly use earlier in the count, or to induce GB contact. The AI seems to knock Slurves around easy, and cutter/2-seamer seems to get hit hard more often than it should as well. But the AI makes itself look foolish on the drop pitches (CHG, SPLIT, V-SLD, KNB), and curves as well...so strikeouts should be plentiful even with mediocre pitching.

All I can add of use is that I throw the above pitch types for balls and get swinging strikes more often than I thought I might. Sometimes you can go with the ball's movement, so a SHU looks like it's gonna be in the strike zone but then moves out - that's a good recipe. But sometimes if you just throw it outside to start, just a tad off the plate or high/low, you get more strikes than you might imagine.

I do use the Sinker or Knuckle-Curve as high pitches that drop in, but the results are mixed - a lot of contact, some taken for strikes, some swung and missed rarely. I feel like a Slurve is gonna get hit out in that situation.

Any of these pitches as Lvl 3 or Lvl 4 are unstoppable yet it depends like alloutwar said on the location and trying to drop them in.

Useful stuff! For the most part, I stopped throwing balls on purpose a long time ago - in my experience, the batters don't swing when the pitch drops out of the strike zone, but maybe it's time to try that again. Thanks.



Are saying that you throw the pitch as a "back door _______"? Have it start outside the zone and fall in? That's not what alloutwar said - he said to have the pitches move off the plate. It seems to be what you're saying, but then you say you're agreeing with alloutwar...?

You use level 3 backdoor cutters, slurves, and forkballs and they are "unstoppable"?

On the outside pitches and swinging strikes - it may depend on batter (maybe some had free swinger/etc), or may be a factor of my difficulty (i think I just moved up to Powerful but will check). Its not constant, but sometimes when trying to waste an 0-2/1-2 pitch on a cutter/shutto moving away or something, I would get a swinging strike. It baffled me, honestly. I know curves/splitters that are aiming for the knees, and end up in the dirt, get swings a lot - and that can be inside/outside as well. When you try the same for knuckle-curve or sinker, its about a third as effective in my experience.

I also almost universally aim my pitches at the blue "cool" spots for the batter. I figure they're more likely to miss, or at least not homer, when its in their cold spot...that's been my formula for My Life mode as a pitcher, and playing season mode games as a pitcher.

As the pitcher goes through his motion, move the cursor around areas of the strike zone you don't want to locate the pitch, and then move to the intended spot at the last possible second. This will turn any pitch into a strikeout pitch, and will increase swings at pitches outside of the zone. Doesn't work 100% of the time, but your whiffs will go way up.

oh yeah - I started doing that a while ago, the 'fake out'. I'm using the method where you hold down the button to spin the pitch, then let push at the right time for location. the combination of misdirection in the final quarter seconds, and pressing the button at the perfect time, makes swinging strikes much more common.