Power Pros Forum

Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere, but I was wondering
what peoples' favorite pitches are and why?

When I purchased this game, I thought I knew a lot about baseball but
I must say WOW I've already learned a lot about baseball from the game. It's also gotten me more interested in watching MLB on tv. (and not just the D'Backs, tryin to watch every game that comes on this season!)

Anyway, my question is regarding which pitches people prefer for their starters in success mode. I thought I knew about pitching, but any opinions about folks favorite pitches and why/where/when to throw them would be greatly appreciated.

For my first guy, a reliever (whom I suffered through reading maaaany repetitive texts for due to no fast mode) I managed a level 5 hard slider and level 5 changeup with 92 top speed, 99 ctrl, 49 stam. I reset if he got any bad abilities so he wound up with 4 risp, poise, str finisher, gd reflexes, and battler. I guess I was trying to make him like last season's awesome closer, Valverde, who I feel is a battler.

Anyway, I'd love to see some tips on the best pitches for a starter and why. I would be lying if I claimed to know the difference between a shutto and hard shutto, or when it's appropriate to throw them.

I prefer a curveball myself, but that was my favorite pitch to throw when I was playing. A good curveball in this game will get you a long way.

And Valverde is indeed fun to watch pitch now that he is in Houston. I am glad we have him, and glad that Lidge is doing well in Philly.

I love the Knuckleball, Knuckle Curve, and Vertical Slider.

The Knuckball's late movement always trips up the AI.

The other two just move so well and so much.


Personally, I think level 7 pitches are overrated. Sometimes I feel they aren't that good because they break so much, limiting amount of places you can use it to throw strikes.

I have noticed the AI hits the 7's better than it would a 4 or a 5. Like the AI looks for that pitch most of the time.

From a gameplay entertainment standpoint I have fun with the more obscure pitches and pitchers who have 3 or more serviceable offspeed pitches.

I'd never heard of a vertical slider until 2 years ago when the Rangers got Akinori Otsuka in a trade (he throws one, or at least did before his arm went out), but I like using it as a level 4-5 pitch. I agree that it is one of those pitches that seems to be less effective as a 6-7 because of the break.

I tend to have my best success with pitchers that have a similar repetoire to what I used to throw, because I have a good understanding of how to work a hitter with those. My own pitch repetoire when I was a college was a 2SFB (I didn't even bother with a 4SFB, my TOP SPD was only about 85 - I needed the movement! -lol-), a SIFB (more like a Greg Maddux type of reverse cutter that breaks away from lefties and in towards righties), a CB, a SCB, a SLV, and a CCHG. The different curves were more that I threw my CB at 3 speeds and with two releases - the regular CB, another version with the same grip and release point but taking some speed off (SCB equivalent, though mine didn't have a bigger break than my regular CB, it was just slower), and a harder curve that was still a CB and not a SLD because of the grip/release but broke later and not as much because of the velocity and releasing the ball with more side spin and less top spin than my normal curveball grip (SLV equivalent). I picked up the CCHG real early, when I was 11 or 12. Growing up at the time in Ohio, I saw plenty of Cincy games. Mario Soto was one of the best starting pitchers in the game and featured a devastating CCHG. I think it was on Johnny Bench's "Baseball Bunch" show that I saw him demonstrate it, and I ran with it

I'd have to say my reliever with a level 5 vertical slider is one of my best pitchers, but there's something to be said for the deceptively acute Slow Curveball. Most of the time you can throw it right down the middle and they swing waaaaay too early, I prefer using the SCB over the CHG to get them to bite.

You know what I think would be incredible?

If, for the custom pitch, you could customize the grip of pitch. Sometimes, during baseball practice, during throwing warm-ups I just fool around with random grips, moving my fingers, flicking my wrist, knuckling some grips, and make up different pitches.

I love a good hard fastball. Nothing like throwing 97 on the black and watching hitters flail helplessly.

I threw a forkball and split when I pitched so I'm partial to those. Zito's DCB is just plain nasty from behind the pitcher view.

Creating custom pitches would be a blast. I had more junk than Fred Sanford when I pitched so being able to create some "unique" pitches would be entertaining if nothing else. It would be the first game with Randy Tomlin's "Vulcan" change in it.

Custom pitches are good. I had a three fingered change that I threw that looked like a four seem fastball coming out of the hand, and it was thrown at the same arm placement. I wish I could recreate that with a custom grip on PP.

That's a good idea.

Also, if you could see a close up of your hand on the ball and there was a grid with thousands of squares, and you could place each finger in a different spot (on a square) and unlock hidden pitches like a password.

Or.....

If there was an RE, like Peter's, that you could use a challenge card and acquire a new special pitch at a chance.