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PLAYER MODE In Player Mode, you have control over all managerial decisions. You also have complete strategic control over each individual pitch.
Relief PitchersAs the game progresses, your starting pitcher will become tired. A pitcher can generally throw a number of pitches equal to his Endurance rating before noticeably tiring. After that point, the pitcher might still be strong, or he might struggle. Two clues to watch carefully are his command (as judged by how accurate he his with his pitches) and his velocity (which will drop as he tires). To replace your pitcher with a relief pitcher, click your current pitcher to open the Relief Pitcher Dialog and swap in a reliever. Baseball Mogul does not require that you “warm up” pitchers in the bullpen. Defensive SubstitutionsUsing the Lineup list at the right of the Play-By-Play Screen, you can click on the name of any of your current defenders in order to open the Defensive Substitutions Dialog that lets you replace any current fielder. Pinch Hitters and Pinch RunnersIn the Field Diagram in the lower left of the screen, click on the name of a current batter or runner to open the Pinch Hitter/Runner Dialog and choose a substitute. Offensive PlaysWhen your team is batting, you can choose an offensive play from the dropdown list in the lower-right corner of the Batter Display. This play will remain in effect until you change it, or until the game situation changes (such as after an at-bat or a stolen base). Swing Away: The default offensive play. The batter waits for a good pitch to hit. The runners take a normal lead and don’t attempt to steal. Bunt For Hit: The batter bunts down the first or third base line in attempt to get a hit. Best used with excellent bunters who are also fast. Sacrifice Bunt: The batter waits for a good pitch to bunt. The runners try to advance to the next base, but only after the ball is bunted. Safety Squeeze: An attempt to bunt the runner home from third. As with a sacrifice, the runner breaks from third only after the batter lays down the bunt. Suicide Squeeze: The runner from third breaks for home as the pitch is delivered. The batter tries to bunt it whether or not it is a strike. If the batter misses, the runner is frequently tagged out at home. Hit and Run: The runner (or runners) go with the pitch and the batter swings at the pitch trying to put it in play. If the batter misses, the runner is essentially trying to steal and can be thrown out. Steal Second (or Steal Third): The batter takes the pitch and the runner tries to steal the next base. Delayed Steal: A surprise attempt to steal second base while catching the middle infielders off-guard. If this play is overused, it will quickly become less effective. Delayed Double Steal: Only possible with men on first and third, the runner on first attempts a normal steal of second base. The runner on third only commits to stealing home if the catcher throws to the second base. Run and Hit: The runner (or runners) try to steal. If the pitch is a good pitch to hit, the batter swings. Otherwise, he lets it go, leaving the runner to attempt to steal the base. Sacrifice Fly: As “Swing Away”, except the batter is trying to hit a fly ball to the outfield that will allow the runner on third to tag up and score. With this conservative approach, the batter is less likely to get a hit or a home run. Hit to Right Side: The batter tries to hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield, allowing a runner on second base to advance to third. It is possible to get a hit through the infield with this strategy, but it is less likely than when swinging away. Defensive AlignmentsAs the pitching team, you have three choices for positioning your fielders on each pitch: Straight Away: Normal defensive positioning. (With a runner on first, the infielders will automatically hold the runner and “cheat” into “double play position” if there are less than two outs). Guard the Lines: The first baseman, third baseman, left fielder and right fielder will play closer to the foul lines than usual. This will decrease the number of doubles allowed down the lines, but increase the number of singles allowed to the middle of the field. Infield In: The infielders move in, allowing them to more easily throw out the runner on third as he heads for home on a ground ball. The downside is that more hits will go through the infield. First Base In: The first baseman plays in on the grass, but the rest of the infield plays at normal depth. Useful for defending against the bunt. Increases the chance of a ground ball getting past the first baseman. Third Base In: The third baseman plays in on the grass, but the rest of the infield plays at normal depth. Useful for defending against the bunt. Increases the chance of a ground ball getting past the third baseman. Corners In: Both the first baseman and third baseman play in on the grass. Outfield In: The outfielders move in, decreasing the chance of a ball dropping in for a single, but decreasing the ability to catch a deep fly ball. This is generally only used with less than two outs and the potential winning run on third base, when a deep fly out would lose the game anyway. Intentional Walk: To issue an intentional walk, select this option then click the 'Issue Walk' button on the Batter/Pitcher interface. Selecting a PitchAs the pitcher, you choose which pitch to throw and then click on the screen where you wish to aim the pitch. Whether your pitcher hits the location you specify depends on:
Which pitch you should choose depends on your individual pitcher’s ratings for each pitch, the batter’s abilities, and game situation, and the current count. Fastballs are the easiest pitches to “locate”, or control, meaning that a fastball gives you the highest chance of hitting the spot you aim for. At the other end of the spectrum, curve balls are the most difficult pitches to throw for strikes, or to any specific location. But curves are also the hardest pitches to hit cleanly, unless the batter is expecting a curve. Sliders and changeups fall in the middle of the spectrum, with more accuracy than a curve and less than a fastball. When the pitcher is “ahead” in the count (when there are more strikes than balls), it can be advantageous to throw a breaking pitch such as a curve or slider, low in the strike zone or even “off the plate” (outside the strike zone). Batters with lower eye ratings often chase bad pitches, leading to poorly hit balls or strikeouts. By contrast, when the pitcher is “behind” in the count (more balls than strikes), it is often necessary to throw a fastball in order to maximize your chance of throwing a strike. The downside of this strategy is that the computer opponent will often be “sitting on” on a fastball in hitter’s counts (such as 2-0 or 3-1).
Guessing a PitchAs the batter, you can choose to guess (or “sit on”) a specific pitch in a certain location. You can also choose not to guess (trying to stay prepared for all types of pitches). When you do guess a pitch, you tell the batter to be more aggressive: to look for that type of pitch over a certain part of the plate, and try to hit it hard. If you guess the right pitch but in the wrong location, the batter might still be able to put a good swing on it, or he may decide to take the pitch and wait for a better pitch. If you guess the wrong pitch, it is likely that the batter will swing and miss. Because of the way a batter shifts his weight when guessing a location, it is more important to guess whether the pitch will be inside or outside than whether it will be high or low. Guessing pitches is usually the most successful in a hitter's count, when you expect the pitcher to throw his fastball for a strike. In contrast, guessing pitches with two strikes is risky because of the possibility of guessing incorrectly and striking out. A full count presents an interesting situation. Pitchers with mediocre control will often bring the fastball, while pitcher’s with better command might try to outsmart you with a breaking pitch that they think they can throw for a strike. Pitch TypesBaseball Mogul includes thousands of pitchers from the 19th century to the current season, and a proprietary database cataloguing their skills, velocity, delivery and the individual pitches they threw. This includes over 30 different pitches ranging from Christy Mathewson’s famous “fadeaway” to Pedro Martinez’ devastating “circle change”. A summary of these pitches is shown here, ranked from the easiest to control (fastball) to the most difficult (knuckleball).
For more information about the characteristics and history of these pitches, visit www.sportsmogul.com/pitches. "Setting Up" the HitterAn important pitching skill is learning how to use your specific arsenal of pitches to "set up" the hitter to strike out or hit the ball weakly. This is primarily by alternating fastballs with breaking balls and off-speed pitches. After the batter sees a certain pitch at a certain speed and "eye-level" (e.g. a high fastball), they will have a harder time making good contact with a different pitch (e.g. a curve ball, low and away). Fastballs are generally most effective high and inside, where they "jam" a batter trying to extend his arms and drive the ball. As a right-handed pitcher against a right-handed batter (or a lefty pitching to a lefty), curve balls and sliders can be most effective when thrown low and away. Because these breaking pitches curve down and away from right-handed hitters, they will have difficulty distinguishing inside fastballs from breaking balls away. Against left-handed batters, such breaking pitches are less effective because the batter will have an easier time judging the pitch as it approaches. For this reason, an off-speed pitch such as a changeup or splitter can more useful against lefties. The caveat for these hints is that the batter may be following the same line of thinking, and may be sitting on exactly the pitch you choose to throw. So use these guidelines, but mix it up, and play to the strengths of each pitcher -- and the weaknesses of each batter.
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