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                              MLB '08:THE SHOW
              Fielder Career Mode FAQ(Version 1.0; March 27th '08)
                           Written by: Aj_the_one

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Table of Contents
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* Denotes nothing changed from last years game

A.Version History
B.Introduction
C.Legal Stuff
D.Creating A Fielder
E.Fielding Positions
F.Ratings
G.Starting your Career
 G1.Spring Training
H.Regular Season and Playoffs
 H1.Schedule
 H2.Around the League
  HH1.Standings
  HH2.Statistics
  HH3.Team Overview
  HH4.Team Rankings
  HH5.Who's Hot
  HH6.League Roundup
  HH7.League Leaders
  HH8.Accolades
 H3.Player Management
I.Career Home Menu
 I1.Locker Room
 I2.Contract
 I3.Interactions
 I4.Training
J.Off-Season
K.Retirement
L.Batting/Fielding Tips
M.Fielder Career Progress
N.Points Needed to MAX Ratings
O.The Art of Base Stealing
P.The Art of Home Run Hitting
Q.The Art of Defense
R.Credits

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A.Version History
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Version 1.0-FAQ Completed
Version 1.3-Updated Career Progress and made some changes to all 3 Art Of
sections.
Version 1.4-Made some corrections and Updated to the FAQ and updated my career
progress.
Version 1.5-Updated Career Progress and added a section for the number of 
points needed to max out ratings. Also added a new fielding tip.
Version 1.6-Updated career progress after a long delay
Version 1.7-Made some changes and updated career progress

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B.Introduction
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Awwwwyeah!!!!You know it's baseball season and you know that brings us a new
wonderful game from Sony. This years iteration is better than the last and 
there are a couple of worthwhile additions this year. Enough with the intro
though, let's get to it!!!

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C.Legal Stuff*
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My FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site except for www.gamefaqs.com and www.ign.com or as part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

Copyright 2008 Armand Sellers

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D.Creating a Fielder*
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This is where you will make your future Hall Of Famer(Hopefully). Much like
the pitcher section you choose your batters age, height weight, number, 
position, handedness, batting stance and ratings. Most of the changes are
cosmetic with the exception of your position and your ratings. Since these
are all cosmetic I have no suggestions except for going with what you like.

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E.Fielding Positions
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As you all should know there are 8 positions that can be played and as such
that you can choose from. I will give a brief description of each position
and I what you should expect in that position.

IMPORTANT!!! I didn't add any points to plate discipline because I will be
controlling my batter and I can choose whether to swing at a pitch or not.
Also with all positions I prefer to have speedy contact hitters.

IMPORTANT!!! Each rating can only be increased by 5 points and you have a 
total of 50 points to distribute to all your ratings.

Catcher

His main job is to call the pitches that the pitcher should throw then 
actually catch pitches thrown. In addition to this he also has to catch weak
fly balls behind the plate and also throw out baserunners trying to steal.
Generally aren't fast but need to be durable.

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Arm Strength/Accuracy=+5 Durablity=+5
Plate Vision=+5,Fielding Ability=+5, Clutch=+5.

1st Baseman

He presides over the other "hot corner". Most of your throws in the game will
come to your 1st baseman to get outs. In addition to this he also will keep
runners in check or will play the foul line to spear hard line drives. 
Another position which doesn't require much speed but great reaction time.

Rating Recommendation- Contact/Power=+5, Durability=+5, Arm Strength/
Accuracy=+5,Reaction=+5, Fielding Ability=+5,Clutch=+5, Vision=+5

2nd Baseman

He will be busy throughout the course of the game because he will catch alot
of the balls thrown to second base and he is also responsible for guarding
the middle of the field(shared with the Shortstop). As a result of this he 
will turn alot of Double plays and should have good speed and reaction time
and an accurate arm.

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Durability=+5, Arm Strength/
Accuracy=+5,Reaction=+5, Fielding Ability=+5,Speed=+5

Shortstop

Like the second baseman he also has a similiar position only from the other
side of the 2nd baseman(from the catchers perspective the left side of the
field). He also will chase down shallow fly balls and hits to the short 
outfield in addition to turning double plays. Like the 2nd Baseman, speed and
reaction are important as is arm strength so the ball can get across the field
to 1st base faster.

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Durability=+5, Arm Strength/
Accuracy=+5,Reaction=+5, Fielding Ability=+5,Speed=+5

3rd Baseman

He presides over the "Hot Corner" so called because most Right Handed hitters
will pull the ball hard to this area. He must also catch fly balls in fair
and foul territory and will also throw to second to start double plays. Since
balls will frequently be hit hard at him he should have a good amount of
reaction to jump on bunts and also a strong arm so throws can get to 1st 
base faster. 

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Durability=+5, Arm Strength/
Accuracy=+5,Reaction=+5, Fielding Ability=+5,Clutch=+5


Left Fielder

As the corner infielder closest to the plate he will back the 3rd baseman in
making plays home in addition to fielding both fair and foul balls. Generally
doesn't need a strong arm but is always helpful. Should have good fielding
ability and also a fair amount of speed.

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Durability=+5, Arm Strength/
Accuracy=+5,Reaction=+5, Fielding Ability=+5,Speed=+5

Center Fielder

Is the "captain" of the outfield and is responsible for covering the most
ground to get ot fly balls and also coordinating with other outfielders to
avoid collisions. Since he hase the most ground to cover he should possess a
great amount of speed and fielding ability and good reaction time also. Arm
strength normally isn't paramount but as with all other positions, it helps
alot.

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Speed=+5, Fielding Ability=+5
Reaction=+5, Arm Strength/accuracy=+5, Durability=+5

Right Fielder

As the other corner outfielder he will back up the 1st baseman on balls in his
direction. Also has alot of ground to cover so he should be reasonably fast
and should have a very strong arm because he is farthest from 3rd base and
good fielding ablility so he can actually catch the ball.

Rating Recommendation-Contact/Power=+5, Speed=+5, Fielding Ability=+5
Reaction=+5, Arm Strength/accuracy=+5, Durability=+5

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F.Ratings
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Now this is the meat and potatoes of your player. This is where you will 
develop his ratings strarting out. Needless to say this is extremely important
because how your player starts off is crucial to getting a head start on being
the best player you can be. Your ratings will be balanced though because you
can only increase each stat by 5 points and you have 50 points to spend.

IMPORTANT!!!It is crucial for you to try and achieve the goals that your
manager sets for you. If you fail the goals you'll lose points and that will
be detrimental to your player development.

CONTACT(Left and Right handed)- As it's name implies this rating determines
how easy it is for you to make good contact with the ball. If this rating is
low you could time your swing perfectly and still not get a good hit. This
will also make it easier for you to hit to all fields.

IMPORTANT- All postions
Starting Point- Maxed out(5 points this year)

POWER(Left and Right Handed)- Like contact except this determines how hard you
can hit the ball. If your power rating is high then you will find it easier
to hit homeruns and hard line drives. 

IMPORTANT- 1st/3rd Base,Right/Left Outfielders
Starting Point- Since it only takes 5 points to max this out why not?

BATTING CLUTCH- This rating is basically a test of your mettle or how you 
perform in pressure situations(Runner in scoring position, game on the line).
This is important but not as important as some other ratings which are harder
to raise.

IMPORTANT- All positions
Starting Point- Leave it alone

BUNTING ABILITY- This determines how well you can lay down a bunt. This is
kind of important because if you lay down a good bunt it's easy for you to
get on base. If your fast it becomes even easier.

IMPORTANT- All positions(I guess)
Starting Point- Leave it alone

DRAG BUNTING- This is the same as bunt only it is layed down while the pitch
is in motion and is meant to fool the infielders. 

Important- All positions(I guess)
Starting Point- LIA

PLATE VISION- This determines how much of the plate you can basically see or
cover with a swing. The better this stat becomes wider the narrower the 
strike zone becomes and the eaiser it is for you to see pitches and get hits.
Vlad's plate vision is crazy(Hence the reason why he can knock a pitch that's
close to the dirt out of the park.

IMPORTANT- All positions
Starting Point-+5

PLATE DISCIPLINE- This determines how patient you batter is at the plate.
Obviously this rating doesn't matter if you are controlling your player 
because his discipline is determined by you(you choose what to swing at).If
you are simulating games then this rating becomes important but if not don't
bother.

