============================================================================== MLB '07:THE SHOW Fielder Career Mode FAQ(Version 2.0; May 1,'07) Written by: Aj_the_one ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.Version History B.Introduction C.Legal Stuff D.Creating A Fielder E.Fielding Positions F.Ratings G.Starting your Career G1.Spring Training H.Regular Season and Playoffs H1.Schedule H2.Around the League HH1.Standings HH2.Statistics HH3.Team Rankings HH4.Who's Hot HH5.League Roundup HH6.League Leaders HH7.Accolades H3.Player Management I.Career Home Menu I1.Locker Room I2.Contract I3.Interactions I4.Training J.Off-Season K.Retirement L.Batting/Fielding Tips M.Fielder Career Progress N.The Art of Base Stealing O.The Art of Home Run Hitting P.The Art of Defense Q.Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.Version History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0- FAQ started Version 1.2- Added some new career interactions and also updated fielder career progress. Version 1.3- Updated career progress Version 1.4- Updated Career Progess and added another Tip Version 1.5- Updated career progress and added another tip Version 1.7- Updated career progress and added a new section on stealing bases Version 1.8- Updated career progress and updated section on stealing bases Version 1.9- Added new section for hitting Home Runs 6/16/07- Updated career progress and added to Art of Home Run Hitting for All-Star and Hall Of Fame levels. 7/7/07- Updated career progress, added a new tip and updated Art of Defense section for all positions. 7/23/07- Updated career progress. 7/27/07- Updated Career progress 7/31/07- Updated Career Progress ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ B.Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yeah Man!!! Baseball season is here(although my Yankees are in last place right now). Since I have gotten a couple of requests for a fielder FAQ and I already have had my Starter go to the Hall of Fame(and my closer is probably another 2 seasons away and he's only 21 now) I figured why not do a batter FAQ? It took me some time to get together everything I would need to write the FAQ and now it's complete... so enjoy!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ C.Legal Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site except for www.gamefaqs.com and www.ign.com or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Copyright 2007 Armand Sellers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D.Creating a Fielder ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is where you will make your future Hall Of Famer(Hopefully). Much like the pitcher section you choose your batters age, height weight, number, position, handedness, batting stance and ratings. Most of the changes are cosmetic with the exception of your position and your ratings. Since these are all cosmetic I have no suggestions except for going with what you like. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E.Fielding Positions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As you all should know there are 8 positions that can be played and as such that you can choose from. I will give a brief description of each position and I what you should expect in that position. IMPORTANT!!! I didn't add any points to plate discipline because I will be controlling my batter and I can choose whether to swing at a pitch or not. Also with all positions I prefer to have speedy contact hitters. Catcher His main job is to call the pitches that the pitcher should throw then actually catch pitches thrown. In addition to this he also has to catch weak fly balls behind the plate and also throw out baserunners trying to steal. Generally aren't fast but need to be durable. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power(Whichever you prefer, I like contact hitters)=maxed out, Arm strength/accuracy=20 points,Durability=20 points. 1st Baseman He presides over the other "hot corner". Most of your throws in the game will come to your 1st baseman to get outs. In addition to this he also will keep runners in check or will play the foul line to spear hard line drives. Another position which doesn't require much speed but great reaction time. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power(Once again by personal preference)=maxed out, Durability=20, Fielding Ablility=10, Reaction=20 2nd Baseman He will be busy throughout the course of the game because he will catch alot of the balls thrown to second base and he is also responsible for guarding the middle of the field(shared with the Shortstop). As a result of this he will turn alot of Double plays and should have good speed and reaction time and an accurate arm. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power(Do I really need to mention it again?)= maxed out, Speed=20, Fielding Ablility=10, Reaction=10, Arm Strength/accuracy =20 Shortstop Like the second baseman he also has a similiar position only from the other side of the 2nd baseman(from the catchers perspective the left side of the field). He also will chase down shallow fly balls and hits to the short outfield in addition to turning double plays. Like the 2nd Baseman, speed and reaction are important as is arm strength so the ball can get across the field to 1st base faster. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power= Maxed out, Speed=Maxed out Fielding Ablility=10, Reaction=15, Arm Strength/accuracy=10 3rd Baseman He presides over the "Hot Corner" so called because most Right Handed hitters will pull the ball hard to this area. He must also catch fly balls in fair and foul territory and will also throw to second to start double plays. Since balls will frequently be hit hard at him he should have a good amount of reaction to jump on bunts and also a strong arm so throws can get to 1st base faster. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power= Maxed out, Speed=20, Fielding Ablility= 15,Reaction=10, Arm Strength=15 Arm Accuracy=15 Left Fielder As the corner infielder closest to the plate he will back the 3rd baseman in making plays home in addition to fielding both fair and foul balls. Generally doesn't need a strong arm but is always helpful. Should have good fielding ability and also a fair amount of speed. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power= Maxed out, Speed=20, Fielding Ability=10 Reaction=5, Arm Strength/accuracy=25/20 Center Fielder Is the "captain" of the outfield and is responsible for covering the most ground to get ot fly balls and also coordinating with other outfielders to avoid collisions. Since he hase the most ground to cover he should possess a great amount of speed and fielding ability and good reaction time also. Arm strength normally isn't paramount but as with all other positions, it helps alot. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power= Maxed out, Speed=Maxed out, Fielding Ablility=Maxed out, Reaction=20, Arm Strength/accuracy=15/10 Right Fielder As the other corner outfielder he will back up the 1st baseman on balls in his direction. Also has alot of ground to cover so he should be reasonably fast and should have a very strong arm because he is farthest from 3rd base and good fielding ablility so he can actually catch the ball. Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power= Maxed out, Speed=20, Fielding Ability=10 Reaction=5, Arm Strength/accuracy=25/20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ F.Ratings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now this is the meat and potatoes of your player. This is where you will develop his ratings strarting out. Needless to say this is extremely important because how your player starts off is crucial to getting a head start on being the best player you can be. I will outline each rating and what position I think it is crucial for(You can look above at the fielding section for a little guideline). IMPORTANT!!!The easiest way to gain training points is to drive in alot of runs and also get some hits in pressure situations. Also the most amount of points that you can get in a game is 100. CONTACT(Left and Right handed)- As it's name implies this rating determines how easy it is for you to make good contact with the ball. If this rating is low you could time your swing perfectly and still not get a good hit. This will also make it easier for you to hit to all fields. IMPORTANT- All postions Starting Point- Maxed out POWER(Left and Right Handed)- Like contact except this determines how hard you can hit the ball. If your power rating is high then you will find it easier to hit homeruns and hard line drives. IMPORTANT- 1st/3rd Base,Right/Left Outfielders Starting Point- If you are playing one of the positions above then maxed out if not leave it alone. The points can be spent elsewhere. BATTING CLUTCH- This rating is basically a test of your mettle or how you perform in pressure situations(Runner in scoring position, game on the line). This is important but not as important as some other ratings which are harder to raise. IMPORTANT- All positions Starting Point- Leave it alone BUNTING ABILITY- This determines how well you can lay down a bunt. This is kind of important because if you lay down a good bunt it's easy for you to get on base. If your fast it becomes even easier. IMPORTANT- All positions(I guess) Starting Point- Leave it alone DRAG BUNTING- This is the same as bunt only it is layed down while the pitch is in motion and is meant to fool the infielders. Important- All positions(I guess) Starting Point- LIA PLATE VISION- This determines how much of the plate you can basically see or cover with a swing. The better this