Offensive Tactics
When your team is at bat, the tactics button array will change
to allow you to tell your batters and baserunners how to
behave.
Swing away
Select Swing away to instruct your
batter to wait for a good pitch to hit and have your baserunners
(if any) run only when the batter makes contact.
Bunt
Select Bunt to instruct your batter to
bunt. Depending on the number of outs and the location of any
baserunners, different types of bunts may be called for -- bunts
for a base hit, sacrifice bunts, suicide squeeze bunts and safety
squeeze bunts.
Hit and run
Select Hit and run to instruct your
runners to go as soon as the pitcher releases the pitch and to have
the batter swing at the next pitch. This improves their chances to
take an extra base on a hit and sharply reduces the likelihood of a
double play ground ball.
If the batter does not make contact, however, a runner may be
thrown out trying to steal. The odds of stealing the base are a
little lower than for an ordinary steal attempt because the runner
is slowed by the need to look back to see if the batter made
contact.
Because the batter must swing at this pitch, no matter how good
or bad it is, he is less likely to hit for power. However, more
ground balls will go through for singles because an infielder must
move to take a throw from the catcher should the batter fail to
make contact.
This strategy is most effective when the batter has a high
average and/or seldom strikes out, since he will almost always make
contact and protect the runner.
Steal
Select Steal to instruct one or more
of your baserunners to attempt a stolen base. If the runner does
not steal often, or the pitcher is good at holding runners close,
the steal attempt may not happen. The runner will go only if he
feels he gets a good jump on the pitcher.
If the pitcher makes a pickoff throw to the base occupied by a
runner who has the signal to steal, his chance of getting picked
off or caught stealing are much higher than if the pitcher makes an
ordinary pitch. But there is no guarantee that a pitcher who
guesses right will pick off the runner. That's because the runner
is studying the pitcher's every move and can often detect that the
pitcher is throwing over early enough to get back safely.
With runners on first and third, the
offensive manager chooses whether to steal only second or try a
double steal (steal both second and home simultaneously). The
former sets up the following chain of decisions:
-
if the offensive manager chooses to steal only second, the
defensive manager decides whether to concede second, or to try to
throw the runner out.
-
if the catcher throws to second, the offensive manager decides
whether to have the runner on third try for home on the throw.
-
if the runner goes for home, the defense decides whether to cut
off the throw to second and make a play at the plate, or let the
throw go through and try make a play at second base. If the
third out is made at second base, the inning ends before the runner
at third scores, and the run does not count.
With runners on
first and second, with third base open, the offensive
manager decides whether to send one or both runners. If both
runners are going, the defense can throw to third or second.
|