IMPORTANT- None(If you are controlling the player)
Starting Point- LIA

BASE RUNNING ABILITY- This detemrines how well your player rounds the bases.
Basically this is a measure of he turns back and forth(say if he's running
to second base but has to retreat to first). It also measures how fast you
take off when trying a steal attempt.

IMPORTANT- Fast players
Starting Point- LIA(Won't be more important than speed or Batting)

BASE RUNNING AGGRESIVENESS- This is a measure of how aggresive you player is
rounding the bases. Like plate discipline this rating doesn't matter if you
are controlling the player because you choose how aggressive you are when you
want to steal a base.

IMPORTANT- None(You control your player)
Starting Point- LIA

DURABILITY- This rating determines how many games you can play back to back
and how often you get injured. Players with great durability have long seasons
and careers which should be what you are shooting for. If your durability is
low you won't play in many back to back games because you'll be too tired and
if you can't play then you can't get any points.

IMPORTANT- All Positions
Starting Point-+5

SPEED- As it's name implies it's how fast your player is in the field and on
the base paths. Depending on the position you would want to have a fast player
because that makes it easier to get to balls and turn plays.

IMPORTANT- 2nd Base/Shortstop, Center Fielder
Starting Point- I would say Max this out for all positions since it's only 5
points and I can't think of any other rating to increase in place of this.

ARM STRENGTH- This rating determines how strong you player throws the ball in
the field. This is crucial for Catchers and Corner Outfielders because they
will almost always be in a position to catch a runner(either stealing base or
trying to tag from 3rd base).

IMPORTANT- All positions
Starting Point-+5

ARM ACCURACY- This determines how accurate your throws are. This should be
proportionate to you Strength because a ball thrown hard will no accuracy will
normally do more harm then good. 

IMPORTANT- All positions
Starting Point- +5

REACTION TIME- This determines how fast your player reacts when the ball is in
play. This important for everyone because the faster you react to the ball the
higher the chance you will get an out.

IMPORTANT- All positions
Starting Point-+5

FIELDING ABILITY- This determines how well you layer fields the ball and how
often he will make an error. As a result of this you should want all your
player to have good fielding ability especially the 1st baseman because that's
where most of your throws in a game will go to.

IMPORTANT- ALL Positions
Starting Point-+5

BLOCKING ABILITY- This determines how well you catcher can block a wild pitch
from rolling to the back stop and out of his reach. Important for catchers
because this will cover up some of the mistakes your pitcher will make.

IMPORTANT- Catchers
Starting Point- LIA The starting point for catchers is fine.

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G.Starting your Career*
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Once you have finished making you fielder you will be prompted to select what
team you want to go. Depending on what position you chose to play, your ideal
team will differ. If you want to spend some time in the minors then I would
recommend you go the Yankees or any team that is strong at your position. The 
reason for this is that during spring training you will be playing the MLB
Team and you play almost eveyrday to get some points before the regular season
starts.

G1.Spring Training
You will only have the opportunity to do spring training in your first year.
There are ways to get around this limit though. Whenever your contract is up
decline the offer from the teams and choose to go into the season without a
team. You will get the chance to pick what team you want to play for then you
will be able to do spring training all over again. Your goal in spring 
training is to do good enough to make the team(You will never make the MLB 
team from spring training. You will always start in the minors). This is good
because you get to play with the Big Boys and get alot of training points to 
improve your fielder. Just focus on getting your hits and HR's and you'll do
fine.

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H.Regular Season and Playoffs*
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Once spring training is done you will enter the regular season and a number of
menu options available for you to cycle through. I will give a synopsis of the
options and also go into depth a little bit. I'm going to assume that everyone
who is playing this game knows how the regular season progresses so I'm not
going to explain that in this section. Not a whole lot of changes that I 
noticed this year.

H1.Schedule
As it's name implies this is where you see your teams schedule and where you
have to go to play your games. The greatest feature of THE SHOW is the ability
to simulate innings and games. If you want to advance to your next game you 
would simply hit X and then hit the option that says sim to next appearance. 
The game will simulate all other games until you the one you are playing in.
This will allow you to progress through your career alot faster than if you
had to play every single game.

H2.Around the League
This is basically your stats central. If it's a stat it can be found in this
menu. I will break this down section by section to make it easier to read and
more comprehensive.

HH1.Standings
This is where you come to check the standings in the league. You can see what
your overall record is, How many runs your team has scored, Runs given up, 
Winning Streak,record of last 10 games played,Record against division, Home
record,Away record, Day record and Night Record. Yeah I know it's a lot of 
stats and you probably won't look at them through most of the season.

HH2.Statistics
In this screen you can see the individual statistics for the entire league,
broken down team by team. There is a very comprehensive list of stats and if
I listed them all this section would be alot longer so I am going to name the
primary ones which are:Games Played,At-Bats,Batting Avg,Hits,Runs scored, 
doubles,triples,homeruns,Runs Batted In,Stolen Bases,Times Caught Stealing,
stolen base percentage,Base on Balls, Strikeouts,Slugging Percentage, and
On-Base Percentage.For the pitchers it is:Games Played,Wins,Losses,Earned Run
Average,Games Started,Complete Games,Shutouts,Saves,Blown Saves,Innings 
pitched,Hits allowed,Runs,Earned Runs,HomeRuns,Bases on balls and Strikeouts.
 
HH3.Team Overview
This screen will show your entire organiztion, affiliates and all and the 
state of mind your organization is in whether it's rebuild or push for the
playoffs. Not very useful though.

HH4.Team Rankings
In this screen you can see what your team is ranked in every offensive and
defensive category an also see the top the three players on your team in that
category.

HH5.Who's Hot
Here is where you can see who's hot in the league or who's been on a tear in
the past month. This is useful for seeing who you should avoid when you play
a particular team.

HH6.League Roundup
This is where you can monitor all the transactions in the league. Signings,
trades, releases everything involving the movement of players either from the
DL or to another team or even moving up and down from the minors.

HH7.League Leaders
Here is where you can see who is leading the league in a good portion of the
statistics that were listed above. If you are a stat nut(as most of us are)
then you will spend alot of time in this menu option looking at and glossing
over your stats.

HH8.Accolades
It is in this menu screen that you see who the front runners are for the 
yearly awards and also look at the MLB single-season and career records in
addition to being anle to look at the list of all the players inducted into 
the Hall Of Fame. You can also see where everybody is in terms of the All-Star
voting. Depending on how good your numbers are you will spend some time in the
awards and the All-Star voting sections.

H3.Player Management
In this screen you see your team's batting order and pitching rotation but 
since your a player not a manager you can't mess with any of the lineups or
rotations. This means you have to rely on the manager putting you in the game
which can be very frustrating. By pressing O you can see your player card 
which has your information on it such as your stats for the current season and
the one before it,all of your ratings, your contract info and your scouting
report which can be interesting to read. This is where you can see where you
measure up with the rest of the league. The scouting report tells you about
your player. It's also interesting to see what they are saying about you as a
player.Since you can't edit the rosters the only reason for you coming here 
is to see how much better or worse you are than your teammates which can 
affect your playing time.

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I.Career Home Menu
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I decided to dedicate a whole section to this area of the game because it has
some really important options that need to be discussed in depth so everybody
can have a good understanding of how they work. As I will break this up into
sections for ease of reading.

NEW CHANGE- When you go to this screen you will see that the layout has been
completely changed from last year. The Home menu now alternates between your
season and last game stats, your scouting report and contract information.

I1.Locker Room
Not much has changed in this section of your career mode. You can check 
messages from your manager or teammates, see your game or career stats, see
your personal list of achievements and a graph charting your stats
throughout your career. 

I2.Advancement Goals
New to this years game are the advancement goals. These basically boil down to
the things you need to do to move your way up. From what I've seen so far they
consist of improving specific ratings to to a point and also keeping a certain
feilding %. For a fielder you will see things like drive in a certain number
of runs or collect a certain number of bases. It's important to try and meet
these goals, if you don't you will either be booted from the lineup or dropped
in the order.

I3.Interactions
Much like last year you will see situational interactions like when you aren't
getting enough playing time or are in the lower half of the batting order.

RETIRE-"Retire from major league baseball and ride off into the sunset like a
true professional."