stat becomes wider the narrower the strike zone becomes and the eaiser it is for you to see pitches and get hits. Vlad's plate vision is crazy(Hence the reason why he can knock a pitch that's close to the dirt out of the park. IMPORTANT- All positions Starting Point- LIA PLATE DISCIPLINE- This determines how patient you batter is at the plate. Obviously this rating doesn't matter if you are controlling your player because his discipline is determined by you(you choose what to swing at).If you are simulating games then this rating becomes important but if not don't bother. IMPORTANT- None(If you are controlling the player) Starting Point- LIA BASE RUNNING ABILITY- This detemrines how well your player rounds the bases. Basically this is a measure of he turns back and forth(say if he's running to second base but has to retreat to first). It also measures how fast you take off when trying a steal attempt. IMPORTANT- Fast players Starting Point- LIA(Won't be more important than speed or Batting) BASE RUNNING AGGRESIVENESS- This is a measure of how aggresive you player is rounding the bases. Like plate discipline this rating doesn't matter if you are controlling the player because you choose how aggressive you are when you want to steal a base. IMPORTANT- None(You control your player) Starting Point- LIA DURABILITY- This rating determines how many games you can play back to back and how often you get injured. Players with great durability have long seasons and careers which should be what you are shooting for. If your durability is low you won't play in many back to back games because you'll be too tired and if you can't play then you can't get any points.; IMPORTANT- All Positions Starting Point- LIA SPEED- As it's name implies it's how fast your player is in the field and on the base paths. Depending on the position you would want to have a fast player because that makes it easier to get to balls and turn plays. IMPORTANT- 2nd Base/Shortstop, Center Fielder Starting Point- For the positions above max them out. For all other positions 10 or 15 points depending on if you feel you will need the speed(1st Base and Catcher don't need this stat touched at all. ARM STRENGTH- This rating determines how strong you player throws the ball in the field. This is crucial for Catchers and Corner Outfielders because they will almost always be in a position to catch a runner(either stealing base or trying to tag from 3rd base). IMPORTANT- All positions Starting Point- If you are a Corner outfielder or Catcher move this 25 points, for everyone else 10 or 15. ARM ACCURACY- This determines how accurate your throws are. This should be proportionate to you Strength because a ball thrown hard will no accuracy will normally do more harm then good. IMPORTANT- All positions Starting Point- 15-20 points since you wouldn't want your infielders to throw wild balls and you would want your outfielder to be able to catch someone napping with a powerful and accurate throw. REACTION TIME- This determines how fast your player reacts when the ball is in play. This important for everyone because the faster you react to the ball the higher the chance you will get an out. IMPORTANT- All positions Starting Point- 10-15 points as the starting reaction time is normally good enough once you add 10 or 15 to it. FIELDING ABILITY- This determines how well you layer fields the ball and how often he will make an error. As a result of this you should want all your player to have good fielding ability especially the 1st baseman because that's where most of your throws in a game will go to. IMPORTANT- ALL Positions Starting Point- 10-20 points depending on the position. I went with 10 points cause I thought my player wouldn't make too many fielding errors(he's a 2nd baseman). BLOCKING ABILITY- This determines how well you catcher can block a wild pitch from rolling to the back stop and out of his reach. Important for catchers because this will cover up some of the mistake your pitcher will make. IMPORTANT- Catchers Starting Point- LIA The starting point for catchers is fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.Starting your Career ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once you have finished making you pitcher you will be prompted to select what team you want to go. Depending on what position you chose to play, your ideal team will differ. If you want to spend some time in the minors then I would recommend you go the Yankees or any team that is strong at your position. The reason for this is that during spring training you will be playing the MLB Team and you play almost eveyrday to get some points before the regular season starts. G1.Spring Training You will only have the opportunity to do spring training in your first year. There are ways to get around this limit though. Whenever your contract is up decline the offer from the teams and choose to go into the season without a team. You will get the chance to pick what team you want to play for then you will be able to do spring training all over again. Your goal in spring training is to do good enough to make the team(You will never make the MLB team from spring training. You will always start in the minors). This is good because you get to play with the Big Boys and get alot of training points to improve your fielder. Just focus on getting your hits and HR's and you'll do fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ H.Regular Season and Playoffs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once spring training is done you will enter the regular season and a number of menu options available for you to cycle through. I will give a synopsis of the options and also go into depth a little bit. I'm going to assume that everyone who is playing this game knows how the regular season progresses so I'm not going to explain that in this section. H1.Schedule As it's name implies this is where you see your teams schedule and where you have to go to play your games. The greatest feature of THE SHOW is the ability to simulate innings and games. If you want to advance to your next game you would simply hit X and then hit the option that says sim to next appearance. The game will simulate all other games until you the one you are playing in. This will allow you to progress through your career alot faster than if you had to play every single game. H2.Around the League This is basically your stats central. If it's a stat it can be found in this menu. I will break this down section by section to make it easier to read and more comprehensive. HH1.Standings This is where you come to check the standings in the league. You can see what your overall record is, How many runs your team has scored, Runs given up, Winning Streak,record of last 10 games played,Record against division, Home record,Away record, Day record and Night Record. Yeah I know it's a lot of stats and you probably won't look at them through most of the season. HH2.Statistics In this screen you can see the individual statistics for the entire league, broken down team by team. There is a very comprehensive list of stats and if I listed them all this section would be alot longer so I am going to name the primary ones which are:Games Played,At-Bats,Batting Avg,Hits,Runs scored, doubles,triples,homeruns,Runs Batted In,Stolen Bases,Times Caught Stealing, stolen base percentage,Base on Balls, Strikeouts,Slugging Percentage, and On-Base Percentage.For the pitchers it is:Games Played,Wins,Losses,Earned Run Average,Games Started,Complete Games,Shutouts,Saves,Blown Saves,Innings pitched,Hits allowed,Runs,Earned Runs,HomeRuns,Bases on balls and Strikeouts. HH3.Team Rankings In this screen you can see what your team is ranked in every offensive and defensive category an also see the top the three players on your team in that category. HH4.Who's Hot Here is where you can see who's hot in the league or who's been on a tear in the past month. This is useful for seeing who you should avoid when you play a particular team. HH5.League Roundup This is where you can monitor all the transactions in the league. Signings, trades, releases everything involving the movement of players either from the DL or to another team or even moving up and down from the minors. HH6.League Leaders Here is where you can see who is leading the league in a good portion of the statistics that were listed above. If you are a stat nut(as most of us are) then you will spend alot of time in this menu option looking at and glossing over your stats. HH7.Accolades It is in this menu screen that you see who the front runners are for the yearly awards and also look at the MLB single-season and career records in addition to being anle to look at the list of all the players inducted into the Hall Of Fame. You can also see where everybody is in terms of the All-Star voting. Depending on how good your numbers are you will spend some time in the awards and the All-Star voting sections. H3.Player Management In this screen you see your team's batting order and pitching rotation but since your a player not a manager you can't mess with any of the lineups or rotations. This means you have to rely on the manager putting you in the game which can be very frustrating. By pressing O you can see your player card which has your information on it such as your stats for the current season and the one before it,all of your ratings, your contract info and your scouting report which can be interesting to read. This is where you can see where you measure up with the rest of the league. The scouting report tells you about your player. It's also interesting to see what they are saying about you as a player.Since you can't