If you’re looking for a way to get through the MLB offseason, one of the best recommendations I can make is putting the MLB The Show 20 sliders from JoshC1977 together with Bacon’s Fictional Roster. We’ve covered Bacon’s roster multiple time before, but I think it takes on added importance here because then you don’t need to worry about trying to update MLB teams throughout free agency, and you also don’t need to deal with the headaches of 30 team control or trying to get franchise mode to play nice.
Of course, MLB The Show has carryover franchise mode saves so you might be so invested in the mode at this point you might not want to start over, but trust me this is worth trying out to see if it’s for you. The recommended sliders to put together with Bacon’s roster are JoshC1977’s sliders. They haven’t been updated much since September, but one change in October did help them out a bit more.
General Settings
Batting And Baserunning
Hitting Difficulty: All-Star or All-Star +
Hitting Interface: Directional
Input Type: Buttons
Plate Coverage Indicator: Off
Camera Shift: Off
In-Play View Offense: Broadcast
Pitching
Pitching Difficulty: All-Star or All-Star+
Pitching Interface: Classic
Pitching View: Broadcast
- This adds a little variety as the angle changes for each stadium (and it will change how much you need to move the stick to move the ball marker as well…so it is an adjustment for road games — like real life). If you’re not a fan of that (or if you get a bad angle that doesn’t show the catcher’s sign), the Outfield camera is a nice option (I used that all last year).
Pitching Ball Marker: Off (“On” for those that struggle with it off)
Pitch Callout: Off (cleaner screen but turn it on if you like)
Pitch Confidence: On
Pitch Delay: Normal
API: Default
Fielding
Throwing Interface: Buttons
Throwing Meter: Off
Throwing Difficulty: NA
Throwing Decision: Off
Throw Canceling: On
Fielding Decision: Auto
- Auto fielding is awesome because it maximizes player ratings and it looks beautiful.
Defensive Shift: Manual
- Auto-shift has cost more players games (both offline and online) than any other thing. If you use auto-shift, be very conscious of extreme shifts…an oppo hit away from the shift can change the outcome of a game.
All Indicators: Off
Fielding View Offense: Broadcast
Fielding View Defense: Broadcast
General
Strike Zone: Off
Hot Zones: Off
Warm Up Relievers: On
Balks: Off
Umpire Balls and Strikes: Personalized
Umpire Close Plays: On
Check Swing Appeals: On
Injuries: On
Ejections: On
Pitch Select Display: Off
Swing/Pitch Info: Off
Vibration: Off
- I cannot state how important this setting is. When turned on, the vibration will start rumbling as you near the edge of the strike zone. This induces some really bad habits, like keeping you right on the edge of the plate because the game is telling you exactly where it is. By turning it off, and with clean screen, you have to rely on your feel and knowledge of how much your pitcher’s stuff breaks. Now, some people might think it sounds “too hard”. It really isn’t; I’ve seen people adjust pretty quickly. Your initial instinct will be to either move the stick too little (resulting in getting hit hard) or too much (resulting in poor control). You’ll hone-in on it quicker than you think but without some game mechanic giving you artificial feedback. Combined with our control slider settings, it makes for a beautiful combination that makes pitching frustrating and rewarding.
Realistic MLB The Show 20 Sliders
Dynamic Difficulty Sensitivity: N/A
User/CPU Contact: 5
- This slider is critical to game balancing. DO NOT EVER TOUCH THIS (unless you want to adjust about 8 other sliders…then, there’s no point in playing because you’ve killed the meaning of player ratings). Even one tick will greatly imbalance the game (I even saw signs that raising the CPU contact to 6 will spur on a higher run scoring environment for the user as well).
User/CPU Power: 5
- This is another one that is critical to game balancing, changes will quickly alter the CPU’s approach (whether hitting or pitching…depending on the value adjusted).
User/CPU Timing: 5
- I don’t have issues with this at default.