Reaction- Retiring will allow you to look at your plaque with a statement of
how you did in the league. You will be able to look at your numbers one last
time but you won't be able to play with your player anymore and you will also
have to start another career mode.

I4.Training
Okay!! This is where you will spend most of your time in your career because
it is here where you will make your pitcher better by using the training hours
that you accumlate through completing the in-game tasks. Now you only have
one primary rating that is trained and 2-3 secondary ratings trained.

IMPORTANT!!! Whereas last yeat it mattered whether your team won, this year it
doesn't mean anything. If you go 5 for 5 in a losing effort you will get the
same amount of points you would have if you won.

Batting Cages vs. RHP- "Fine tune your hitting skills in the cage".
Primary Attributes- Contact R
Secondary Attributes- Contact L

Batting Cages vs. LHP- "Hit off southpaws in the batting cage"
Primary Attributes- Contact L
Secondary Attributes- Contact R

Weight Room- "Beef up your power by hitting the weight room"
Primary Attributes- Power R, Power L
Seconday Attributes- Power L, Power R

Batting Coach- "Work with your coach to improve your swing"
Primary Attributes- Vision, Plate Discipline, Clutch
Seconday Attributes- Discipline/Clutch, Vision/Clutch, Vision/Discipline

Bunting Drills- "Learn to bunt with presice accuracy"
Primary Attributes- Bunting Ability
Seconday Attributes- Drag Bunting

Drag Bunting- "Learn how to bunt for hits consistently"
Primary Attributes- Drag Bunting
Seconday Attributes- Bunting Ability/Speed

Stretching- "Keep yourself limber and loose to avoid injuries"
Primary Attirbutes- Durablity
Secondary Attributes- Reaction Time

Sprints- "Sprints will help you improve your speed"
Primary Attributes- Speed
Seconday Attributes- Base Running Ability

Long Toss- "Long toss will improve your arm strength"
Primary Attributes- Arm Strength
Seconday Attributes- Arm Accuracy

Infield Drills- "Improve your fielding skills"
Primary Attributes- Throwing Accuracy, Fielding Ability
Seconday Attributes- Throwing Strength, Reaction Time

Shagging Fly Balls- "Learn to take better routes to the ball"
Primary Attributes- Reaction Time
Seconday Attributes- Fielding Ability

Base Running Drills- "Improve your skills on the base paths"
Primary Attributes- Base Running Ability, Base Running Aggressiveness
Secondary Attributes-Speed, Base Running Aggressiveness/Base Running Ability

I5.Batting Performance
New to this years game is the tracking of your batting performance. Depending
on whether he gets alot of hits or frequently strikes out or rarely gets on
base he will recieve a bonus or decline in his hitting ability. This can have
a very dynamic impact on your career and makes it all the more important to
try and be consistant. My player is hot and now when I see fastballs in the
zone I hit homeruns(though my swing is timed right and I have little to no
power and not much contact either). This should testify as to how important
this can be.

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J.Off-Season*
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For all the stuff you have to do during the season you would the off-season
would be worse right? Well you'd be wrong you have 4 options to look at in the
off-season menu which are Retirements,Hall of Fame inductees,Career 
progression and end off-season. There really isn't anything to do except look
at a numerical representation of how much better you got. Outside of that just
continue on to end off-season and start the next year. If you are in a
contract year then you will have the option of resigning with your old team or
accepting a contract from a new team. Regardless of what you do, you can get
alot more then what they are offering(depending on how good your player is).
Make sure that you save your game before you go into the off season so when
you negotiate your contract you can see how much money you can get out of 
them. This area has remained unchanged from last year.

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K.Retirement*
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If you choose the retirement option in the Career Home menu your manager will
Will give you a message basically supporting your decision to retire. After 
that message you will see your plaque which will have a paragraph basically 
outlining how great or poor you were in your career. 

IMPORTANT!!!In order for you to get into the Hall Of Fame it doesn't matter
how filled up your bar is, your status symbol must Hall Of Fame instead of
All-Star.

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L.Hitting/Fielding Tips
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I've kept this section the same because from what i've seen so far all of 
these tips still apply in this year's game.

Tip#1- WAIT FOR YOUR PITCH!!!I can't stress how important this is in terms of
getting hits and HR's. Wait for a pitch that you are comfortable with hitting.
For me it's pitches that come on the inside. I wait until the pitch is thrown
to that location then I jump on the pitch. Everybody has different hitting 
styles and zones so stick with your favorite and most comfortable zone and
you will rack up the hits!!

Tip#2- BE PATIENT AT THE PLATE!!! This is actually an extension from the first
tip but equally as important. Everytime I have went into a hitting slump this
was the cure. Guess your favorite pitch and location and wait for the pitcher
to throw either(Depending on the zone and the pitch you will guess both right
at the same time)to your location or your pitch. This gives you wider plate
coverage and makes it easier to hit the ball.

Tip#3- ON INSIDE PITCHES PULL THE BALL!!!Since the ball is already coming
toward you, use the momentum to launch the ball out of the park or at least
get a hit. This is the easiest way to hit a Home run especially when swinging
with Power.

Tip#4- LAY DOWN A DRAG BUNT TO GET EASY HITS!!!I should note that this only
works with a VERY HIGH speed rating. I have done this at least 50 times and
haven't gotten caught yet. And my drag bunting rating is 0. If you need to
continue a hit streak or want to start one, try to lay down the bunt on your
1st AB.

Tip#5- THIS MIGHT NOT WORK FOR EVERYBODY!!!GUESS THE PITCH DIRECTION OPPOSITE
OF WHERE YOU ARE COMFORTABLE HITTING THE BALL!Since I see the ball better when
it is moving away from my batter(and he's a switch hitter) I guess to the
inside when batting against a RHP and guess to the outside against a LHP. I
basically do this to cover my plate vision. If I guess right then I see where
the pitch is going. If i'm wrong I know the pitch isn't coming inside and I 
can adjust my swing. 

Tip#6- TRY TO GET HITTING STREAKS!!!Although most of you have already been
trying to do this, TRY HARDER!!! because the game rewards you handsomely for
lengthy hitting streaks. I get 100 points every game even I get a base hit.
You really start to see the difference once you get to 10 games.
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M.Fielder Career Progress
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Once again I'll chart my career progress to give you an idea of how I develop
my player.

IMPORTANT!!!!In this years game you only have 50 points to spend to start your
career!!! You can't decrease any stats either as I guess the goal was to make
your player as balanced as possible from the outset. This is actually a
benefit in disguise because you can improve all the important stats starting
out.

Throws/Bats=Right/Right
Position=Centerfielder/OF
Batting Stance=Ken Griffey Jr.
Contact L/R=+5
Power L/R=+5
Speed=+5
Durability=+5
Plate Vision=+5
Speed=+5
Arm Strength=+5
Arm Accuracy=+5
Fielding Ability=+5
All Others-None

I chose to start my career with the Yankees, me being a fan and all.

Spring Training with the Yankees

April-I had a fairly good April considering the playing time that I got. I
didn't hit any home runs but I did steal a couple of bases.

G=16 AB=52 Avg=.365 H=19 R=9 2B=3 RBI=4 SB=12 CS=5 BB=1 K=6 OBP=.370

Total Points=525 points
Batting Cages(RHP)-325 points
Batting Coach=50(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Stretching=50 points
Sprints=50 points
Long Toss=50 points

May-I petitioned for a start in the beginning of the month and got one and
haven't looked back since. I hit 7 HR's and my avg went up to .443. I'm also
starting to see pitches better.

G=38 AB=40 Avg=.443 H=62 R=27 2B=13 3B=1 HR=7 RBI=25 SB=32 CS=17 BB=2 K=10 
OBP=.451 PO=76 E=0 Inn=282.2

Total Points=1111 points
Batting Cages(RHP)=150 points
Batting Coach=121 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Weight Room(RH)=100 points
Bunting Drills=160 points
Stretching=200 points
Sprints=200 points
Long Toss=100 points
Infield Drills=80 points(Fld,Reac)

June-

G=61 AB=237 Avg=.460 H=109 R=37 2B=26 3B=1 HR=8 RBI=44 SB=54 CS=31 BB=5 K=15 
OBP=.469 PO=127 E=0 Inn=476.2

Total Points=1328 points
Batting Cages(RHP)=153 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=150 points
Weight Room(RH)=100 points
Batting Coach=70 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=50 points
Stretching=255 points
Sprints=200 points
Long Toss=300 points
Infield Drills=50 points(Fld,Reac)

July-I made the All-Star team and got 250 extra points for it!! I also hit a
couple of milestones this month also which is the reaosn for me having so many
points. I got 150 hits and stole my 75th base.