edit the rosters the only reason for you coming here is to see how much better or worse you are than your teammates which can affect your playing time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I.Career Home Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I decided to dedicate a whole section to this area of the game because it has some really important options that need to be discussed in depth so everybody can have a good understanding of how they work. As I will break this up into sections for ease of reading. I1.Locker Room In this section you will see all of your mail from your teammates and manager. This stuff really isn't important enough to read but if you want to read you can feel free to do so. When you hit R1 it brings up your list of PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS throughout your career. Just about everything major that you do in your career will show up here from the awards you've won to records you've broken and even when you got called up or sent down from the minors. In place of the status bar that showed how far along you were, they simply use markers (Rookie, Veteran, All-Star and Hall of Fame). Also they have a bar that shows your HOF potential. The more achievements you get and better you do in the season the fast the meter will rise. Once it reaches a certain level you DON'T have to change the difficulty level but the game feels your good enough to step it up to the next level. If you hit R1 from the achievements screen it will bring up your career stats. These are your complete stats from the majors and minors. If you want to see how you did in a season, look no further than this screen. It will show you everything you did from the start of your career. I2.Contract This screen shows you your contract, your yearly salary, how many years you have remaining with that contract, whatever contract options you have, and a year by year breakdown of how much money you are slated to make for the length of your contract. Hitting R1 from this screen brings you to a screen with your yearly goals that you should try to accomplish. The goals differ year after year and you get training hours for every goal you complete. This screen is useful only if you like seeing how much money you are making or what goals you haven't accomplished. Also I should poitn out that they added career graphs also to track your numbers through the years. I3.Interactions For this year, the people at SCEA decided to do away with the old system of interaction options and replaced it with situational interactions. At any given time the interaction options will change. POSITION CHANGE-"Maybe you feel you'd do better at a new position, let your manager know". Reaction- You first need to choose the position you want to change to and when you hit X the manager will accept or reject your request. LINEUP CHANGE-"Tired of batting in the bottom half. Ask your manager to move you up in the lineup" Reaction- If succesful he will send you message telling you he has decided to move you further in the lineup. If not he will tell you the player that is there now is hitting or he will say your not playing good enough. PLAYING TIME-"Inform your manager that you're not happy with you playing time and would like a start" Reaction- If succesful he will tell you that he's decided to give you a shot and will also send you a message telling you. If not he will say you haven't earned or that he was sitting you on the bench for a reason. RETIRE-"Retire from major league baseball and ride off into the sunset like a true professional." Reaction- Retiring will allow you to look at your plaque with a statement of how you did in the league. You will be able to look at your numbers one last time but you won't be able to play with your player anymore and you will also have to start another career mode. I4.Training Okay!! This is where you will spend most of your time in your career because it is here where you will make your pitcher better by using the training hours that you accumlate through completing the in-game tasks. This system has been also been changed for this year's game. Instead of each stat being trained on by itself, there are workouts that you can do to train mulitple stats. IMPORTANT!!! It helps if your team actually wins the game that you are playing in. I went 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI in a win and I got 100 points I went 3-5 with a HR in another game which we lost and I only got 60 points. Batting Cages vs. RHP- "Fine tune your hitting skills in the cage". Primary Attributes- Contact R, Plate Vision Secondary Attributes- Plate Discipline, Power R Batting Cages vs. LHP- "Hit off southpaws in the batting cage" Primary Attributes- Contact L, Plate Vision Secondary Attributes- Plate Discipline, Power L Batting Coach- "Work with your coach to improve your swing" Primary Attributes- Plate Discipline, Clutch Seconday Attributes- Contact R/L, Plate Vision Bunting Drills- "Learn to bunt with presice accuracy" Primary Attributes- Bunting Ability Seconday Attributes- Plate Vision Drag Bunting- "Learn how to bunt for hits consistently" Primary Attributes- Drag Bunting Seconday Attributes- Speed Long Distance Running- "Distance running improves stamina and durablity" Primary Attributes- Durability Seconday Attributes- None Sprints- "Sprints will help you improve your speed" Primary Attributes- Base Running Ability, Speed Seconday Attributes- Base Running Aggressiveness Basse Running Drills- "Improve your skills on the base paths" Primary Attributes- Base Running Aggressiveness Seconday Attributes- Base Running Ability Stretching- "Keep yourself limber and loose to avoid injuries" Primary Attirbutes- Durablity Secondary Attributes- Reaction Time, Fielding Ablity, Blocking Ability Weight Room- "Beef up your power by hitting the weight room" Primary Attributes- Power L/R Seconday Attributes- Speed, Reaction Time Infield Drills- "Improve your fielding skills" Primary Attributes- Fielding Ablility, Throwing Accuracy Seconday Attributes- Reaction Time Shagging Fly Balls- "Learn to take better routes to the ball" Primary Attributes- Fielding Ability, Reaction Time Seconday Attributes- Arm Strength, Arm Accuracy Long Toss- "Long toss will improve your arm strength" Primary Attributes- Arm Strength Seconday Attributes- Arm Accuracy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ J.Off-Season ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For all the stuff you have to do during the season you would the off-season would be worse right? Well you'd be wrong you have 4 options to look at in the off-season menu which are Retirements,Hall of Fame inductees,Career progression and end off-season. There really isn't anything to do except look at a numerical representation of how much better you got. Outside of that just continue on to end off-season and start the next year. If you are in a contract year then you will have the option of resigning with your old team or accepting a contract from a new team. Regardless of what you do, you can get alot more then what they are offering(depending on how good your player is). Make sure that you save your game before you go into the off season so when you negotiate your contract you can see how much money you can get out of them. This area has remained unchanged from last year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K.Retirement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you choose the retirement option in the Career Home menu your manager will Will give you a message basically supporting your decision to retire. After that message you will see your plaque which will have a paragraph basically outlining how great or poor you were in your career. IMPORTANT!!!In order for you to get into the Hall Of Fame it doesn't matter how filled up your bar is, your status symbol must Hall Of Fame instead of All-Star. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ L.Hitting/Fielding Tips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section I have decided to give you some tips that I have found helpful in my career. Tip#1- WAIT FOR YOUR PITCH!!!I can't stress how important this is in terms of getting hits and HR's. Wait for a pitch that you are comfortable with hitting. For me it's pitches that come on the inside. I wait until the pitch is thrown to that location then I jump on the pitch. Everybody has different hitting styles and zones so stick with your favorite and most comfortable zone and you will rack up the hits!! Tip#2- BE PATIENT AT THE PLATE!!! This is actually an extension from the first tip but equally as important. Everytime I have went into a hitting slump this was the cure. Guess your favorite pitch and location and wait for the pitcher to throw either(Depending on the zone and the pitch you will guess both right at the same time)to your location or your pitch. This gives you wider plate coverage and makes it easier to hit the ball. Tip#3- ON INSIDE PITCHES PULL THE BALL!!!Since the ball is already coming toward you, use the momentum to launch the ball out of the park or at least get a hit. This is the easiest way to hit a Home run especially when swinging with Power. Tip#4- LAY DOWN A DRAG BUNT TO GET EASY HITS!!!I should note that this only works with a VERY HIGH speed rating. I have done this at least 50 times and haven't gotten caught yet. And my drag bunting rating is 0. If you need to continue a hit streak or want to start one, try to lay down the bunt on your 1st AB. Tip#5- THIS MIGHT NOT WORK FOR EVERYBODY!!!GUESS THE PITCH DIRECTION OPPOSITE OF WHERE YOU ARE COMFORTABLE HITTING THE BALL!Since I see the ball better when it is moving away from my batter(and he's a switch hitter) I guess to the inside when batting against a RHP and guess to the outside against a LHP. I basically do this to cover my plate vision. If I guess right then I see where the pitch is going. If i'm wrong I know the pitch isn't coming inside and I can adjust my swing. Tip#6- TRY TO GET HITTING STREAKS!!!Although most of you have already been trying to do this, TRY HARDER!!! because the game rewards you handsomely for lengthy hitting streaks. I get 100 points every game even I get a base hit. You really start to see the difference once you get to 10 games. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ M.Fielder Career Progress ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Like I did with my pitcher FAQ I am going to chart my own player progress throughout his career and list the results here. Throws/Bats-Right/Switch Position-2nd base/Infielder Batting Stance- Ken Griffey Jr. Contact L/R-Max Power L/R-Max Speed-Max Fielding Ability-5 points All Others-None Being that I wanted to spend a year in the minors I chose to go to my favorite team, The Yankees. March- I had a pretty good month considering what my ratings were, I had 14 hits 4 of which were HR's. Also I put the difficulty level on Veteran because I like being able to use the Left Analog to direct where my hits go and also because I like haveing the option of taking a contact swing or a power swing. Didn't spend any points this month. April- Being that I ahd a god spring I got a 2 year contract offer to join AAA which I accepted. I started out batting 4th and it me some justice too as I had 41 hits in 110 at-bats for a .373 average. I also had 4 HR's, 23 RBI and 14 runs scored with 11 doubles and 25K's. Minors G=25 Avg=.373 H=41 AB=110 HR=4 RBI=23 R=14 2B=11 OBP=.395 A=66 PO=36 E=1 Total Points-2050 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Coach=200 points Stretching-150 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-100 points Long Toss-100 points As you can see from the workouts that I chose I am trying to do training that targets multiple ratings at once so I can work on everything, which will keep them from declining. May- It was a good month for the wrong reason. I got called up to the majors (which I didn't want to happen so early) and didn't even start. I got a couple of games in but didn't get the production that I wanted. G=16 Avg=.333 H=16 AB=48 HR=2 RBI=8 R=6 2B=1 OBP=.327 A=35 PO=8 E=1 K=6 Total Points-1660 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach=100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-260 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points June- This month was actually worse than last month when I was called up but my numbers were okay I think. G=13 Avg=.333 H=13 AB=39 HR=2 RBI=6 R=4 2B=0 OBP=.327 A=26 PO=19 E=1 K=8 Total Points-2050 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach=100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-240 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points July- Apparently my performance was good enough for the manager to make me a everyday starter at 2nd base. But this didn't last long because 4 days later I thankfully got sent back down to the minors. After a slow start before the All-Star game I exploded hitting 3 HR's and 13 RBI and getting 31 hits in the month. Total stats for Minors G=48 Avg=.364 H=31 AB=198 HR=7 RBI=38 R=24 2B=17 OBP=.392 A=128 PO=66 E=2 Total Points-1800 points Batting Cages(RHP)-300 points Batting Coach-395 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-305 points Shag Fly Balls-100 August- As expected I got called back up to the Yankees because I had such a good month. I didn't want to get called up but whatever. G=47 Avg=.345 H=51 AB=148 HR=7 RBI=22 R=18 2B=5 OBP=.349 A=95 PO=50 E=2 K=30 Total Points-1230 points Batting Cages(RHP)-0 points Batting Coach-200 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-230 points Shag Fly Balls-100 September- This was a bad month in terms of playing time since we were in the hunt to get into the playoffs. G=10 Avg=.364 H=8 AB=23 HR=2 RBI=11 R=3 2B=1 OBP=.349 A=18 PO=11 E=2 K=3 SB=3 Total Points- 980 points Batting Cages(RHP)-00 points Batting Coach-180 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room- 100 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points October- Playoff time although we got in as a wild card. Divisional Series-vs. Chicago White Sox Game 1- Wang vs. Contreras(Win 5-4) AB=3 H=0 K=1 Game 2- Mussina vs. Vasquez(Loss 4-1) AB=4 H=0 K=2 SB=1 Game 3- Igawa vs. Garland(Loss 21-3) AB=4 H=2 HR=1 RBI=1 Game 4- Pettite vs. Ullman(Win 4-3) AB=3 H=1 CS=1 Game 5- Rasner vs. Floyd(Win 6-2) AB=3 H=2 R=2 2B=1 SB=1 E=1 Championship Series- vs. Cleveland Indians Game 1- Wang vs. Sowers(Win 5-1) AB=4 H=4 RBI=3 R=1 Game 2- Mussina vs. Sabathia(Win 7-1) AB=4 H=2 RBI=1 R=1 Game 3- Igawa vs. Westbrook(Loss 3-2) AB=3 H=1 K=1 Game 4- Pettite vs. Lee(Win 4-1) AB=2 H=2 BB=1 Game 5- Karstens vs. Byrd(Loss 4-1) DNP Game 6- Farnsworth vs. Foulke(Loss 7-6) AB=4 H=3 HR=1 RBI=1 Game 7- Mussina vs. Sabathia(Win 4-3) AB=3 H=1 World Series- vs. Colorado Rockies Game 1- Igawa vs. Lawson(Win 5-4) AB=4 H=2 SB=1 Game 2- Pettite vs. Cook(Win 9-2) DNP Game 3- Rasner vs. Kim(Loss 8-7) DNP Game 4- Wang vs. Hirsch(Loss 14-12) DNP Game 5- Mussina vs. Fogg(Win 2-1) DNP Game 6- Igawa vs. Hirsch(Win 9-5) DNP Playoff stats G=12 AB=41 AVG=.488 H=20 R=6 2B=1 HR=2 RBI=6 SB=3 BB=1 K=3 OBP=.500 A=49 PO=19 E=2 As you can see I got benched for the world series and didn't play but I did make my impact felt though batting .488 Player Progression(Season 1) Overall- +9 Contact L/R- +2/6 Power L/R- +8/9 Clutch- +17 Durability- +10 Vision- +15 Disc- +20 Speed- +5 Fielding- +5 Arm Strength- +6 Arm Accuracy- +4 Reaction- +11 I exercised my option with Yankees and decided to come back. I started in AAA. I thought I would have been in the majors but I know i'll get called up next month. Regular Season(2nd Year) April- Started out in AAA and had an excellent month hitting 7 HR's and batting .368. Minors stats G=20 AB=68 AVG=.368 H=25 R=11 2B=9 3B=2 HR=5 RBI=16 SB=10 K=8 OBP=.371 A=52 PO=28 E=1 Total Points-2090 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-200 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-390 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points May- As expected I got called up to the Yankees. As usual I didn't want to get called up because i'm still not starting. Although I put up excellent numbers when I did bat I still only played in 12 games. G=12 AB=29 AVG=.621 H=18 R=4 2B=4 3B=0 HR=1 RBI=6 SB=4 K=1 OBP=.621 A=13 PO=20 E=0 Total Points-1705 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-205 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-200 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points June- Another wasted month in the majors not getting any playing time. G=11 AB=37 AVG=.470 H=18 R=7 2B=0 3B=0 HR=1 RBI=9 SB=3 K=5 OBP=.478 A=19 PO=15 E=0 Total Points-1335 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-235 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points July- I got a starting role that lasted for half the month. In this time span I hit 4 HR's in the month. G=35 AB=104 AVG=.481 H=50 R=16 2B=8 3B=0 HR=6 RBI=29 SB=18 K=10 OBP=.486 A=43 PO=54 E=0 Total Points-1505 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-205 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points August- I was told again by the manager that I was going to start only this time I played most of my games as DH. Oh yeah and were 82-48. G=58 AB=193 AVG=.456 H=88 R=30 2B=18 HR=12 RBI=50 SB=41 K=22 OBP=.454 A=65 PO=143 E=0 Total Points-2070 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-370 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-300 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points Long Toss-100 points Now that I know that I will be getting regular starts as a DH or 2nd baseman I can spend more of my points in the end of the month because I know I will get the same amount back or more so my skills won't decline. September- All of those points that i've been spending on my power are starting to show up because I hit 9 HR's this month and almost everytime something came high in the zone and I took a power swing it was gone. G=85 AB=302 AVG=.421 H=127 R=45 2B=24 HR=22 RBI=75 SB=60 K=31 OBP=.422 A=80 PO=155 E=1 Total Points-2150 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Coach-350 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-300 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-200 points October- Season Stats G=90 AB=324 AVG=.411 H=133 R=47 2B=25 HR=24 RBI=85 SB=63 K=32 OBP=.411 A=87 PO=158 E=1 Divisional Series- vs. Cleveland Indians Game 1- Pavano Sabathia(Win 4-3) Game 2- Lawrence vs. Sowers(Win 8-2) Game 3- Rasner vs. Westbrook(Win 16-4) Championship Series- vs. Toronto Blue Jays Game 1- Mussina vs. Halladay(Win 5-4) Game 2- Pavano vs. League(Win 9-5) AB=4 H=3 R=1 SB=2 Game 3- Vizcaino vs. Frasor(Loss 5-4) DNP Game 4- Mussina vs. Janssen(Win 13-2) AB=5 H=4 RBI=5 R=1 SB=1 Game 5- Pavano vs. Thomson(Win 10-1) AB=5 H=1 R=1 K=1 World Series vs. St.Louis Cardinals Game 1- Lawrence vs. Reyes(Loss 2-0) AB=1 H=0 Game 2- Wang vs. Carpenter(Loss 7-1) AB=4 H=1 3B=1 Game 3- Mussina vs. Wainwright(Loss 8-3) AB=4 H=2 RBI=1 R=1 SB=1 Game 4- Karstens vs. Flores(Loss 3-1) AB=1 H=0 Although we got swept I got the Playoff MVP award. Player Progression(Season 2) Overall- +9 Contact L/R- +3/5 Power L/R- +9/10 Clutch- +12 Durability- +7 Vision- +10 Disc- +13 Speed- +5 Fielding- +5 Arm Strength- +10 Arm Accuracy- +7 Reaction- +12 Base Running Ability- +8 Base