MLB 08: The Show blog series #2

The second in the series of weekly entries on the official Playstation blog has been posted and this time focuses on the pitcher and batter analysis. Click here to read the full blog posting.

With the pitcher analysis you can scout tendencies to find what they like to throw and how often, the location, and the rate of success.

Each pitch type is tracked by the number of pitches, strike percentage and opponent’s batting average. All of this information is pertinent because it shows the pitcher’s strengths and weaknesses for each pitch, in each zone, in all situations.

With the batter analysis you can find the level of success had in each area of the strike zone.

If a batter hits well in a zone, that zone appears red. If he doesn’t hit well, that zone will appear blue. After a long period of time, you’ll see a heavy sample on where a batter like to hit pitches and, conversely, make outs.

Closing up the blog the comment is made that the game is more than just “see pitch, hit pitch” which could be a direct reference to MLB 2K8’s hitting system which is purely timing based. The Show appears to be much deeper and strategic in this regard with pitcher/batter analysis being there to assist with that.