Major League Baseball® 2K5 is a full-featured baseball experience that covers every aspect of the game. Since pitching, hitting, and managing all received upgrades, it might be easy to miss how much baserunning has changed ... and how powerful a tool it can be if properly exploited. After all, getting men on base is only part of the battle—you have to bring them home if you ever expect to win.
Increase your lead in every possible way.
One-Touch Runner Control As your team's baserunning coach, the first thing you need to learn is how to give good advice. It's easy when there's no one on and you get a base hit, because you only have one active player to worry about. Use the left trigger to have the runner advance to the next base, use the right trigger to send him back, and hold him in place with the white button.
It's only when you already have men on base that things become interesting and require a bit more of your attention. When any base is occupied, the game shows you a picture-in-picture view of that base and the man on it. To control a single runner, push the button that corresponds to the base he's on. In other words, B for the guy on first, Y for second, X for third. Once you've chosen, use the triggers as normal to advance or recall the runner.
This all might sound pretty basic, but baserunning errors are the most common and frustrating mistakes that new players make, and they're also the quickest way to turn a potential run-scoring rally into absolutely nothing.
Slide for success.
Take the Lead, Make the Steal Leading can be dangerous if you push it too far, but the reward is truly worth the risk. Before or during the pitch, use the left trigger to increase your lead a few steps and the right trigger to move back to the base. If the pitcher tries to pick you off, slam the right trigger to dive back to the bag. Those extra few steps can make all the difference when you're trying to steal a base.
When you're ready to steal, you have two options. You can run just as the pitcher begins his stretch by selecting the runner and then tapping up once on the D-Pad. Using this method means you wait a bit longer before you break, but at least you're sure the pitcher's committed to throwing home. You can also go immediately by selecting the runner and then tapping up twice on the D-Pad. This will get you on your way more quickly, but it also gives the pitcher the chance to step off the mound and fire the ball to one of his fielders to catch you in a run-down.
Don't ever pass up the chance to confuse the other player. If you've got men on first and third, send the guy on first to second and then get ready to send the guy on third. If your opponent takes the bait and tries to throw out the guy at second, send the other guy home. It's almost always worth an out to put a run on the board, and once the play starts, you might just flummox the other guy so badly that he freezes (giving you second base for free) or commits an error (possibly giving you a free base, a free run, and/or free trash-talking rights for the rest of the inning).
Triple steal or triple play? Your skills decide.
Slide, Charlie Brown, Slide! Thanks to the new Maximum Sliding™ mechanic, you have three different choices when it comes to sliding. You can go in feet-first by flicking the right thumbstick away from the base, you can go in headfirst by flicking it toward the base, and you can go wide by flicking it perpendicular to the base line. The incoming throw and the fielder's position will tell you whether to go in head- or feet-first, but if you can see it's going to be close and the baseman's blocking your path, try to go wide and reach around him to touch the base without getting tagged.
Major League Baseball 2K5 has plenty of on-field action, and some of the most intense fun is found on the base lines. It takes skill and practice to move runners from scoring position to home plate, but once you master the basics, you're on your way to the Big Show.
