MLB The Show 21 Cheats and Tips

When you first begin playing MLB The Show 21 the game will try to get you to play through a feature called Options Explorer. Although it is not obligatory to do so it is recommended that you take the time to go through it in order to test out all the game's systems, such as hitting interface and pitching type so that you get a feel for them and also understand the advantages and disadvantages of each one. If you decide to skip Options Explorer because you want to get straight into the action you can access it anytime at the main menu.

In baseball, it is essential that you resist the temptation to swing at every pitch that comes your way. This is a bad habit to get into and will lead you to scoring a low number of runs on a regular basis. Although some pitches you take will lead to strikes the most important thing is to be patient and see how a pitcher might want to throw to you, whether it is inside or outside the plate or if their pitches are lower or higher in the zone. Once you become aware of these things you will be able to stop yourself from swinging at everything thrown your way and generate far more hits.

If you are unfamiliar with the MLB video game series or the rules of baseball in general then it is recommended that during the onboarding process you select the Dynamic difficulty which automatically adjusts the setting of your game depending on how you are performing. The good thing about this feature is that the settings for both pitching and Batting are independent, meaning if you get lots of strikeouts but can't hit the ball, the game will scale accordingly so that pitching is harder while batting is easier. This is the ideal setting to play as the game will gradually increase in difficulty allowing you to get to grips with it at a pace that is comfortable for you.

The four different types of swings you can initiate in MLB The Show 21 are standard, contact, power, and bunt and whenever your best hitter makes an appearance at the plate you will feel inclined to use your power swing as much as possible in order to hit the ball out of the park. This is something you should resist doing as using power swings by default will lead to you regularly missing the ball. To have success with the power swing you need to bide your time and only use it when you know exactly where the pitcher is going to put the ball in the strike zone. The rest of the time you should stick to standard swings.

Pay attention to the types of pitches thrown at you, so you can identify it the instant it comes off of a pitcher's fingertips. To make this easier you can press the right trigger of your controller when you are at the plate to see a full list of what pitches the pitcher has in their repertoire. You can also press the right trigger of your controller after a pitch is thrown to see where it landed in the zone and what type it was. Once you reach the point where you are able to recognize pitches and where they are likely to be thrown you will know when your best opportunity will be to strike. The type of pitch you need to keep an eye out for are fastballs that are heading to a certain part of the zone you are focussing on. When this occurs you need to take advantage of the situation and hit it out of the ballpark with your power swing.

Instead of chasing pitches all over the strike zone and finding yourself swinging late or regularly making poor contact you should instead focus your attention to just part of the strike zone. By focussing your attention on a certain part of the strike zone with your reticle and patiently waiting for the ball to be pitched to you there, you will find that you will have a lot more success hitting the ball.

The biggest reason why you should take the time to play through the Options Explorer feature you are introduced to at the start of MLB The Show 21 is that it allows you to become familiar with all the different systems that the game has to offer. Then once you understand the pros and cons of each one you will be able to settle on the one that best suits your playstyle and use Custom Practice to hone your skills to get better at it.