Running Aggressiveness- +7 Bocking- +5 Chose to leave the Yankees and go sign with the Giants where I will play 2nd base everyday. Since I didn't get a contract offer I went to spring training to make the team and gain some points. Spring Training(3rd Season) March- Had a great spring and got a 2-Year contract offer worth $500,000 from the Giants. G=30 AB=99 AVG=.354 H=35 R=14 2B=9 3B=1 HR=7 RBI=12 SB=10 K=13 OBP=.356 A=60 PO=30 E=0 Total Points-2625 points Batting Cages(RHP)- 200 points Batting Coach- 425 points Stretching- 200 points Sprints- 200 points Weight Room- 200 points Shag Fly Balls- 200points Long Toss- 200 points Regular Season(3rd Year) April- G=19 AB=79 AVG=.354 H=28 R=11 2B=10 HR=3 RBI=11 SB=16 BB=1 K=4 OBP=.361 A=51 PO=30 E=1 Total Points-2085 points Batting Cages(RHP)- 185 points Batting Coach- 300 points Stretching- 100 points Sprints- 100 points Weight Room- 300 points Shag Fly Balls- 100points Long Toss- 100 points May- I got moved into the 4 spot and i'm loving the role because I get more RBI here than when I was leading off. Great month overall. G=22 AB=92 AVG=.511 H=47 R=17 2B=6 HR=6 RBI=17 SB=22 BB=1 K=7 OBP=.442 A=41 PO=62 E=0 Total Points-2685 points Batting Cages(RHP)- 185 points Batting Coach-300 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-500 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-200 points June- My player has a 44 game hitting streak dating back to last month. As a result of this every game I get a hit in(no matter whether I score or drive in runs)I get close to 100 points. He is also in the lead for a couple of awards MVP, Silver Slugger and Hank Aaron award. G=21 AB=94 AVG=.489 H=46 R=17 2B=8 3B=3 HR=8 RBI=27 SB=19 BB=1 K=4 OBP=.457 A=52 PO=37 E=0 Total Points-2975 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Coach-575 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-500 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-200 points July- As you might have expected I made the All-Star game as a starter. I also broke Joe Dimaggio's hit streak but it stopped at 60 games against Jason Hirsh from the Rockies. G=20 AB=80 AVG=.438 H=35 R=18 2B=4 3B=1 HR=6 RBI=17 SB=25 BB=2 K=7 OBP=.448 A=54 PO=4 E=1 Total Points-3220 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-600 points Stretching-400 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-620 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points Long Toss-400 points August- As usual I had another good month belting 7 HR's and getting 35 hits with 25 SB's. Also got upgraded to All-Star status. G=22 AB=86 AVG=.407 H=35 R=18 2B=7 3B=1 HR=7 RBI=22 SB=25 BB=0 K=7 OBP=.454 A=41 PO=5 E=0 Total Points-2280 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Coach-380 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-300 points Shag Fly Balls-100 points Long Toss-200 points September- I got alot of good pitches to hit this month and as a result ended up hitting 9 HR's. Also my team is in first place in the division at 90-68. Cumulative Stats G=128 AB=534 AVG=.444 H=237 R=104 2B=41 3B=6 HR=40 RBI=123 SB=118 BB=5 K=41 OBP=.447 A=305 PO=206 E=2 CS=27 Total Points-2655 points Batting Cages(RHP)-0 points Batting Coach-455 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-400 points Shag Fly Balls-300 points Long Toss-200 points October- Finished up the season 91-71 and started the playoffs against the Houston Astros. Season Stats G=132 AB=546 AVG=.443 H=242 R=106 2B=41 3B=6 HR=40 RBI=124 SB=125 BB=5 K=42 OBP=.447 A=308 PO=212 E=2 CS=27 Divisional Series- vs. Houston Astros Game 1- Cain vs. Jennings(Loss 5-1) AB=5 H=1 SB=2 Game 2- Lowry vs. Backe(Win 6-1) AB=4 H=2 SB=1 Game 3- Bernal vs. Wheeler(Win 3-2) AB=4 H=2 2B=2 RBI=1 K=1 Game 4- Kim vs. Oswalt(Win 5-3) AB=4 H=2 HR=1 RBI=2 K=1 SB=1 Championship Series- vs. St.Louis Cardinals Game 1- Kato vs. Carpenter(Win 5-1) AB=5 H=1 R=1 Game 2- Cain vs. Wainwright(Win 2-1) AB=3 H=1 HR=1 RBI=1 Game 3- Lowry vs. Hancock(Win 3-2) AB=5 H=2 RBI=1 K=1 Game 4- Correla vs. Smith(Loss 13-8) DNP Game 5- Kim vs. Villone(Win 5-4) AB=4 H=2 RBI=1 SB=1 K=1 World Series- vs. Cleveland Indians Game 1- Sanchez vs. Byrd() AB=5 H=2 HR=1 RBI=1 SB=1 K=1 Game 2-Cain vs. Lee(Win 5-2) AB=3 H=0 Game 3-Lowry vs. Etheridge(Win 14-2) AB=4 H=3 HR=1 RBI=2 SB=2 Game 4-Sanchez vs. Carmona(Win 8-5) AB=5 H=1 HR=1 RBI=3 SB=1 K=1 Playoff Stats G=13 AB=56 AVG=.339 H=19 R=11 2B=3 HR=5 RBI=12 SB=9 BB=1 K=9 OBP=.362 A=37 PO=25 E=0 As expected I won the NL MVP, Silver Slugger and The Hank Aaron award in addition to my team winning the World Series, great season!! I also felt like spending some points to increase my stats before I go into the offseason. And for the first time I actually spent all of my points!! Total Points-2300 points Batting Cages(RHP)-600 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-700 points Sprints-0 points Weight Room-200 points Shag Fly Balls-500 points Long Toss-200 points Career Progression(3rd Season) Age= 21 Bats= Switch Throws= Right Position= 2B 2nd Position= 1B,3B,SS Salary= 256,098 Overall= +18 Contact L/R= +5/13 Power L/R= +14/17 Clutch= +20 Durability= +22 Vision= +17 Disc= +22 Speed= +8 Fielding= +13 Arm Strength= +28 Arm Accuracy= +19 Reaction= +20 Base Running Ability= +8 Base Running Aggressiveness= +8 Bocking= +10 Since we won the World Series and I like the team that I am surronded by I chose to exercise my option for the second year of my contract. Regular Season(4th Year) April- Got off to a relatively good start for the season and we are 16-7. G=22 AB=90 AVG=.400 H=36 R=16 2B=5 HR=8 RBI=23 SB=27 BB=1 K=7 OBP=.402 A=38 PO=30 E=0 Total Points-1550 points Batting Cages(RHP)-150 points Batting Cages(LHP)-100 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-100 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-200 points May- Spent 300 points in the middle of the month in the weight room because because my player was in a slump and I need to get him out. Also spent 200 on Stretching and 300 on Contact vs. RHP. Came into a groove against the Mets driving in 14 runs and hitting 3 HR's. G=47 AB=193 AVG=.425 H=82 R=42 2B=12 HR=18 RBI=60 SB=57 BB=3 K=18 OBP=.429 A=91 PO=59 E=1 Total Points-2215 points Batting Cages(RHP)-405 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-1310 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-300 points Long Toss-150 points June- Had an excellent month and saw a lot of good pitches which led to me hitting 12 HR's in the month. Most of them were high fastballs and that's what I look for to knock out the park. G=75 AB=309 AVG=.424 H=131 R=69 2B=19 HR=30 RBI=98 SB=86 BB=5 K=24 OBP=.428 A=158 PO=109 E=1 Total Points-1630 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Coach-230 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-200 points Weight Room-300 points Long Toss-400 points July- 10 HR's in the month and pitcher's are starting to intentionally walk me. Though it doesn't happen as much as it should leading me to have 35 RBI in the month. G=101 AB=414 AVG=.413 H=171 R=89 2B=25 HR=40 RBI=133 SB=114 BB=5 K=30 OBP=.415 A=224 PO=139 E=1 Total Points-2110 points Batting Cages(RHP)-610 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-300 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-300 points Shag Fly Balls-300 points Long Toss-400 points August- Compared to the months before it August was good but not great. Only 7 Bombs and 21 RBI. G=129 AB=517 AVG=.397 H=205 R=103 2B=33 HR=47 RBI=154 SB=138 BB=11 K=41 OBP=.405 A=284 PO=167 E=1 Total Points-1405 points Batting Cages(RHP)-305 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-200 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-100 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-200 points September- Had an other great month with my power soaring!! hitting 15 HR's and pursuing Ichiro's season hit record. G=156 AB=634 AVG=.409 H=259 R=132 2B=41 3B=2 HR=62 RBI=182 SB=171 BB=14 K=46 OBP=.418 A=344 PO=204 E=2 Total Points-1395 points Batting Cages(RHP)-500 points Batting Cages(LHP)-100 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-155 points Sprints-200 points Weight Room-290 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-340 points October- Finished the season first in the division and also won the MVP, Siver Slugger and Hank Aaron award. Excellent season!! G=156 AB=634 AVG=.409 H=259 R=132 2B=41 3B=2 HR=62 RBI=182 SB=171 BB=14 K=46 OBP=.418 A=344 PO=204 E=2 Divisional Series vs. Philadelphia Phillies Game 1- Zito vs. Garcia(Loss 8-5) AB=5 H=4 RBI=1 R=2 SB=2 Game 2- Lowry vs. Hamels(Loss 6-5) AB=4 H=1 HR=1 RBI=3 K=1 Game 3- Sanchez vs. Eaton(Loss 5-2) AB=3 H=1 SB=4 As you can see my team got swept due to some awful starting pitching. I also decided to spend the last of my points before the offseason. Total Points- 450 Batting Cages(RHP)-150 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-100 points Career Progression(4th Season) Age= 22 Bats= Switch Throws= Right Position= 2B 2nd Position= 1B,3B,SS Salary= 0 Overall= +9 Contact L/R= +3/12 Power L/R= +6/9 Clutch= +2 Durability= +20 Vision= +16 Disc= +9 Speed= +5 Fielding= +9 Arm Strength= +19 Arm Accuracy= +11 Reaction= +10 Base Running Ability= +4 Base Running Aggressiveness= +4 Bocking= +8 Since we got swept and I didn't like the off-season moves I went back to my team the Yankees although I didn't get a contract offer and must go to spring training. Spring Training(5th Season) March- Had an excellent spring training hitting 15 HR's. G=30 AB=104 AVG=.356 H=37 R=28 2B=2 HR=15 RBI=31 SB=26 BB=3 K=18 OBP=.374 A=58 PO=48 E=0 Total Points-1875 points Batting Cages(RHP)-375 points Batting Cages(LHP)-100 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-200 points