I seriously do not understand how to play the game. Being from outside of US I don’t have much knowledge about baseball I don’t understand the game mechanics clearly. So any help would be appreciated.
I would like to know what kind of combinations I should go with in my repertoire, what kind of arm slot does better with a particular pitching type, i,e., should I throw overhang if I chose fastball as my speciality or should I throw sidearm with curveball as a specialty?
Also which of the three percentage stat (strike, ball and in play) should consider to throw a proper pitch?
4 Likes
From what I’ve seen from the stats so far is that overhand increases your velocity but decreases your control. 3/4th slightly increases your velocity but that’s it. Haven’t seen the other two pitching motions yet but from what I’ve read, the submarine pitching motions increases your control but decreases your velocity. So if you wanted to go fast, then go overhand with fastball and changeup. For control, go submarine with slider and curve ball. Control is important as well because I think the higher your control is, the better chance of getting a strike out. And for the striking percentages, it’s usually for the best if there’s over 50% chance of getting a strike, 30-40% of getting a ball and 10-20% of the ball being in play but this part seems like it all depends on luck.
Let me add again, just how much I despise RNG in my CYOA stories. Making the right choice don’t mean anything if the RNG gods don’t like you.
11 Likes
Baseball basic rules-
Each game has two teams, nine players per team. Each team also has a coach or manager, but they don’t play. There is also an umpire who resolves team disputes, fouls, and outs. They are supposed to be but not always impartial.
Each game has nine divisions called innings. Each inning has two parts, top and bottom. Top, visiting team bats and home team is on the field. Bottom, vice versa. Home team is the team that owns the field of play. Essentially the batting team is offense, trying to score as many runs as possible. Fielding team is defense, trying to score three outs as soon as they can. Each inning lasts three outs. Extra innings are only allowed with tied scores at the end of the ninth inning, in that case the next inning decides the game. Games may end early in case of inclement weather, disruption, or forfeit if the umpire allows.
The fielding team has 9 positions to staff- pitcher (throws the ball), catcher (defends home plate, the pitcher’s intended target), three basemen (first defense line), 1 shortstop (second defense line), & 3 outfielders (outer defense line). These players control the ball as much as they can and keep it in play. The pitcher throws the ball, the others either catch it or pass it to the pitcher or another player.
A batter stands between pitcher and catcher at home plate swinging the bat. If they hit the ball with their bat after the ball is thrown, they must then leave home plate and run drop their bat and run to a baseman’s defense point (or more than one if possible), then back to home plate if possible, before they get tagged out (see below). They can wait on a base point between turns, if they run all three bases and then back to home they score a run. They have to stay on a set path when running.
Batters on each team take turns batting in a nine person rotation. If a player wishes it, they may choose a designated hitter to bat for them (pitchers often do this due to job stress). This is subject to the team manager’s ok.
A batter who misses the ball with their swing suffers a strike. 3 strikes, they’re out. They’re also out if a baseman or any other defending player tags them or the base they’re after by catching the ball and then touching the runner or the next base in line before the runner arrives. Runners may run or slide at varying speeds to tag bases. They may also try to move between bases when the defense team is not paying attention if the umpire allows it (stealing bases). 3 players tagged or struck out, game advance as per above.
A batter who almost but not quite hits the ball may score a foul. This is at the umpire’s discretion to determine. 4 fouls, all runners get a free base advance (walk), and the next batter in rotation takes position at home plate. Hit the ball clearly, you run. The umpire determines strikes vs fouls. It is often controversial which is which.
Pitchers use various techniques on their initial throw at the batter- curve ball, fast ball, etc. They often coordinate their shots with their teammates via hand signals. The batter is not supposed to know the signals used, but sometimes they do anyway. Same for the umpire and fans. Pitchers throw at varying speed and power. Other stats help hitting, running, and defense.
Questions?
7 Likes
3 Likes
Didn’t know Fielder’s Choice was an official term, thx Mary.
Some things I forgot-
The team that scores the most runs during a game of baseball wins the game.
Baseball teams play games during a season. Usually they only hire or draft new players between seasons, but may fire or trade them between teams at any time (manager’s discretion). A new player has to prove their skill upon hiring, continuing players should maintain their skills.
