There is more to hitting home runs than just it being a great highlight. As analytics become more available, it’s become clear that winning teams accept strikeouts, terrible averages, and swinging at trash so long as the long ball is a possibility. So it’s not just fun to make a pure power threat forMLB The Show 22, it’s the smart, new way to play.
RELATED:MLB The Show 22: Best Teams
But hitting home runs is not an easy business. There is no shortage ofMLB The Show 22players that get perfect timing, perfect location, and then pop out weakly to the shallow outfield. This should never happen and, with a few tips, players will be winning the home run title every season that they play.
Get Some Powerful Equipment
Four different pieces of equipment can provide a boost to power: rituals, batting gloves, bat grip, and bat. Make sure toequip some gearfor maximum power. If the goal is to hit home runs, these four pieces of gear should be prioritized.
Fix Up The Stance
If balls simply aren’t flying over the fence, the biggest culprit is usually the stance. With a weak stance, it doesn’t matter how well players do everything else, the ball is going to struggle to leave the ground. Move those hands back, get the feet spread out, and add some hand waggle for extra power.
RELATED:MLB The Show 22: How To Slide, Dive, And Jump
More importantly,go in animations and set the swing to one-handed style 3 and the second stride style. Most animations are for fun and flavor, but these have practical effects.Craft a perfect stance, get the animations squared away, and now it’s home run time.
Don’t Forget About Contact
When gamers focus on power, they can easily max out that attribute within their first season. So what next? Well, that’s a great question. Contact expands the zone and increases the area considered a solid hit. That goes for home runs.
It’s nearly impossible to hit a home run with only power, even if that power is completely maxed out. When the area of a solid hit is the size of a pinhead, it’s going to be impossible to hit a home run except by pure luck. Bump up contact right after power and the home run totals will climb.
Choose A Power Archetype And Perks
There is sometimes an idea that using a contact or fielding archetype and then throwing in power hitting will work. If players are looking to hit a couple of home runs a year, sure. But for home runs to be a consistent part of the game, the power archetype is required.
RELATED:MLB The Show 22: Best Teams To Join As A Right Fielder
When playing with the Power archetype, it will upgrade over time. Eventually, gamers will get access to a diamond power archetype that provides 40+ extra power, more than every piece of equipment combines. Tack on four power perks that can be obtained on the market afterearning lots of stubsor simply choosing the power perks from different
Embrace Normal/Contact Swings
So, if the goal is to hit a home run, then a power swing is in order, right? Wrong. Sure, power swings can help put a lot of air under the ball if the cursor and the ball at the point of contact are right on top of each other. But a power swing just under the ball is less effective than contact or normal swings.
After some experimentation, it turns out that balls seem to fly further with a contact swing than with a power swing. There is a good time to power swing, especially if the pitch is low in the zone. But don’t be afraid to switch to normal or contact swings for balls that go higher, these can be the 500-foot moonshots everyone is trying to smack.
MLB The Show 22was released on April 5th, 2022, and is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PlayStation 5.
MORE:MLB The Show 22: How To Win The World Series In Road To The Show