Shag Fly Balls-600 points Long Toss-300 points As a result of my last season and ratings the Yankees offered me a 2-year contract worth $19 million but I furthered the contract to 4-years for $39 million. Regular Season(5th Season) April- I started playing on Hall Of Fame and I found it easier to hit HR's. I stopped guessing location and just guessed pitch and swung with good contact and the ball is out the park. 11 HR'S. G=25 AB=108 AVG=.417 H=45 R=28 2B=10 HR=11 RBI=31 SB=45 BB=0 K=12 OBP=.413 A=56 PO=42 E=0 Total Points-1690 points Batting Cages(RHP)-390 points Batting Cages(LHP)-200 points Batting Coach-200 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-200 points Shag Fly Balls-300 points Long Toss-200 points May- I had an off month but overall it was still excellent by normal standards (Though not my norm). G=51 AB=221 AVG=.389 H=86 R=51 2B=16 HR=20 RBI=53 SB=82 BB=0 K=22 OBP=.387 A=124 PO=70 E=0 Total Points-1470 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Cages(LHP)-590 points Batting Coach-130 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room- points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-150 points June- Had an explosive month hitting 14HR's. My timing at the plate got better so I was swinging at the right time and getting the sweet spot of the bat on the ball. G=75 AB=322 AVG=.404 H=130 R=80 2B=23 HR=34 RBI=84 SB=121 BB=2 K=27 OBP=.406 A=180 PO=107 E=0 Total Points-1520 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Cages(LHP)-520 points Batting Coach-230 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-200 points Weight Room-100 points Infield Drills-200 points Long Toss-200 points July- Had a great July though I got intentionally walked a couple of times with runners on. Still had 22 RBI and 8 HR's in the month though and due to my 25-game hitting streak I racked up 2630 points in the month. G=101 AB=425 AVG=.407 H=173 R=110 2B=29 HR=42 RBI=106 SB=169 BB=4 K=33 OBP=.409 A=245 PO=145 E=0 Total Points-2630 points Batting Cages(RHP)-500 points Batting Cages(LHP)-1000 points Batting Coach-200 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Infield Drills-300 points Long Toss-230 points August- Stayed pretty much on point with my hitting and smacking HR's with 10. Trying to break Ichiro's Hit record and broke the Stolen Bases record again. G=127 AB=533 AVG=.398 H=212 R=141 2B=33 3B=1 HR=52 RBI=131 SB=204 BB=8 K=37 OBP=.404 A=313 PO=181 E=0 Total Points-1790 points Batting Cages(RHP)-100 points Batting Cages(LHP)-790 points Batting Coach-300 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Infield Drills-300 points Long Toss-100 points September- Had a great September batting .462 getting 48 hits and 7 HR's with 27 RBI. G=151 AB=637 AVG=.408 H=260 R=174 2B=47 3B=1 HR=59 RBI=158 SB=246 BB=9 K=41 OBP=.413 A=381 PO=222 E=0 Total Points-2010 points Batting Cages(RHP)-400 points Batting Cages(LHP)-1010 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Infield Drills-200 points Long Toss-100 points October- Finally broke the hitting record this season after falling 3 hits short last season. Great feeling!!! although we didn't win the division since we lost the last game of the year. Season Stats G=153 AB=641 AVG=.410 H=263 R=175 2B=47 3B=1 HR=59 RBI=160 SB=246 BB=10 K=41 OBP=.416 A=385 PO=229 E=0 Divisional Series vs. Minnesota Twins Game 1- Francisco Liriano vs. Anibal Sanchez(Loss 14-6) AB=5 H=1 RBI=1 SB=1 Batting Cages(LHP)- 125 points Game 2- Matt Garza vs. Nate Robertson(Win 6-1) AB=4 H=2 HR=2 RBI=2 R=3 K=1 Game 3- Boof Bonser vs. Rasner(Loss 10-7) AB=4 H=3 RBI=1 BB=1 Game 4- Sidney Ponson vs. Kei Igawa(Win 3-2) AB=3 H=0 BB=1 K=2 SB=1 Game 5- Johan Santana vs. Victor Zambrano(Loss 5-4) AB=5 H=1 Batting Cages(LHP)- 155 points Playoff Stats G=5 AB=21 AVG.333 H=7 R=3 2B=2 HR=2 RBI=4 SB=2 BB=2 K=3 OBP=.417 A=16 PO=6 E=0 As you can see again we lost in the first round although we didn't get swept this time. I'm mad that we lost but I did win the AL MVP, Silver Slugger and Hank Aaron awards and I won my first Gold Glove. Player Progression(5th Season) Age= 23 Bats= Switch Throws= Right Position= 2B 2nd Position= 1B,3B,SS Salary= 9,727,446(Upcoming Year) Overall= Maxed out Contact L/R= +25/10 Power L/R= +9/4 Clutch= +6 Durability= Maxed out Vision= +26 Disc= +18 Speed= +1 Fielding= +10 Arm Strength= +11 Arm Accuracy= +13 Reaction= +10 Base Running Ability= +10 Base Running Aggressiveness= +5 Bocking= +3 Regular Season(6th Season) April- Started off the year seeing th ball really well and getting alot of Fastballs up in the zone, taking them for 14 HR's and 26 RBI. Record=16-9 G=24 AB=99 AVG=.485 H=48 R=35 2B=3 3B=1 HR=14 RBI=26 SB=52 BB=1 K=2 OBP=.490 A=73 PO=33 E=1 Total Points-1865 points Batting Cages(RHP)-200 points Batting Cages(LHP)-965 points Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Infield Drills-300 points Long Toss-100 points May- Like last month I continued on my tear hitting 14 HR'S and driving in 31 runs and getting 58 hits and 76 steals. G=51 AB=211 AVG=.502 H=106 R=81 2B=11 3B=2 HR=28 RBI=57 SB=128 BB=4 K=7 OBP=.505 A=136 PO=73 E=1 Total Points-2230 points Batting Cages(RHP)-230 points(Contact R,Vis, Pow R Disc maxed out) Batting Cages(LHP)-600 points(Contact L, Pow L maxed out) Batting Coach-400 points(To improve my Clutch) Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points(Speed maxed out) Infield Drills-600 points Shag Fly Balls-200 points Long Toss-100 points June- This month I rarely got good pitches and when I got them they didn't get out of park accounting for me hitting 9 HR's and batting .426. Also I couldn't train most of my ratings because they were maxed out and I have to wait for them to decrease. G=75 AB=326 AVG=.476 H=155 R=117 2B=17 3B=4 HR=37 RBI=85 SB=185 BB=5 K=7 OBP=.478 A=195 PO=105 E=1 Total Points-1805 points Batting Coach-400 points Stretching-100 points Weight Room-105 points Base Running Drills-100 points Infield Drills-1000 points Long Toss-100 points July- Got voted to the All-Star game with 1,897,000 votes. My power for the month fell off though as I only hit 7 HR's and fell well behind in trying to get Barry Bonds record. Still hit .422 though. G=100 AB=428 AVG=.463 H=198 R=150 2B=28 3B=4 HR=44 RBI=110 SB=244 BB=6 K=12 OBP=.465 A=256 PO=146 E=1 Total Points-2360 points Batting Coach-960 points Stretching-100 points Sprints- 100 points Infield Drills-1000 points Long Toss-200 points August- Had a great month and started seeing the ball well again hitting 9 HR's and driving in 30 runs. Also broke the record for stolen bases in a season(again) but the counter reset at 252 and started from zero. G=126 AB=539 AVG=.460 H=248 R=187 2B=40 3B=6 HR=53 RBI=140 SB=308 BB=8 K=16 OBP=.464 A=322 PO=178 E=2 Total Points-1940 points Batting Coach-540 points Stretching-100 points Sprints-100 points Weight Room-200 points Infield Drills-600 points Long Toss-100 points Drag Bunting-300 points September- Finished up the season with pretty good numbers I think. Only hit 8 HR's but was getting good pitches to hit. Season Stats G=150 AB=649 AVG=.447 H=290 R=217 2B=48 3B=7 HR=61 RBI=170 SB=359 BB=8 K=22 OBP=.450 A=401 PO=211 E=2 Total Points-1750 points Batting Coach- points Stretching- points Sprints-150 points Infield Drills- points Long Toss- points Drag Bunting-500 points Weight Room- 100 points October- Playoff time baby!!! We finished 108-54 and play the Twins in the Divisional. Divisional Series vs. Minnesota Twins Game 1- Santana vs. Kazmir(Win 10-1) AB=4 H=2 R=2 RBI=1 SB=3 2B=1 3B=1 Game 2- Liriano vs. Rasner(Loss 11-0) AB=4 H=1 SB=1 Game 3- Perez vs. Sheets(Win 11-4) AB=4 H=1 R=2 HR=1 RBI=2 BB=1 SB=3 Game 4- Garza vs. Wang(Win 8-3) AB=5 H=3 R=2 2B=1 RBI=1 SB=3 Championship Series vs. Baltimore Orioles Game 1- Wright vs. Karstens(Loss 9-8) AB=5 H=3 SB=3 R=1 I had to spend some points to stop my ratings from declining. Batting Coach-100 points Stretching-100 points Shagging Fly Balls-100 points Game 2- Carlisle vs. Kazmir(Loss 8-7) AB=5 H=1 SB=1 Game 3- Rasner vs. Bedard(Loss 5-3) AB=4 H=1 SB=2 Game 4- Sheets vs. Benson(Loss 7-4) AB=4 H=1 RBI=1 Postseason Stats G=8 AB=35 AVG=.371 H=13 R=9 2B=3 3B=1 HR=1 RBI=5 SB=16 BB=1 K=2 OBP=.389 A=22 PO=11 As you can see we got swept(again) and i'm really getting frustrated with the pitching and I want to opt out of my contract. As usual I won the AL MVP Silver Slugger, Hank Aaron and my second Gold Glove award. Might as well spend some points going into the offseason. Base Running Drills-1105 points Drag Bunting-305 points Player Progression(6th Season) Age=24 Bats=Switch Throws=Right Position=2B 2nd Position=1B,3B,SS Salary=10,213,817(Upcoming Year) Overall=Maxed out Contact L/R=+11/3(Maxed Out) Power L/R=+3/0(Maxed Out) Clutch=+27(Maxed out) Bunting=None Drag Bunting=+46 Durability=Maxed out Vision=Maxed Out Disc=+2(Maxed Out) Speed=Maxed Out Fielding= +12(Maxed Out) Arm Strength=+5(Maxed Out) Arm Accuracy=+25(Maxed Out) Reaction=+6(Maxed Out) Base Running Ability=+13 Base Running Aggressiveness=+19 Bocking=+2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ N. The Art of Base Stealing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been spending some time trying to figure out what I can add which would be useful to both 1st time viewers and frequent visistors to my FAQ. I came up with stealing bases!! Since i've become fairly adept at stealing bases I decided to make a seciton revelaing my tips base by base. IN THE BATTER'S BOX You should be watching the pitchers delivery to see how long it takes which will be the biggest indicator how easy it is to steal a base. If you can see how he throws from the stretch, even better. STANDING ON FIRST BASE This is the easist base to steal