If you can hit well in MLB The Show 21, you’ll find yourself in the World Series before you know it.

Hitting is the backbone of any offensive plan in Major League Baseball. You need to put the bat on the ball to win games. Sure, you can score runs on walks and wild pitches, but you’ll rarely see a successful MLB The Show 21 player who isn’t driving the ball into the field.

Learn how to best control your swing and put the bat on the ball to become one of the best sluggers in the game.

Find the right camera view to see the ball

There are tons of camera options in MLB The Show 21. You can place the camera at the strike zone, behind the batter, and even behind the pitcher. The latter doesn’t make much sense for hitting, but if you are comfortable with it, then go for it.

The majority of top players will use one of the Strike Zone choices because it gives a close up view of the ball approaching. That makes it easier to track the ball to either swing or lay off.

Do you sit close to your screen or far away? You can choose a tighter camera angle if you are far away to enlarge the zone. Are you familiar with the pitch types and how they move to the plate? You can select a mid-level camera angle that shows the entire delivery. These are all factors to consider when selecting a camera view. Whichever one you select, get comfortable with it, and use it for good.

Study pitches to learn ball trajectory

You will never succeed at the plate if you don’t understand every type of pitch that may come your way.

Expect everything from generic fastballs to the wildest Slurves. If you can get used to the break of a Curveball, the trajectory of a Slider, and the speed drop of a Changeup, making contact will be easy.

Play some games where you pitch with the camera option behind the plate. Choose a variety of different pitchers and toss every type of pitch. This will help you see how each pitch looks on its way to the plate. From there, it just takes practice to get the timing of different speeds down.

Practice with the Zone interface to keep up with the pros

MLB The Show 21 offers players the three hitting interfaces of Zone, Directional, and Pure Analog.

• Hitters that choose the Diagonal interface can use the joystick to select where pitches will enter the strike zone. Then they hit one of the swing buttons to take a hack.
• Players with the Pure Analog option selected can flick the joystick in the direction of the pitch to swing.

Ignore those two and go for Zone hitting. It places a Plate Coverage Indicator (PCI) on screen. You can then line it up with the ball over any part of the strike zone for more control over your swing.

All top players use this interface. Get some practice in with it and you will have overcome the hardest challenge at bat: becoming familiar with Zone hitting.

Lay off the ball and work the count

Not every pitch is going to be a meaty Fastball down the middle. A good pitcher is going to vary pitches and locations. This ties in with studying the different types of pitches. You need to know when to not swing.

If a ball is headed to your hitter’s cold zone, avoid it unless you truly have to swing with two strikes. If it looks like it is going to land in the dirt or fly past your head, keep the bat on your shoulders. Before you know it, you could have a 3-0 count. From there, you can work a walk or the pitcher may be forced to throw strikes and allow you to smash one out of the park.

Part of that success is understanding a pitcher’s count versus a hitter’s count. If the count sits at 3-1 or even 2-1, the pitcher will more than likely want to throw a strike. Look for a ball to put into play during those counts. On the other hand, if the count is 1-2 or 0-2, you may see pitches off the plate to get you to chase and strikeout.

Swing with the right button to get the most out of a hit

Aside from learning the Zone interface, taking advantage of your hitter’s strengths is the most important aspect of hitting in MLB The Show 21.

If you have a hitter with a good Contact stat, but less than desirable Power, use Circle for a Contact Swing that will simply put the ball in play. On the contrary, use Square for Power Swings to send the ball deep. X is a normal swing that takes both Contact and Power into account. That is the most common swing you should use. The PCI maintains a good size over the plate whereas a Power Swing shrinks the amount of the coverage you hitter gets. The bat will still swing with enough power to hit homeruns.

Get a feel for the situation and decide. Do you have a slugger up to bat and a fastball is coming in a hot zone? Power Swing and crush it. Are the bases loaded with two outs and you just want to keep the line moving with your leadoff hitter up to bat? Contact Swing and drive in a couple runs. Maybe you aren’t sure what’s coming and want to just put the ball in play? Hit X for the reliable Normal Swing.

Couple these hitting tips with strong pitching skills to overwhelm opponents in no time.