Softball is a form of baseball that uses a softer material for the ball. It is often played by weaker players or females. Baseball traditionally uses a hard leather ball.
Baseball teams are organized into leagues based on area, skill level of players, and other forms of convenience such as gender or player age. The types can include Little League (child players), grade school leagues, college or university leagues, company leagues, and at the highest levels minor and then major national leagues followed by special professional teams such as the All Star or Olympic Teams. League teams play against each other and may be further divided into different divisions and internal leagues (varsity, junior varsity, National, American, etc). Some specific special games can be inter-league.
I will be happy to provide general baseball knowledge.
As a pitcher, your goal is to prevent the opposite team from advancing men around the bases. When there is no one on base (ie the first batter) the stat you should consider first is strike % and then ball in play .
When there are base-runners, the most basic rule of thumb is to look at the two stats in the opposite order when beginning the encounter at the plate.
After the first two pitches in a count, your considerations should change. If you are ahead in the count (more strikes then balls) then you should consider the likelihood of the batter being able to guess your pitch. This usually means making a different pitch than your strongest, because that is the pitch that would be expected.
From the third pitch onward, individual strategy changes on the circumstances overall and your individual history with the batter.
In general, you should take an approach which heavily emphasizes one of the primary stats (velocity or control) and by doing this, you tend to define the type of pitcher you will become in your career. In game terms, I would emphasize the main stat 2/3 - meaning for every three improvements you can make 2 go towards your prime stat and one goes to your secondary.
For beginners, velocity and the fastball pitcher would be the easiest to go with first. In general, a velocity upwards of 98mph is considered almost unhittable. However, even the best fastball pitchers develop a second pitch (usually changeup) for the mental challenge part of the pitcher-batter encounter described above.
If you do decide to go the control route, I suggest focusing on three pitches because you’ll be playing the challenge game more often with batters.
Any other specific questions, I’ll be happy to help with.
I just wanted to address this - “weaker players” is a stereotype. Softball games at the college level and semi-pro level are just as competitive and played by strong individuals as “hardball”.
Also I really resent the fact that “females” is in this statement. My mother played semi-pro hardball and she was as tough as guy baseball players, often tougher because of the shit she went through. Also, my sister had a chance to play semi-pro ball as well but xhose an Army career in its place. I know of no tougher individual than my sister - except my other sister.
“Hardball” is not just for guys in the US - and at every level of “hardball” below the NL/AL professional league there are women. There was a female pitcher in the minors in Colorado that almost made it to the “big leagues” a year or so back… and it will happen sooner or later.
Here is an article that everyone should read regarding baseball/softball in America.
12 Likes
Eiwynn- My apologies for the poor opinions regarding softball. As a fan of the sport and pitcher Cat Osterman in particular (anyone know any male major league pitchers who can pull off multiple no-hitters at the Olympic Games?- Cat has done that), I should really speak more inclusively regarding the sport. But the bad stuff came out more easily. 
Thanks for being there to contradict my unfair untrue statements. It’s appreciated.
Some more baseball terms explained-
Safe- This is what the Umpire calls when a runner makes it to a base safely in response to a disputed tagging attempt (ball and runner reach base close together, runner steals a base, other dispute). Again, the differences between Safe and Out calls are often controversial.
No-Hitter- a game in which no hits occur, i.e. the pitcher does a perfect job and only throws strikes or fouls.
Out of the Park- when a batter hits the ball so hard and fast that it flies out of the field boundaries and can’t be retrieved quickly. This usually means the runner can score an instant four base circuit (1 run) without being stopped by the defense team.
Bases Loaded- This is when a runner is on all three of the bases on the field. If the next batter at plate hits when this is the case, they can quickly decide the game by an out of the park hit that allows all four runners to score runs. They can also get struck out and quickly end an inning if the pitcher and their team coordinate fast enough to stop base stealers and tag multiple runners before they are safely on the next base in line.
Double Play- a series of pitches or passes of a baseball that tag out two runners. A triple play tags out three.
Relief Pitcher- a pitcher swapped in by the manager mid-game to allow the main pitcher some rest. Pitcher is regarded as the highest stress job in baseball, catcher is a close second. At least catchers get extra padded protection.