and also the most commonly attempted. I have found it most effective if you take one step away from the bag(Hit R1 once). Most of the time the pitcher will try to pick you off as soon as you move so be prepared. Once you see the pitcher's leg show any sign of movement hit R2 to make your player take off. If done correctly, by the time the ball is in the catchers glove you should be at or near the bag sliding into your successful steal!!!! STANDING ON SECOND BASE Now you should pay even more attention to pitcher's delivery than when you were standing on first base because now the catcher has a shorter distance to throw. There are two ways that I have come across to steal 3rd base: Method 1: Much like stealing from first base, take two steps away from the bag and beware of the pickoff because it is likely to come after you take the second step. AS SOON AS YOU SEE THE PITCHER MOVE AT ALL HIT R2. I can't stress how important timing is for stealing third base. If done correctly you player should take off as soon as the pitcher moves and be 3/4 of the way to the bag before the catcher throws it making it easy for you to slide head first into the bag safely. Method 2: As soon as you have the chance take two steps off the bag. When the pitcher goes into his motion(BEFORE HE THROWS THE BALL)keep hitting R1 and when he throws to second your player should already be by 3rd base. If done properly YOU SHOULD NEVER GET CAUGHT!!The reason for this is since he already set up, he can't step off the bag or it will be called a balk so he would have no other choice than to throw to second base. NOTE: THIS METHOD SHOULD ONLY BE DONE WITH REAL FAST PLAYERS!!I would recommend that your speed be really close to max or at least 3/4 of the bar. If done correctly the risk is totally eliminated and it will always result in a stolen base. STANDING ON THIRD BASE Thanks to Annoyingjsb for the info in this section When you are standing on third base all you need to do is keep taking steps away from the bag by repeatedly pressing R1. When the pitcher turns to throw to 3rd base you player will take off and by the time the catcher gets the ball you'll be safe with a run scored!!! NOTICE!!! This should only be done with really fast players with a speed rating of A or the bar should be more than 3/4 full. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ O.The Art of Home Run Hitting ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After my season where I hit 63 Home Runs after a season in which I hit 42, the thought occured to me to add to the FAQ with a section on hitting Home Runs which I have found easy as of late. I will outline the tips that I used on each difficulty level. IMPORTANT!!! I feel compelled to tell everyone that your Power rating is for whenever you swing the bat. IF YOUR POWER IS HIGH YOU CAN HIT HR'S WITH CONTACT SWINGS!!! It's not always necessary to swing for power to knock the ball out of the park. ROOKIE LEVEL Since I only played 2 games on rookie I really can't outline any specific strategy that I used. I will give you one excellent piece of advice and that is: No matter how bad you think you are, DON'T PLAY ON ROOKIE.I say this because although it is the easiest skill level(You only have to guess the pitch to get the lock-on) Home Runs are extremely hard to hit on this level. VETERAN LEVEL Although the level is higher, it's much easier to hit HR's on Veteran. Not only can you guess the pitch but you can guess the location too. Like most things this is good and bad. It's great because if you guess both right your more likely to hit a HR. It's bad because if your wrong(on either although it's better to get the location right and the pitch wrong)then your plate coverage shrinks making it harder to hit the ball. That being said I'd recommend a couple of things: NOTE!!!The first tip will be the same on all levels because it's that important Tip#1-GO WITH THE PITCH!!!! I can't stress enough how vital this is to you hitting Home Runs. Almost all of HR'S have been hit by me going with the ball. There have been plenty of times where have I have seen(or guessed) that the ball was coming low in the zone and took a swing while holding the left analog down(and to whichever side of the plate the ball was coming to) and just watched the ball sail out the park. Wherever the pitch is going, swing with the pitch, not against it. If it's in the upper half of the zone, hold the left analog up. Lower half, hold it down. This tip will generate you the most HR'S out of all the others. Tip#2-GUESS FASTBALL EVERYTIME!!!Remember this: The faster is comes in, the faster it goes out!!! This basic principle is a gold mine when it comes to hitting HR's on Veteran. Also since it's veteran, if you guess wrong your Plate coverage won't take that much of a hit making it easier for you to hit the ball. I can count on two hands how many AB's I've had in which a FB wasn't thrown(2018 AB total). Most of the time the FB is their strikeout pitch or their best pitch so guess it and goodbye!!! Tip#3-GUESS DOWN IN THE ZONE!!!Most of the time pitchers will try and stay down in the zone as a general rule. As a result of this you will get the location right maybe 40% of the time. The key is to recognize what the pitch is and to swing at the right time. ALL-STAR LEVEL Tip#1-GO WITH THE PITCH!!!! I can't stress enough how vital this is to you hitting Home Runs. Almost all of HR'S have been hit by me going with the ball. There have been plenty of times where have I have seen(or guessed) that the ball was coming low in the zone and took a swing while holding the left analog down(and to whichever side of the plate the ball was coming to) and just watched the ball sail out the park. Wherever the pitch is going, swing with the pitch, not against it. If it's in the upper half of the zone, hold the left analog up. Lower half, hold it down. This tip will generate you the most HR'S out of all the others. Tip#2-GUESS DOWN IN THE ZONE!!!Most of the time pitchers will try and stay down in the zone as a general rule. As a result of this you will get the location right maybe 40% of the time. The key is to recognize what the pitch is and to swing at the right time. I should also add that the amount of the plate that you cover when you guess is the same as it was on veteran. HALL OF FAME LEVEL Tip#1-GO WITH THE PITCH!!!! I can't stress enough how vital this is to you hitting Home Runs. Almost all of HR'S have been hit by me going with the ball. There have been plenty of times where have I have seen(or guessed) that the ball was coming low in the zone and took a swing while holding the left analog down(and to whichever side of the plate the ball was coming to) and just watched the ball sail out the park. Wherever the pitch is going, swing with the pitch, not against it. If it's in the upper half of the zone, hold the left analog up. Lower half, hold it down. This tip will generate you the most HR'S out of all the others. Tip#2- SIT ON YOUR PITCH!!! This tip should apply for all difficulty levels but it reallya pplies on HOF because guessing the pitch wrong or guessing the wrong location will almost always get you a ground ball or a fly out. I find it easiest to hit 4-Seam FB's(Because the pitch has little movement and the speed of the ball)and Sliders(Since my player is a switch hitter the pitch always slides inside making the pitch easier to pull) out of the park. These are my preferences as you may like to hit different pitches. My point is sit on a pitch you are comfortable hitting and your success is virtually guaranteed. Tip#3- TIME YOUR SWING!!! This is another very important tip. If you've hit a HR look at where the ball hits the bat. Almost always it is on the sweet spot of the bat(Right in the middle from where the bat starts to get fat and the tip). There have been countless times where I guessed location and pitch correct and still hit a ground ball. Reason being I didn't get it on the sweet spot. Out of the 189 HR's i've hit in my career, maybe a few of them weren't off the sweet spot of the bat which should underscore how important it actually is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ P.The Art of Defense ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As I keep thinking of ways to make my FAQ more comprehensive(and after I recieved a E-mail about defense) I decided to add a section strictly for defense at each position. IMPORTANT!!For this section I will assume that you are playing Road to the Show and you only control your player. Catcher In reality this is a very hard position to play. Calling pitches, actually catching the ball. Unfortunately you won't be doing any of this. The only time you will control your player on defense will be either when the ball is popped up by the hitter or he lays down a bunt. You do get to throw people out if they try to steal though. Tips- STAY ALERT!!! Although most of the action will be high fly balls, there will be some drag bunts and also some hits that you will need to run as soon as the ball gets hit to grab it. BEWARE OF PASSED BALLS AND WILD PITCHES!! Pitchers can and will throw a couple of wild balls every now and then. When this happens make a beeline for ball and throw it the to the base in front of the baserunner to make sure he stays put. 1st Baseman Who doesn't love those fantastic plays where a bad throw is on it's way to 1st base and then the 1st baseman makes a great stretch to catch the ball and get the out. In the game you will need quick reflexes because most of the balls that are hit at you will be hit hard, making it easy for one to roll down the baseline. Fun position though. Tips- STAY VERY ALERT!!! Since almost