Gentlemen, On some of the mechanics of baseball, professional or otherwise, I have to respectfully disagree with you. By watching all aspects of the pitch, including its delivery, spin, direction, force, velocity, etcetera, a baseball player is often able to tell whether a pitch will be a ball or a strike long before it enters the strike zone. If he cannot tell by the time it has entered the zone, he has the option to check his swing before the bat circles all the way around in order to avoid the strike call.
Certainly determining whether a pitch is a ball or a strike is a very delicate thing, but it is not as difficult as you guys are saying. Many commentators are able to tell not only where the pitch is bound, but also what the actual pitch is--slider, sinker, knuckle ball, and so on. If the commentators can't tell, the player can, and the umpire definitely can. In addition, if it were so impossible to determine ball vs. strike, why are there so many walks in baseball? Players don't just hack at everything that crosses the plate; that's not real baseball. My argument in all of this is that the game makes determining the difference between a ball and a strike nearly impossible for a casual gamer. I don't argue that it should be made painfully simple, but I think that the difficulty factor should be ratcheted down some. There is something to be said for practice; I think that it should be required in any game to give it replay value. But when even the developer admits to swinging at virtually every pitch, something is off the scale. I do think you put together a fun game, Jim, and I appreciate all of the work that went into it. I just think that you could give the player a bit more control and a bit more satisfaction if the pitches weren't such a precise science. I would welcome any discussion on this, however. Ryan -----Original Message----- From: gamers-boun...@audyssey.org [mailto:gamers-boun...@audyssey.org] On Behalf Of Charles Rivard Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:34 PM To: Gamers Discussion list Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Jim Kitchen's Baseball Pitches Even if you don't have perfect pitch, as I don't, you might be able, with practice, determine whether the ball is within the strike zone. As far as the time you have when at bat, a major league batter swings before determining whether a ball will or will not move into the strike zone, so I think this is a realistic part of the game. Good work, Jim. --- Shepherds are the best beasts. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Kitchen" <j...@kitchensinc.net> To: "Ryan Strunk" <Gamers@audyssey.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:13 AM Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Jim Kitchen's Baseball Pitches > Hi Ryan, > > You are totally correct about everything that you said about my baseball > pitches. They are very very hard to hear if they are a strike or a ball. > Personally I mostly swing at everything. I was afraid that if I made them > much easier, people would just never swing and end up with way too many > walks. But in my defense, even with the instant replay the commentators > often can not say for sure if the pitch was a ball or strike. And the > batters swing at anything that is close. > > BFN > > Jim > > I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. > > j...@kitchensinc.net > http://www.kitchensinc.net > (440) 286-6920 > Chardon Ohio USA > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the > list, > please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
