Finding Success with Our National Pastime

MLB 2K7 reproduces professional baseball so well, most of the strategy involved isn't videogame strategy, but baseball strategy. With that in mind, here is a series of tips and tricks comprised of equal parts sports tactics and gameplay tips. Keep them in mind and you'll find your time on the diamond a more enjoyable, and more successful, venture.

Contact Consistency
The urge to swing for the fences is one even professional ballplayers struggle with, and for gamers the desire can be even stronger. Unfortunately, power hitting is fraught with a lot of risk and little reward. Ninety percent of your swings should be contact swings, where you simply release the right stick, rather than pressing it up, and until you feel completely comfortable with the batting mechanic, it's best to leave power hitting alone entirely.

Dig, dig, dig!

Count Tactics
Batting strategy should mostly be informed by your count, and while situational subtleties can be wide and varied, there are a few basics that you should always keep in mind:

• Use Both Strikes: Only swing for the pitches you're looking for until you have two strikes. Consider your first two strikes freebies, and take advantage of them. If you're looking to crank a fastball, watch for it, and if you don't get what you're after, pass on it and hope for a ball.
• 2-0, 3-1 Power: The most likely time for the pitcher to serve you up a nice, fat fastball is when he is behind in the count, 2-0 or 3-1. If you want to take a free hack at knocking it out of the park, this is the time to do it.
• Behind in the Count: When you're staring at two strikes without three balls, it's time to expand your strike zone and swing conservatively. Scale back to only contact or defensive swings, and as long as the ball is close to the strike zone, take your hack at it. Bear in mind, though, that you're more likely to see a breaking ball when you have two strikes.

Set Your Feet
It's common to immediately want to throw the ball as soon as you field it, but unless you're flipping it to second to start a double play, wait until the fielder has his feet set under him. Then you can throw the ball with some heat on it. Take time to save time.

The Cutoff Man
Any time you throw the ball from the deep outfield, your chance of nailing the runner, especially at home, is increased by hitting the cutoff man first. Hold down the right bumper to hit the cutoff man instead of throwing after the runner. In addition, this will keep aggressive runners close to their bags out of respect for the cutoff man.

Managed Effort
A starting pitcher must manage their stamina so they can hopefully pitch for five or more innings with every start. With that in mind, don't maximize your effort by holding down the button with every pitch, or you'll wear your pitcher out.

Round the Horn.

Instead, choose strategically when to amp up a fastball or add that nasty break to a curve ball, such as when you're facing a two strike count. When you bring in a reliever, however, feel free to have them throw with everything they've got, especially if you only need them for an inning or so.

The Inside Edge
When spending points to research opposing players, keep the following two suggestions in mind:

• Pitcher: Scouting the opposing pitcher is useful for nearly every at-bat, while scouting opposing batters really only applies once every few innings. Unless you're facing a stacked lineup and a mediocre pitcher, scout the pitcher every time.
• Trust Yourself: If you're a baseball fanatic, you may already know that Ichiro will kill any ball low and inside and that Pujols can be caught on occasion with a high heater. With MLB 2K7 offering such an authentic experience, you can trust your own instincts and spend points on the players you don't know.

Batter's Eye Power
Anytime you successfully spot a ball's location using the Batter's Eye, consider it permission to crank a power swing, provided the situation calls for it. However, remember that while you know the end location of the ball as it crosses the plate, you don't know how it's going to get there, such as with fastball or a slider.

Slide Decisions
When sliding into a base, consider the angle from which the ball is thrown before deciding how to slide. If you're digging for second and the throw is coming from center field, you should slide to the inside of the bag, but if you're stealing third, slide to the outside edge to place you farthest from the catcher's throw.

Article by Ryan Treit