all the balls hit at you will be coming hard you won't have much time to see where it's going and cut it off. Always press up(towards home plate) so you can get a jump when the ball comes off the bat. TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS!! Since you'll most likely be close to the ball when you get the ball you should step on the 1st base bag then throw to second to turn the double play. If you try to throw to 2nd when he throws the ball back you won't be ready on the bag and the runner will most likely be safe. 2nd Baseman If you chose to play this position then you should be ready for alot of action because most of the balls hit at you will require quick reflexes. Some of the balls will be routine slow grounders which you will easily have enough time to react and get the out. There will be a lot of plays in which hard grounders will give you little time to react and you must know what your going to do as soon as the ball comes off the bat. Tips- PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SPEED OF WHOEVER IS ON BASE!!This will let you know how much time you have to make a play(although you should throw the ball as soon as you get it and not play around). TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS- Most of the time you will have 2 options when you try to turn a double play. The first will be for you to throw to second and then let him throw to first to complete the double play. This is almost always the better choice because most of the time you won't be close enough to step on the bag and throw to first and still catch the runner. The second way is for you to run on the bag at second and then throw the ball to first to complete the play. I think this looks better but your fielder must be fast AND have a strong and accurate arm otherwise you will have alot of errors on that throw to 1st. CHOOSING WHERE TO THROW THE BALL- I recommend that you almost always go for the easy out, which most of the time will be at 1st base. THE ONLY time you should try to catch the runner at 3rd is if the ball comes at you really fast and the baserunner took off late. I have tried to get the runner at 3rd many times and have almost always failed. Shortstop This position is my favorite in the infield. It's very similiar to 2nd base except your on the right side instead of the left. This makes a big difference though. Since you have further to go to 1st your arm will need to be stronger and more accurate otherwise you will throw alot of errors(I know trust me) Tips- PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SPEED OF WHOEVER IS ON BASE!!This will let you know how much time you have to make a play(although you should throw the ball as soon as you get it and not play around). TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS- Most of the time you will have 2 options when you try to turn a double play. The first will be for you to throw to second and then let him throw to first to complete the double play. This is almost always the better choice because most of the time you won't be close enough to step on the bag and throw to first and still catch the runner. The second way is for you to run on the bag at second and then throw the ball to first to complete the play. I think this looks better but your fielder must be fast AND have a strong and accurate arm otherwise you will have alot of errors on that throw to 1st. 3rd Baseman They don't call this position the hot corner for no reason. This is another fun position to play if you like getting alot of action because like the 1st baseman the balls hit at you will be hard and will give you little time to react. Also since 1st base is on the other side of the diamond you also have further to throw to get to 1st base making your arm strength and accuracy that much more important. Tips- STAY ALERT!!I know I keep repeating this but it's really important for these positions because slacking off or not paying attention could easily be a hit. TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS!!!The most effective way for you to turn a double play from this position is to throw it to 2nd base as soon as you get the ball. If there's a runner at second then you can try to tag him then throw to 1st base. TURNING A TRIPLE PLAY!!!I should note that i've only done this once but it's a great feeling when you do it though. To do this you have to tag the runner on his to 3rd then fire the ball to 2nd who then in turn will fire it to 1st hopefully in enough time to get the outs. You will rarely have time where you will actually be able to pull off a triple play but I just figured I should note it anyway. Left Fielder You won't see too much action at this position because most of the balls hit to the outfield will be to the center fielder who has the most field to cover. This also is a fun position because you can make some fantastic looking plays in the outfield. Tips- TRACK THE BALL!!It took me awhile to get used to doing this because I couldn't focus enough to see where the ball was. This is nonetheless a very useful skill which you should learn because if you don't you will be missing alot of balls that are hit to you. You also have the assistance of the ball tracker(if you left the option on) to help you find out where you need to go. KNOW YOUR LIMITS AND WHERE TO THROW THE BALL!!!There have been plenty of times where I thought my player had a cannon for an arm and he actually had a water pistol. This resulted in alot runs crossing the plate because my player couldn't throw the ball hard enough to get anybody out. Be aware of long it takes for you throw to reach the infield. If you misjudge then it could very well be the difference between a run and 3 runs. LEARN HOW TO CLIMB THE WALL!!!When there is a HR that you can catch the cursor will be red. You must watch for the right to jump the wall and bring the ball back into the park. This won't happen very often but you should know how to do it just in case. Center Fielder This is my favorite position in the game(and also that of my favorite player Bernie Williams). Most of time you will be standing in the outfield while your teammates get balls that are supposed to get to the outfield. There are two types of balls that will be hit to you. The first is a Fly Ball. These can be either routine or potential Home Runs. Routine fly balls are easily taken care because they are,after all, routine. Potential HR's on the other hand are the most exciting plays you will face. Believe me when I say there is nothing better than robbing the CPU of a HR. This takes alot of practice but once you do it you'll be satsified trust me!! Next are grounders that find there way into the outfield. For these you need to know where you are going with the ball before you pick it up to minimize the damage of the hit. All in All very fun position to play. Tips- TRACK THE BALL!!It took me awhile to get used to doing this because I couldn't focus enough to see where the ball was. This is nonetheless a very useful skill which you should learn because if you don't you will be missing alot of balls that are hit to you. You also have the assistance of the ball tracker(if you left the option on) to help you find out where you need to go. KNOW WHEN TO USE THE CUTOFF MAN!!! I have seen countless runs scored because the centerfielder chose to throw to the cutoff man instead of going straight to home plate. If you aren't deep in the outfield(and you CF has a good arm) throw straight home. It will pay dividends. LEARN HOW TO CLIMB THE WALL!!!When there is a HR that you can catch the cursor will be red. You must watch for the right to jump the wall and bring the ball back into the park. This won't happen very often but you should know how to do it just in case. Right Fielder I like to call this position the throw em out' position(Mainly from all the times Vlad threw me out at home plate). Your main job in the position will consist of you supporting the right side of the field. Most of the time runners will try to tag from 3rd base if the ball is caught by you. If your arm is strong enough you should be able to gun people out at the plate and at 1st and 2nd(though I've caught someone at 1st once). Tips- TRACK THE BALL!!It took me awhile to get used to doing this because I couldn't focus enough to see where the ball was. This is nonetheless a very useful skill which you should learn because if you don't you will be missing alot of balls that are hit to you. You also have the assistance of the ball tracker(if you left the option on) to help you find out where you need to go. LEARN HOW TO CLIMB THE WALL!!!When there is a HR that you can catch the cursor will be red. You must watch for the right to jump the wall and bring the ball back into the park. Since the right field wall is low in alot of parks, this rule is more applicable to the rightfielder than the other 2 outfield positions. As you may have noticed I only gave a general description of duties and tips that I think will help you become a better defensive player and get that gold glove. Remember though practice makes perfect and I would recommend that if you find any of this hard then you should play a regular game and become better at those angles then take what you learned and apply it in RTTS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q.Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Sony for making this wonderful sequel -Gamefaqs for posting my guide -Wikipedia for providing me with some info on the positions -My fellow gamers for reading and using this FAQ -My Fiance for not bothering me while I finished this FAQ Any questions or comments please E-mail me at: Koolkid11434@yahoo.com