G=88 AB=359 Avg=.449 H=161 R=54 2B=43 3B=2 HR=12 RBI=76 SB=75 CS=41 BB=5 K=21 
OBP=.454 PO=212 E=0 Inn=726.2

Total Points=2182 points 
Batting Cages(RHP)=580 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=137 points
Weight Room(RH)=90 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=150 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=75 points
Stretching=450 points
Sprints=200 points
Long Toss=300 points
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac)

August-I would say I had I really good month getting 3 HR's and 35 RBI's and
swiping 28 bases while raising my average 10 points. I got some points for
getting 200 hits, 50 doubles and stealing 100 bases also.

G=118 AB=497 Avg=.461 H=229 R=82 2B=60 3B=6 HR=15 RBI=111 SB=103 CS=51 BB=6 
K=30 OBP=.466 A=5 PO=281 E=0 Inn=1004.2

Total Points=2160 points 
Batting Cages(RHP)=550 points
Weight Room(RH)=115 points
Batting Coach=245 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=100 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=100 points
Stretching=400 points
Sprints=100 points
Long Toss=450 points
Infield Drills=50 points(Acc,Arm)
Infield Drills=50 points(Fld,Reac)

September-We won the division and we'll play the Binghamton Mets in the
Division game. 

Durability=63 points

Division Series vs. Binghamton Mets

Game 1-Hager vs. Burr(Win 2-1)

AB=4 H=2 2B=1 RBI=1 SB=2 K=1

Game 2-Grimm vs. Connoy(Win 4-1)

AB=3 H=2 RBI=3 SB=1

Game 3-Lockett vs. Schreiber(Win 5-0)

AB=4 H=1 R=1 SB=1

We swept the mets and I got Player of the game in the 1st and second game. I
also got 390 points in the series since all the goals and the point you get
from them are amplified.

EL Champpionship vs. Altoona Curve

Game 1-Connoy vs. Abe(Loss 2-0)

AB=4 H=2 SB=2

Game 2-Hillman vs. Emery(Win 7-1)

AB=4 H=3 RBI=1 R=3 SB=3

Game 3-Hager vs. Gutierrez(Win 2-0)

AB=4 H=3 SB=1 R=1

Game 4-Grimm vs.Dumatraut(Win 7-5)

AB=5 H=4 RBI=2 3B=1

We won the EL Championship and I had a pretty good run in the playoff racking
up 926 points.

Playoff Stats

G=7 AB=28 Avg=.607 H=17 R=6 2B=2 3B=1 RBI=7 SB=10 OBP=.586 PO=15 INN=63.0

Batting Cages(RHP)=300 points
Weight Room(RH)=200 points
Batting COach=50 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Stretching=50 points
Sprints=100 points
Long Toss=226 points

Career Progression(Rookie Year)

Age=24
Overall=+15
Con LHP=+14
Con RHP=+25
Pow L=+5
Pow R=+14
Clutch=+4
Bunting=+11
Drag Bunt=+3
Dur=+24
Vis=+13
Disc=+7
Speed=+9
Fld=+4
Arm Str=+19
Arm Acc=+8
Reaction=+10
BR Abl=+6

The Yankees offered me a 2 year contract for $675,000. I changed the contract
to 1 year for $340,000 since i'll be much better next year. It's also for a 
AAA starting position.

2nd Season(AAA Yankees)

April-Started the season on a good note keeping my avg in the 400's and 
getting on base frequently.

G=17 AB=75 Avg=.440 H=33 R=7 2B=7 3B=1 RBI=6 SB=16 OBP=.444 PO=40 INN=136.0

Total Points=758 points
Batting Cages(RHP)=258 points
Weight Room(RH)=200 points
Batting Coach=50 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Stretching=50 points
Sprints=50 points
Long Toss=100 points
Fielding Drills=50 points(Fld,Reac)

May-Continued my dominance of the AAA pitching racking up 55 hits and stealing
33 bases.

G=45 AB=205 Avg=.429 H=88 R=33 2B=19 3B=2 HR=2 RBI=25 SB=49 OBP=.427 PO=105 
INN=393.0

Total Points=1442 points
Batting Cages(RHP)=200 points
Weight Room(RH)=100 points
Batting Coach=142 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=50 points
Stretching=300 points
Sprints=300 points
Long Toss=250 points
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac)

June-I got called up to the Yankees due to Andy Pettite getting injured in the
middle of the month. As a result I didn't spend too many points this month as
I wanted to save them in case I came up short in the majors.

AAA
G=63 AB=271 Avg=.417 H=113 R=43 2B=24 3B=6 HR=4 RBI=31 SB=62 OBP=.418 PO=138 
INN=526.1

MLB
G=5 AB=16 Avg=.250 H=4 R=1 2B=1 3B=1 RBI=1 SB=1 OBP=.250 PO=12 INN=35.2

Total Points=809 points
Batting Cages(RHP)=174 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=100 points
Batting Coach=98 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)

July- After a rough start in the bigs I would say my player has adjusted 
nicely to the majors getting 29 hits in the month though I need to work on my
power so my shots that reach the wall can get over it.

G=27 AB=97 Avg=.340 H=33 R=9 2B=4 3B=1 HR=1 RBI=16 SB=20 BB=3 OBP=.349 PO=77 
INN=219.1

Batting Cages(RHP)=158 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=163 points
Weight Room(RH)=150 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=50 points
Stretching=100 points
Sprints=50 points
Long Toss=160 points
Infield Drills=50 points(Fld,Reac)

August-I turned the plate coverage indicator on in the middle of the month and
subsequently saw my hitting dramatically improve. I would strongly recommend
this if you are struggling at the plate. I hit 3 HR's and making contact is so
easy now. I'm also the front runner for Rookie of the year.

G=47 AB=194 Avg=.381 H=74 R=25 2B=15 3B=3 HR=4 RBI=38 SB=33 BB=3 K=6 OBP=.389 
PO=132 INN=398.1

Batting Cages(RHP)=223 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=160 points
Weight Room(RH)=155 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=40 points
Stretching=60 points
Sprint=50 points
Long Toss=202 points
Infield Drills=50 points

September-Melky Cabrera came off the DL and I got benched as a result although
i'm batting .390. I soon petitioned to the manager and he gave me back my 
start and I continued on the same torrid pace that i've been on and i'm still
in the lead for Rookie of the year.

Regular Season Stats
G=73 AB=302 Avg=.384 H=116 R=42 2B=24 3B=5 HR=6 RBI=53 SB=62 BB=4 K=9 OBP=.395
PO=189 INN=626.1

Total Points=1657
Batting Cages(RHP)=208 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=209 points
Weight Room(RH)=238 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=50 points
Stretching=350 points
Sprints=200 points
Long Toss=200 points
Infield Drills=50 points(Acc,Arm)
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac)

October-We finished the season 109-53 and won our division. We'll be playing
the A's in the divisional playoffs.