3 Likes
Has anyone figured out this game yet. It seems the RNG really messes up a lot of stuff. I have yet to find a solid combination of choices hat leads to my pitcher being anything other than mediocre.
What type of pitcher do you try to make?
1 Like
Would it help if I created a left handed pitcher? Since most batters are right handed that seems like it would be an advantage.
And does throwing a waste ball helps you?
1 Like
In real life, it helps, especially when beginning playing. In the game, I have not noticed a difference worth mentioning.
In the situations where you have the upper hand (two strike counts) or they have seen you throw your normal pitches a couple of times, yes.
I rather call the pitch a junk-pitch instead of a wasteball because it provides a lot of value in the right situations. If you are in a situation where you have thrown your best pitch twice and your secondary pitch as well, a junk-pitch can be thrown to “trick” the hitter - either by throwing it where the hitter can not hit it or throwing something the hitter obviously is not expecting.
The classic time you use such a pitch is when the count is 0 balls and 2 strikes. Sometimes the batter would guess you would throw your best pitch in an attempt to get him out asap, so because she was looking for another pitch, they would be slow to react to the pitch you actually throw.
A lot of good real-life pitchers are left-handed, including Cat Osterman. In the game… I still need to actually play. Maybe I should go do that before commenting further. 
@Eiwynn: When I discuss power and control, I think I’d start by asking “am I going to focus on the fastball as my favored pitch?” and then go “velocity or control?”
You pretty much summed up how to play velocity fastball. I’d just chime in and say that if you’re going for control, forget velocity. Never raise it, sacrifice it at every opportunity, and favor your off-speed pitches instead (if you’re going for the Junkballer achievement, this should go without saying). Velocity doesn’t count for breaking balls, but control does. Just remember that this is a harder way to play and you’ll walk more runners.
1 Like
Well the most effective I’ve found so far, as in this type of pitcher tends to get the most strikeouts, is the fastball pitcher focused on velocity and control. I put some points into fitness to try and pass the check to do a highlight double play with the bunt hitter who will have off the fast ball pitcher. But even picking every fitness choice before that even, I still only end up with 57% fitness so I’m not even sure if it’s possible to succeed at that option.
Other pitcher I’ve made are ones focused on control and learning the different types of pitches.
I’ve done one focused solely on control.
It also seems like the knuckleball pitch is hands down the best but you get it so late in the playthrough that you only get to use it for the last two seasons of your pitchers career at max.
2 Likes
Last three seasons, and those are the ones that count.
I didn’t want to mention knuckleball strategy because it’s a bit spoileriffic, but yes, once you get a knuckleball, all that matters is the knuckleball and control.
1 Like
How many season do you get to play anyway?
And does the fitness stat has anything to do with how long you play?
Just to expand on this a bit:
1: Velocity based pitches: Fastball and off-speed.
2: Control based pitches: Everything but the above
3: Knuckleball - Knuckleball has its own catagory because in real life it is one of the hardest pitches to master. I hav not experimented with it in this game yet, so I don’t have a grasp what the game mechanics do with it.
I haven’t experienced a “athletic” pitcher yet (fitness is this game’s mechanic for athletism) - thanks for sharing your experience because it sounds like an all-or nothing stat.
This is a shame because in reality good knuckleballers started with it early. The author was a Brave’s fan, so I’m surprised he did not take inspiration from Alanta’s pitchers in this respect.
This is a flaw of the game imo. A fastball/slider/changeup pitcher like a traditional Nolan Ryan or Clemens is shortshrifted with the way the story is written.
Of course, I have not tried the pure intimidator - I thought a fastball of 101 mph would give me 200+ strikeouts and at least 15 wins a season
Also, the bullpen experience was not really explored much.
2 Likes
You “play” 8 seasons but I feel like personally in many of the seasons, most the control is taken out of your hands for some of it.
6 Likes
It isn’t just that it’s one of the hardest pitches to master (and this goes back to the game not really focusing on the bullpen), coaches and catchers hate it - it’s a pain in the arse to catch for, and coaches don’t really trust a ball that unpredictable.
However, the game treats the knuckleball as a Secret Master Pitch.
1 Like