Find the stroke style that suits you
This is the most important tip I can give new players that you should try out all the different battle styles to see which one you like best. MLB The Show 21 has three different hit formats: directional, zone and analog.
Directional hitting is for the most part the simplest of the bunch and you can easily figure out if you want to put a particular spin on the ball when you hit it. So if you are trying to drive the ball to a certain part of the field this can be useful.
Zone hitting is perhaps the format most people use and will cause you to move around a reticle within the hitting zone to try to hit the ball. While it takes a little longer to get used to compared to directional, you can really start hammering the ball with this style if you get good at it.
Finally, analog hitting uses the thumbsticks instead of the face buttons to swing the bat. It may be considered the most difficult of the three styles to master, but it feels smoother once you get used to it.
Different players tend to have different battle schedules and none of them are better than the other. Try all three of them in the opening stages of the game and see which one you like the most before continuing.
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Choose a part of the attack zone to focus on
This is the tip that really helped me improve drastically over the years that I’ve been playing MLB The Show, although it is primarily a suggestion for those using the zone hitting scheme. Rather than trying to chase every throw thrown at you, focus your attention on a specific part of the hitting zone and wait for a throw to hit that right spot.
Often you will find yourself swinging late or just making bad contact when chasing the fields in an area of the attack zone where you don’t expect the ball to land. By focusing your attention on a specific part of the zone with your reticle and waiting for the ball to come towards you, you will find that you can knock many more fields out of the park than ever before.
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Don’t wave to everything
This will seem like an obvious suggestion, but you absolutely shouldn’t swing at every field that comes your way. You would be surprised how many players I play online against this warning, ignore this warning and proceed with whatever is presented to them. This is a very bad habit to get used to and will cause you to regularly score a low number of runs.
Make sure to take some pitches here and there. While taking pitches can lead to strikes, that’s okay. It is important to learn how to count MLB The Show 21 and you should strive to feel comfortable in situations where you get hit twice.
By taking pitchers, you can also see how a pitcher wants to throw at you. Do they want to process the inside or outside of the plate? Do they keep their pitches lower or higher in the zone? These are all essential things to watch out for and keeping yourself from swinging at anything thrown in your path will result in you generating many more hits.
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Use Power Swings sparingly
There are four types of swings to start with MLB The Show 21: standard, contact, current and shock. If you’re someone who wants to launch the ball out of the park, especially with your top hitter, then you may be tempted to use power swings in a plate look as much as possible. However, this is more often than not the wrong approach.
If you use your power swings by default, you will find that you often cannot connect to the ball. Power swings are primarily intended to be used when you know exactly where a pitcher will place the ball in the strike zone. So if you feel like you have a good idea of where that next field is going, feel free to unload with a power swing.
But for the most part, standard swings should become what you use by default. Not only will this help you put the ball into play more often, but standard swings can still lead to home runs. If you are frustrated with how many times you hit while playing MLB The Show 21, maybe a little refraining from using power swings.
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Learn to recognize places
This is by far the most difficult to implement of the five tips I have MLB The Show 21, but it’s vital that you can recognize the types of fields thrown at you over the course of a game. If you’ve dialed in enough, you can get to a point where you can tell what pitch is coming your way as soon as it comes out of a pitcher’s fingertips.
To know what pitches a particular pitcher has in their repertoire, press the right trigger when on the record and you will be able to see the full list. Usually, starting pitchers have many more pitches than relievers. You can also press the right trigger after a throw has been thrown to see exactly where it landed in the zone and what type it was.
Once you get to a point where you think you have a good idea of what the fields will look like when you come up to you, make a game plan and wait for the right chance to strike. Usually fastballs are what you should keep an eye on. If you think you’re seeing a fastball go to a particular part of the zone you’re focusing on, feel free to wave away.
MLB The Show 21 is now available in early access for those who have purchased the Jackie Robinson Edition on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X. The full release will be out in a few days on April 20th.
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