Divisional Playoffs vs. Oakland A's

Game 1-Chamberlain vs. Harden(Loss 6-2)

AB=4 H=1 2B=1 K=1

Game 2-Wang vs. Blanton(Win 6-4)

AB=4 H=2 R=2 2B=1 3B=1 

Game 3-Pettitte vs. Gaudin(Win 8-2)

AB=5 H=1 2B=1 R=1 RBI=1 SB=1

Game 4-Ohlendorf vs. Teicheira(Win 6-1)

AB=5 H=3 R=2 RBI=1 2B=1 SB=3

AL Championship vs. Cleveland Indians

Game 1-Pavano vs. Byrd(Loss 8-5)

AB=4 H=3 R=1 2B=1 SB=2

Game 2-Chamberlain vs. Sabathia(Win 3-2)

AB=4 H=2 R=2 3B=1 RBI=1 SB=3

Game 3-Wang vs. Lincecum(Win 5-0)

AB=4 H=0 RBI=1 K=1

Game 4-Pettitte vs. Westbrook(Win 9-3)

AB=4 H=2 R=2 RBI=2 SB=2

Bunting Drills=50 points

Game 5-Ohlendorf vs. Sanchez(Win 3-2)

AB=4 H=1 R=1 K=1

World Series vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Game 1-Pavano vs. Youman(Loss 3-1)

AB=3 H=1 RBI=1

Game 2-Chamberlain vs. Hamels(Win 3-2)

AB=4 H=2 SB=2

Game 3-Wang vs. Myers(Win 1-0)

AB=4 H=2 SB=1

Game 4-Pettitte vs. Castro(Win 6-5)

AB=3 H=1 IBB=1 

Game 5-Ohlendorf vs. Patton(Loss)
DNP

Game 6-Pavano vs. Youman(Win 12-10)

AB=5 H=3 R=2 RBI=1 SB=2

Playoff Stats

GP=14 AB=57 Avg=.421 H=24 R=12 2B=6 3B=2 RBI=8 SB=16 BB=1 K=3 OBP=.424 A=1 
PO=49 Inn=126

We won the World Series and I got the AL Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove OF,
AL Playoff MVP and the World Series MVP. I also accumulated 1246 points in the
playoffs.

Total Points=1246
Batting Cages(RHP)=200 points
Batting Cages(LHP)=1046 points

Career Progression(2nd Year)

Age=25
Overall=+12
Con LHP=+22
Con RHP=+18
Pow L=+6
Pow R=+13
Clutch=+3
Bunting=+8
Drag Bunt=+3
Dur=+10
Vis=+10
Disc=+4
Speed=+6
Fld=+5
Arm Str=+10
Arm Acc=+5
Reaction=+5
BR Abl=+4

I told the Yankees that I wanted to stay with them in the middle of the season
and they offered me a 5 year contract for $2.6 million but I made it a 1 year
contract for $555,000 since I know i'll be worth more next year after playing
a full season as a starter in the Majors!!

3rd Season(MLB Yankees)

April-I started the season out batting leadoff. After two games I got dropped
to sixth wehre I stayed most of the month. I can't complain though because I
had alot of chances to drive people in and that's why I had 11 RBI's.

G=22 AB=85 Avg=.400 H=34 R=12 2B=4 HR=1 RBI=11 SB=15 K=4 OBP=.395 A=2 PO=48  
INN=165.2

Batting Cages(LHP)=244 points
Weight Room(RH)=125 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Stretching=100 points
Sprints=100 points
Long Toss=200 points

May-I had a really good may getting 43 hits and driving in 20 runs while 
swiping 27 bases. I'm also in line to get another Gold Glove and a shot at
the All-Star game.

G=47 AB=184 Avg=.419 H=77 R=29 2B=13 3B=3 HR=3 RBI=31 SB=42 K=7 OBP=.423 A=3 
PO=115 INN=355.0

Total Points=818
Batting Cages(LHP)=100 points
Weight Room=200 points
Batting Coach=93 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=40 points
Sprints=100 points
Long Toss=200 points
Infield Drills=85 points(Fld,Reac)

June-I had great June smashing 6 HR's and piling on the hits. I don't know
where the surge came from  but I'm swinging the bat and the ball is leaving
the park.

G=71 AB=283 Avg=.424 H=120 R=44 2B=20 3B=6 HR=9 RBI=50 SB=57 K=8 OBP=.429 A=5 
PO=167 INN=549.0

Batting Cages(LHP)=390 points
Weight Room(RH)=163 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=44 points
Stretching=83 points
Sprints-200 points
Long Toss=200 points
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac)

July-Had a great July in which I raised my average by 20 points and drove in
27 runs. I made the All-Star Team and got 500 points for it also. This raised
my Status to All-Star so I put the difficulty up to All-Star from Veteran. I'm
also leading the race for the Silver Slugger, Hank Aaron and Gold Glove awards
in addition to being 3rd in the the MVP race.

G=93 AB=383 Avg=.444 H=170 R=60 2B=30 3B=6 HR=11 RBI=77 SB=79 K=10 OBP=.449 
A=5 PO=222 INN=733.0

Total Points=1472
Batting Cages(LHP)=115 points
Weight Room(RH)=249 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=100 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=46 points
Stretching=152 points
Sprints=300 points
Long Toss=300 points
Infield Drills=110 points(Fld,Reac)

August-I got my 200th hit and 100th stolen base this month which gave 200 
points to spend. I'm on pace to break Ichiro's hit record though i'll have to
push it.

G=115 AB=479 Avg=.443 H=212 R=73 2B=39 3B=10 HR=12 RBI=98 SB=108 K=14 OBP=.449
A=5 PO=281 INN=925.0

Total Points=2848
Batting Cages(LHP)=236 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=50 points
Stretching=168 points
Infield Drills=125 points(Fld,Reac)

September-I had a pretty good september and am on the verge of breaking the
record for hits in a season. I also am in the 3 spot now since A-Rod got hurt.
I won the Silver Slugger and A Gold Glove award. I also broke the single
season hit record with 263 and got 1000 points for it.

Season Stats

G=141 AB=595 Avg=.442 H=263 R=97 2B=48 3B=14 HR=15 RBI=122 SB=126 K=19 
OBP=.452 A=7 PO=360 INN=1154.0

Batting Cages(RHP)=200 points
Batting Cages(LHP)200 points
Weight Room(RH)=800 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Bunting Drills=43 points
Stretching=226 points
Sprints=300 points
Long Toss=469 points
Infield Drills=110 points(Fld,Reac)

October-We finished the season 112-50 and won the division. We will play the
Los Angeles Angels in the divisional.

Divisional Playoffs vs. Los Angeles Angels 

Game 1-Chamberlain vs. Lackey(Win 4-3)

AB=4 H=1 RBI=1 SB=1

Game 2-Carmona vs. Escobar(Loss 3-2)

AB=4 H=3 RBI=1 2B=1 SB=3

Game 3-Wang vs. Weaver(Loss 5-1)

AB=4 H=0

Game 4-Pettite vs. Garland(Win 5-0)

AB=5 H=2 RBI=1 2B=1 SB=2

Weight Room(RH)=349 points
Stretching=300 points
Sprints=500 points
Long Toss=400 points

Game 5-Pavano vs. Saunders(Win 8-5)

AB=4 H=1 RBI=1 SB=2

AL Championship vs. Cleveland Indians

Game 1-Chamberlain vs. Lewis(Loss 11-8)

AB=5 H=1 SB=1 K=1

Game 2-Carmona vs. Sabathia(Win 11-0)

AB=5 H=3 RBI=3 2B=1 SB=4 

Game 3-Wang vs. Lincecum(Win 3-2)

AB=3 H=1 RBI=1 2B=1 SB=1 IBB=2

Game 4-Pettite vs. Westbrook(Win 2-1)

AB=5 H=3 2B=1 SB=2 R=1 

Game 5-Pavano vs. Hughes(Loss 8-1)

AB=4 H=2 SB=1 CS=2

Game 6-Chamberlain vs. Lewis(Win 6-3)

AB=4 K=1

World Series vs. Atlanta Braves

Game 1-Carmona vs. Carlyle(Loss 5-3)

AB=4 H=0 K=1 R=1 SB=3

Game 2-Wang vs. Smoltz(Win 6-5)

AB=4 H=2 RBI=1 CS=3

Game 3-Pettite vs. Hudson(Win 5-1)

AB=3 H=2 HR=1 R=2 RBI=2 BB=1 SB=3

Game 4-Pavano vs. Jurrjens(Loss 13-5) 

AB=5 H=4 2B=1 R=2

Carl Pavano is a bum and I still can't figure out why he's on the team...

Game 5-Chamberlain vs. Acosta(Win 4-1)

AB=4 H=1 HR=1 RBI=2 R=1 IBB=1 

Game 6-Carmona vs. Carlyle(Win 5-2)

AB=4 H=2 R=1 3B=1 SB=1

Playoff Stats

G=17 AB=70 Avg=.400 H=28 R=10 2B=6 3B=1 HR=2 RBI=13 SB=26 K=3 OBP=.440 A=1 
PO=52 INN=152  

Total Playoff Points=2398
Batting Cages(LHP)=300 points
Weight Room(RH)=700 points
Stretching=300 points
Sprints=598 points(MAX)
Long Toss=500 points

We won the World Series and I was formally awarded the Silver Slugger and
Hank Aaron awards, another Gold Glove, the AL Playoff MVP and the World Series
MVP.

Career Progression(3rd Year)

Age=26
Overall=+16
Con LHP=+15
Con RHP=+6
Pow L=+14
Pow R=+29
Clutch=+4
Bunting=+4
Drag Bunt=+2
Dur=+13
Vis=+10
Disc=+4
Speed=+17
Fld=+7
Arm Str=+20
Arm Acc=+10
Reaction=+8
BR Abl=+11

The Yankees offered me $14,600,000 for 8 years but that's not enough money
for me so I took 2 years at $3,850,000.

4th Season(MLB Yankees)

April-As you can see from the number of Doubles and Triples that I have, my
power has increased but my long balls aren't getting over the wall. I did
steal 40 bases though and i've made the decision to try and get the single
season record for steals.

G=21 AB=86 Avg=.477 H=41 R=21 2B=3 3B=3 HR=1 RBI=13 SB=40 BB=2 K=4 OBP=.489 
A=2 PO=46 INN=182  

Batting Cages(RHP)=59 points
Weight Room(RH)=180 points
Batting Coach=357 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=200 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=60 points
Stretching=200 points
Sprints=40 points
Long Toss=100 points
Infield Drills=100 points

May-I got benched in the middle of the month for not completing my goals and 
didn't get my start back until the end of the month severely hurting my
productivity.

G=41 AB=156 Avg=.436 H=68 R=31 2B=8 3B=6 HR=3 RBI=20 SB=54 BB=3 K=7 OBP=.447 
A=5 PO=88 INN=318 

June-Had a vicious slump in the first half of the month with my average 
dropping to .397 by me going 2 for 20. After a couple of days rest I got back
in the swing of things and started hitting HR's and Triples.

Batting Cages(LHP)=77 points
Weight Room(RH)=436 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=100 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=40 points
Strecthing=100 points
Sprints=40 points
Long Toss=80 points
Infield Drills=40 points(Acc,Arm)
Infield Drills=40 points(Fld,Reac) 

July-I got sent down to AAA on the 8th for some reason which really pissed me
off cause I was going to the All-Star game and I didn't get my points bonus for
getting there. This also left me without enough bats to contend for the silver
slugger or Hank Aaron awards.

AAA Stats

G=15 AB=62 Avg=.484 H=30 R=15 2B=2 3B=7 HR=3 RBI=12 SB=16 BB=1
OBP=.508 PO=34 

MLB stats

G=72 AB=280 Avg=.411 H=115 R=58 2B=15 3B=11 HR=12 RBI=57 SB=77 BB=6
K=10 OBP=.423 A=8 PO=186 INN=574

Batting Cages(LHP)=100 points
Weight Room(LH)=333 points
Batting Coach=100 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=100 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=100 points
Strecthing=200 points
Sprints=40 points
Long Toss=80 points
Infield Drills=160 points(Acc,Arm)
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac) 

August-I got called back up to the majors and got right back in to my groove
getting 51 hits for the month and hitting 7 HR's and driving in 33 runs.

G=96 AB=381 Avg=.433 H=165 R=81 2B=26 3B=18 HR=19 RBI=90 SB=94 BB=8 K=12
OBP=.444 A=9 PO=239 INN=779.1

Total Points=2087
Weight Room(RH)=300 points
Weight Room(LH)=300 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Batting Coach=187 points(Disc,Vis/Clt)
Bunting Drills=200 points
Stretching=400 points
Infield Drills=200 points(Acc,Arm)
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac)

September-Continued to hit the ball well racking up great numbers and
making myself the front runner for MVP, Hank Aaron and Silver Slugger awards.
I'm also in line for another Gold Glove.

G=122 AB=494 Avg=.445 H=220 R=103 2B=38 3B=22 HR=26 RBI=122 SB=124 CS=45 BB=14
K=16 OBP=.461 A=10 PO=322 INN=1002.1

Batting Cages(LHP)=71 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)
Stretching=661 points
Sprints=40 points

October- We finished the season 108-54 and won our division again. We will be
playing the Detroit Tigers in the Divisional playoff.

Divisional Series vs.Detroit Tigers

Game 1- Chamberlain vs. Hamels(Win 11-8)

AB=5 H=1 HR=1 RBI=2

Game 2-Haren vs. Willis(Win 10-5)

AB=5 H=4 R=1 RBI=4 CS=2 2B=2 3B=1

Game 3-Carmona vs. Bonderman()

AB=4 H=1 SB=2

Weight Room(RH)=400 points
Weight Room(LH)=400 points
Bunting Drills=48 points
Infield Drills=100 points(Fld,Reac)

Championship Series vs. LA Angels

Game 1-Wang vs. Wright(Win 3-2)

AB=4 H=0

Game 2-Igawa vs. Wright(Win 5-4)

AB=3 H=1 RBI=2 BB=1 SB=3

Game 3-Chamberlain vs. Lackey(Loss 4-3)

AB=4 H=2 R=1 HR=1 RBI=1

Game 4-Haren vs.Weaver(Loss 7-6)

AB=4 H=3 HR=1 RBI=3

Game 5-Carmona vs. Garland(Win 3-2)

AB=5 H=2 SB=1 

Game 6-Wang vs. Escobar(Win 2-1)

AB=4 H=1 SB=1 

World Series vs. LA Dodgers

Game 1-Igawa vs. Penny(Loss 8-1)

AB=4 H=0 R=1 SB=1

Batting Cages(LHP)=42 points
Weight Room(LH)=300 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis, Disc/Clt)
Stretching=100 points
Sprints=40 points
Infield Drills=360 points(Acc,Arm)
Infield Drills=200 points(Fld,Reac)

Game 2-Chamberlain vs. Tran(Loss 13-5)

AB=4 H=2 HR=1 RBI=3 SB=1

Game 3-Haren vs. Schmidt(Win 19-4)

AB=4 H=3 R=3 RBI=1 BB=2

Game 4-Carmona vs.Lohse(Win 3-2)

AB=4 H=2 HR=1 RBI=1 SB=1

Game 5-Wang vs. Billingsley(Win 4-3 13 innings)

AB=6 H=2 2B=1 3B=1

Game 6-Igawa vs. Penny(Loss 4-3)

AB=5 H=1

Game 7-Chamberlain vs. Tran(Win 1-0)

AB=4 H=0 

Weight Room(LH)=389 points
Batting Coach=200 points(Vis,Disc/Clt)

We won the World Series after a grueling 7 game series with the Dodgers but I
will say that'sthe hardest series i've ever played in this game. I was 
formally awarded the AL Playoff MVP, AL MVP, Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger
award and my 3rd Gold Glove.

Career Progression(4th Year)
 
Age=27
Overall=+8
Con LHP=+3
Con RHP=+1
Pow L=+27
Pow R=+18
Clutch=+8
Bunting=+12
Drag Bunt=+7
Dur=+17
Vis=+17
Disc=+14
Speed=+2
Fld=+8
Arm Str=+5
Arm Acc=+11
Reaction=+10
BR Abl=+2

I decided to exercise my option with the Yankees and come back for next season
since i'll get more money next year.

5th Season(Yankees)

April-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N.Points Needed to MAX Ratings
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since i'm constantly trying to think of ways to improve my FAQ I came across
the idea of finding out how many points are needed to max out each rating. I
figured this would be useful to some of you who read the FAQ so enjoy. I 
should note that I added up all the points I spent in my RTTS career although
most of my ratings aren't Maxed out yet(they're close though). The only one
that is maxed out right now and therefore has the most accurate number is my
speed trained by doing Sprints and nothing else.

IMPORTANT!!!For Contact and Power I will include the points that I spent in
total for both, since they are raised together. Also since i'm a CF my contact
was higher when I started so these totals are for CF's though they can be 
applied to all positions with some increases/Decreases)

CONTACT vs.LHP/RHP=8000 points
Spent=7229
vs. LHP=3550
vs. RHP=3679

POWER RH=6000 points(I only trained my Power vs. RHP, which is why this 
number is lower than the contact)
Spent=4009
RH=4009

SPEED=3598 points
Spent=3598

LONG TOSS=5000 points
Spent=4607

INFIELD DRILLS=3000 points(Acc,Arm)
Spent=100(+4607 from Long Toss since it trains Acc also)

DURABILITY=5500 points
Spent=3594
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O. The Art of Base Stealing 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been spending some time trying to figure out what I can add which would
be useful to both 1st time viewers and frequent visistors to my FAQ. I came
up with stealing bases!! Since i've become fairly adept at stealing bases I
decided to make a seciton revelaing my tips base by base.

IN THE BATTER'S BOX

You should be watching the pitchers delivery to see how long it takes which
will be the biggest indicator how easy it is to steal a base. If you can see
how he throws from the stretch, even better.

STANDING ON FIRST BASE

This is the easist base to steal and also the most commonly attempted. I have
found it most effective if you take one step away from the bag(Hit R1 once).
Most of the time the pitcher will try to pick you off as soon as you move so
be prepared. Once you see the pitcher's leg show any sign of movement hit R2
to make your player take off. If done correctly, by the time the ball is in
the catchers glove you should be at or near the bag sliding into your 
successful steal!!!!

STANDING ON SECOND BASE

Now you should pay even more attention to pitcher's delivery than when you 
were standing on first base because now the catcher has a shorter distance to
throw. The second method from last year hasn't worked so far so I removed it
from the FAQ.

NOTE:You should always have a decent speed rating if your attempting to steal
bases. My speed is a 3/4 full but I get close calls alot and I have good 
timing. So I would recommend your rating at least be a B before you try to
steal consistently.

Much like stealing from first base, take two steps away from the bag and 
beware of the pickoff because it is likely to come after you take the second 
step. AS SOON AS YOU SEE THE PITCHER MOVE AT ALL HIT R2. I can't stress how
important timing is for stealing third base. If done correctly you player
should take off as soon as the pitcher moves and be 3/4 of the way to the bag 
before the catcher throws it making it easy for you to slide head first into
the bag safely.

STANDING ON THIRD BASE

I haven't successfully stolen Home plate yet but I do know the glitch in last
year's game has been removed so you can no longer steal home that easily.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.The Art of Home Run Hitting
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although i'm only 2 months into my season I can say with some confidence that
most,if not all, of these tip still work in this years game.

IMPORTANT!!! I feel compelled to tell everyone that your Power rating is for
whenever you swing the bat. IF YOUR POWER IS HIGH YOU CAN HIT HR'S WITH 
CONTACT SWINGS!!! It's not always necessary to swing for power to knock the
ball out of the park.

ROOKIE LEVEL

Much like last year I had little success batting on rookie. I'm quite sure why
this is but I just can't do it. It's 100% timing so if your comfortable with
just timing the pitch and not directing it anywhere you should just swing 
when you guess the pitch correctly.

VETERAN LEVEL

Although the level is higher, it's much easier to hit HR's on Veteran. Not
only can you guess the pitch but you can guess the location too. Like most
things this is good and bad. It's great because if you guess both right your
more likely to hit a HR. It's bad because if your wrong(on either although 
it's better to get the location right and the pitch wrong)then your plate
coverage shrinks making it harder to hit the ball. That being said I'd 
recommend a couple of things:

NOTE!!!The first tip will be the same on all levels because it's that 
important

Tip#1-GO WITH THE PITCH!!!! I can't stress enough how vital this is to you
hitting Home Runs. Almost all of HR'S have been hit by me going with the ball.
There have been plenty of times where have I have seen(or guessed) that the
ball was coming low in the zone and took a swing while holding the left analog
down(and to whichever side of the plate the ball was coming to) and just
watched the ball sail out the park. Wherever the pitch is going, swing with
the pitch, not against it. If it's in the upper half of the zone, hold the
left analog up. Lower half, hold it down. This tip will generate you the most
HR'S out of all the others.

Tip#2-GUESS FASTBALL EVERYTIME!!!Remember this: The faster is comes in, the
faster it goes out!!! This basic principle is a gold mine when it comes to
hitting HR's on Veteran. Also since it's veteran, if you guess wrong your 
Plate coverage won't take that much of a hit making it easier for you to hit
the ball. Most of the time the FB is their strikeout pitch or their best pitch
so guess it and goodbye!!!

Tip#3-GUESS DOWN IN THE ZONE!!!Most of the time pitchers will try and stay
down in the zone as a general rule. As a result of this you will get the
location right maybe 40% of the time. The key is to recognize what the pitch
is and to swing at the right time.

ALL-STAR LEVEL

Tip#1-GO WITH THE PITCH!!!! I can't stress enough how vital this is to you
hitting Home Runs. Almost all of HR'S have been hit by me going with the ball.
There have been plenty of times where have I have seen(or guessed) that the
ball was coming low in the zone and took a swing while holding the left analog
down(and to whichever side of the plate the ball was coming to) and just
watched the ball sail out the park. Wherever the pitch is going, swing with
the pitch, not against it. If it's in the upper half of the zone, hold the
left analog up. Lower half, hold it down. This tip will generate you the most
HR'S out of all the others.

Tip#2-GUESS DOWN IN THE ZONE!!!Most of the time pitchers will try and stay
down in the zone as a general rule. As a result of this you will get the
location right maybe 40% of the time. The key is to recognize what the pitch
is and to swing at the right time. I should also add that the amount of the
plate that you cover when you guess is the same as it was on veteran.

HALL OF FAME LEVEL

Tip#1-GO WITH THE PITCH!!!! I can't stress enough how vital this is to you
hitting Home Runs. Almost all of HR'S have been hit by me going with the ball.
There have been plenty of times where have I have seen(or guessed) that the
ball was coming low in the zone and took a swing while holding the left analog
down(and to whichever side of the plate the ball was coming to) and just
watched the ball sail out the park. Wherever the pitch is going, swing with
the pitch, not against it. If it's in the upper half of the zone, hold the
left analog up. Lower half, hold it down. This tip will generate you the most
HR'S out of all the others.

Tip#2- SIT ON YOUR PITCH!!! This tip should apply for all difficulty levels
but it really applies on HOF because guessing the pitch wrong or guessing the
wrong location will almost always get you a ground ball or a fly out. I find
it easiest to hit 4-Seam FB's(Because the pitch has little movement and the 
speed of the ball)and Sliders(Since my player is a switch hitter the pitch
always slides inside making the pitch easier to pull) out of the park. These
are my preferences as you may like to hit different pitches. My point is sit
on a pitch you are comfortable hitting and your success is virtually 
guaranteed.

Tip#3- TIME YOUR SWING!!! This is another very important tip. If you've hit
a HR look at where the ball hits the bat. Almost always it is on the sweet 
spot of the bat(Right in the middle from where the bat starts to get fat and
the tip). There have been countless times where I guessed location and pitch
correct and still hit a ground ball. Reason being I didn't get it on the sweet
spot. This is still as important as ever on all difficulty levels.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.The Art of Defense
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I keep thinking of ways to make my FAQ more comprehensive(and after I 
recieved a E-mail about defense) I decided to add a section strictly for
defense at each position. 

IMPORTANT!!For this section I will assume that you are playing Road to the
Show and you only control your player.

IMPORTANT!!In this years they have added the ablitily to move around the 
diamond before the pitcher goes into his delivery. This can be a great asset
or an extreme hindrance so use it accordingly!!!

Catcher
In reality this is a very hard position to play. Calling pitches, actually
catching the ball. Unfortunately you won't be doing any of this. The only 
time you will control your player on defense will be either when the ball is
popped up by the hitter or he lays down a bunt. You do get to throw people
out if they try to steal though.

Tips- STAY ALERT!!! Although most of the action will be high fly balls, there
will be some drag bunts and also some hits that you will need to run as soon
as the ball gets hit to grab it. 

BEWARE OF PASSED BALLS AND WILD PITCHES!! Pitchers can and will throw a couple
of wild balls every now and then. When this happens make a beeline for ball
and throw it the to the base in front of the baserunner to make sure he stays
put.

1st Baseman
Who doesn't love those fantastic plays where a bad throw is on it's way to
1st base and then the 1st baseman makes a great stretch to catch the ball and
get the out. In the game you will need quick reflexes because most of the 
balls that are hit at you will be hit hard, making it easy for one to roll 
down the baseline. Fun position though. 

Tips- STAY VERY ALERT!!! Since almost all the balls hit at you will be coming
hard you won't have much time to see where it's going and cut it off. Always
press up(towards home plate) so you can get a jump when the ball comes off the
bat.

TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS!! Since you'll most likely be close to the ball when you
get the ball you should step on the 1st base bag then throw to second to turn
the double play. If you try to throw to 2nd when he throws the ball back you
won't be ready on the bag and the runner will most likely be safe.

2nd Baseman
If you chose to play this position then you should be ready for alot of action
because most of the balls hit at you will require quick reflexes. Some of the
balls will be routine slow grounders which you will easily have enough time
to react and get the out. There will be a lot of plays in which hard grounders
will give you little time to react and you must know what your going to do as
soon as the ball comes off the bat.

Tips- PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SPEED OF WHOEVER IS ON BASE!!This will let
you know how much time you have to make a play(although you should throw the
ball as soon as you get it and not play around).

TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS- Most of the time you will have 2 options when you try
to turn a double play. The first will be for you to throw to second and then
let him throw to first to complete the double play. This is almost always the
better choice because most of the time you won't be close enough to step on
the bag and throw to first and still catch the runner. The second way is for
you to run on the bag at second and then throw the ball to first to complete
the play. I think this looks better but your fielder must be fast AND have
a strong and accurate arm otherwise you will have alot of errors on that throw
to 1st.

CHOOSING WHERE TO THROW THE BALL- I recommend that you almost always go for
the easy out, which most of the time will be at 1st base. THE ONLY time you
should try to catch the runner at 3rd is if the ball comes at you really fast
and the baserunner took off late. I have tried to get the runner at 3rd many
times and have almost always failed. 

Shortstop
This position is my favorite in the infield. It's very similiar to 2nd base
except your on the right side instead of the left. This makes a big difference
though. Since you have further to go to 1st your arm will need to be stronger
and more accurate otherwise you will throw alot of errors(I know trust me)

Tips- PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SPEED OF WHOEVER IS ON BASE!!This will let
you know how much time you have to make a play(although you should throw the
ball as soon as you get it and not play around).

TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS- Most of the time you will have 2 options when you try
to turn a double play. The first will be for you to throw to second and then
let him throw to first to complete the double play. This is almost always the
better choice because most of the time you won't be close enough to step on
the bag and throw to first and still catch the runner. The second way is for
you to run on the bag at second and then throw the ball to first to complete
the play. I think this looks better but your fielder must be fast AND have
a strong and accurate arm otherwise you will have alot of errors on that throw
to 1st.

3rd Baseman
They don't call this position the hot corner for no reason. This is another 
fun position to play if you like getting alot of action because like the 1st
baseman the balls hit at you will be hard and will give you little time to
react. Also since 1st base is on the other side of the diamond you also have
further to throw to get to 1st base making your arm strength and accuracy that
much more important. You will also be the first to rush down the line to pick
up bunts.

Tips- STAY ALERT!!I know I keep repeating this but it's really important for
these positions because slacking off or not paying attention could easily be
a hit or they can sneak a bunt by you.

TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS!!!The most effective way for you to turn a double play
from this position is to throw it to 2nd base as soon as you get the ball. If
there's a runner at second then you can try to tag him then throw to 1st base.

TURNING A TRIPLE PLAY!!!I should note that i've only done this once but it's
a great feeling when you do it though. To do this you have to tag the runner
on his to 3rd then fire the ball to 2nd who then in turn will fire it to 1st
hopefully in enough time to get the outs. You will rarely have time where you
will actually be able to pull off a triple play but I just figured I should 
note it anyway.

Left Fielder
You won't see too much action at this position because most of the balls hit
to the outfield will be to the center fielder who has the most field to cover.
This also is a fun position because you can make some fantastic looking plays
in the outfield.

IMPORTANT!!!I have noticed in this year's game you will get alot more chances
at playing defense. I have led the league in putouts in my first season and
see alot of defense plays.

Tips- TRACK THE BALL!!It took me awhile to get used to doing this  because I
couldn't focus enough to see where the ball was. This is nonetheless a very
useful skill which you should learn because if you don't you will be missing
alot of balls that are hit to you. You also have the assistance of the ball
tracker(if you left the option on) to help you find out where you need to go.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS AND WHERE TO THROW THE BALL!!!There have been plenty of times
where I thought my player had a cannon for an arm and he actually had a water
pistol. This resulted in alot runs crossing the plate because my player 
couldn't throw the ball hard enough to get anybody out. Be aware of long it
takes for you throw to reach the infield. If you misjudge then it could very
well be the difference between a run and 3 runs.

LEARN HOW TO CLIMB THE WALL!!!When there is a HR that you can catch the cursor
will be red and will have concetric circles showing you how close the ball is
(a nice addition to this years game). Use this as it's much easier to catch
a would be HR now.

Center Fielder
This is my favorite position in the game(and also that of my favorite player
Bernie Williams). Most of time you will be standing in the outfield while
your teammates get balls that are supposed to get to the outfield. There are 
two types of balls that will be hit to you. The first is a Fly Ball. These
can be either routine or potential Home Runs. Routine fly balls are easily 
taken care because they are,after all, routine. Potential HR's on the other 
hand are the most exciting plays you will face. Believe me when I say there is
nothing better than robbing the CPU of a HR. This takes alot of practice but
once you do it you'll be satsified trust me!! Next are grounders that find
there way into the outfield. For these you need to know where you are going
with the ball before you pick it up to minimize the damage of the hit. All in
All very fun position to play.

IMPORTANT!!!I have noticed in this year's game you will get alot more chances
at playing defense. I have led the league in putouts in my first season and
see alot of defense plays. In my second year I won the gold glove although I
only played in 73 games. It's official that you'll get much defensive play
this year.

Tips- TRACK THE BALL!!It took me awhile to get used to doing this  because
I couldn't focus enough to see where the ball was. This is nonetheless a very
useful skill which you should learn because if you don't you will be missing
alot of balls that are hit to you. You also have the assistance of the ball
tracker(if you left the option on) to help you find out where you need to go.

KNOW WHEN TO USE THE CUTOFF MAN!!! I have seen countless runs scored because
the centerfielder chose to throw to the cutoff man instead of going straight
to home plate. If you aren't deep in the outfield(and your CF has a good arm)
throw straight home or to the base where the runner is going, it will pay 
dividends.

LEARN HOW TO CLIMB THE WALL!!!When there is a HR that you can catch the cursor
will be red and will have concetric circles showing you how close the ball is.
Use this as it's much easier to catch a would be HR now.

LOOK AT THE BATTER TENDENCIES!!!Before the pitcher goes into his motion hit
select to see where he hits the ball. If the shift is great(45% or more) then
you can cheat in that direction with some certainty that the ball will go 
there. I should warn you though that this won't always work and when it 
doesn't it will turn a double into an inside the park HR.

Right Fielder
I like to call this position the throw em out' position(Mainly from all the
times Vlad threw me out at home plate). Your main job in the position will
consist of you supporting the right side of the field. Most of the time 
runners will try to tag from 3rd base if the ball is caught by you. If your
arm is strong enough you should be able to gun people out at the plate and
at 1st and 2nd(though I've caught someone at 1st once).

IMPORTANT!!!I have noticed in this year's game you will get alot more chances
at playing defense. I have led the league in putouts in my first season and
see alot of defense plays.

Tips- TRACK THE BALL!!It took me awhile to get used to doing this  because
I couldn't focus enough to see where the ball was. This is nonetheless a very
useful skill which you should learn because if you don't you will be missing
alot of balls that are hit to you. You also have the assistance of the ball
tracker(if you left the option on) to help you find out where you need to go.

LEARN HOW TO CLIMB THE WALL!!!When there is a HR that you can catch the cursor
will be red with concentric circles. Wait for last circle then jump and you
should bring the HR back. This is a little more important for Right Fielders
because the right field wall is low in alot of parks.

As you may have noticed I only gave a general description of duties and tips
that I think will help you become a better defensive player and get that gold
glove. Remember though practice makes perfect and I would recommend that if
you find any of this hard then you should play a regular game and become
better at those angles then take what you learned and apply it in RTTS.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R.Credits
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sony for making this wonderful sequel again
-Gamefaqs for posting my guide
-Wikipedia for providing me with some info on the positions
-My fellow gamers for reading and using this FAQ

Any questions or comments please E-mail me at:

[email protected]