User/CPU Foul Frequency: 5
- I know some folks like to lower this to induce strikeouts. I call it the “swing de-sync” slider. Basically, it adds a ‘dice roll’ effect on swings that make little sense at times. I don’t care what others might say, but if you can’t get strikeouts, there is something else wrong with how your game is balanced.
User/CPU Solid Hits: 4
- This is a classic adjustment. Frankly, there are way too many line drives in this game at default (on any level). It impacts everything in the game, from how fielders play relative to the ball, ball trajectories, hit variety, everything. It wasn’t until I moved this slider back down that I felt like I was playing baseball again. The effects are obvious for the user, but this is a CRITICAL adjustment for the CPU offense. At default, they hit so many balls hard that it was detrimental. Now you will see more flares, dribblers, gappers, etc. Those are the hits that win games, not HRs. It’s also critical for the CPU because it brought back a sense of urgency to their ABs. With the User Pitch Control at 6, they do a much better job of taking pitches. The problem was they were taking pitches that they should have been swinging at. Once we lowered solid hits, the CPU ‘feared’ not getting a lot of chances, and started swinging at more appropriate times. THAT, combined with the better ball trajectories, has allowed the CPU offense to shine a lot more brightly…and without introducing that feeling of random dice rolls.
User/CPU Starter Stamina: 6
- A needed bump here to give SPs more pitch capacity. The initial fade you see with an average stamina pitchers begins to happen about 10 pitches later than before. I’m perfectly comfortable with it at 6; but default can work as well.
User/CPU Reliever Stamina: 5
- This “seems” okay at default. I’m intrigued by some slider guys bumping this up. I’ll closely monitor this and evaluate how effective relievers are when they pitch.
User Pitch Control: 6
- CPU is more patient in ABs. More borderline pitches as they don’t drift all over the place. So, expect an overall increase in walks and a smarter CPU offense as a result. If you’re a “nibbler” when you pitch, you’re going to have issues with this because pitches don’t drift as much (unless your P sucks). You have to play baseball and really mix up throwing early count strikes both in the zone and on the periphery.
CPU Pitch Control: 6
- Way more borderline pitches. You’ll be forced to swing at “pitcher’s pitches” more frequently. This leads to an increase in hit variety and if you’re patient, you can glean more walks/Ks. While not an issue I’ve had, it does lead to fewer fat pitches over the heart of the plate. They’ll still happen, but with a more reasonable frequency. It’s a nice change because it doesn’t “gimp” your offense but does make you think a bit more….which is very much to my style of play.
User/CPU Pitcher Consistency: 5
- With all the other settings we have, this looks REALLY solid.
Strike Frequency: 5
- I’ve seen no need to alter the CPU pitching approach with all the other settings we have, leave this alone.
Manager Hook: 5
- I’ll be honest…I’ve never touched this before. But there are some occasional head-scratching decisions that have made me consider bumping this up. But there are IRL too. I’m going to leave this alone for the time being.
Pickoffs: 5
- This plays such an insignificant part of the game overall; I’m not willing to tinker and risk it impacting anything else.
Fastball Pitch Speed: 8
Off-Speed Pitch Speed: 7
- Pitch speed is VITAL to your performance. Yes, the value you select is a personal preference, but it still comes down to one thing. How comfortable are you at the plate? If you’re comfortable with the pitch speed, it’s too slow for you…bump it up a notch and find a place where it’s hard for you to catch up to high velo unless you’re sitting on it but not so hard that you can’t pull anything. One critical thing, keep the offspeed setting one notch below the fastball value. The speed settings are way too close together if the values are the same (that was a change made this year).
Fielding Errors Infield: 5
Fielding Errors Outfield: 5
Throwing Errors Infield: 5
Throwing Errors Outfield: 5
- All 4 of these are perfect “as is”
Fielder Run Speed: 4
Fielder Reaction: 4
- This is the first change I’ve made in months. I was initially concerned greatly about it simplifying defensive play. But it really does a nice job of “stretching” the ratings just a hair. You might need a few games with the adjustment before the game “settles down” (you might see some odd animations initially).
Fielder Arm Strength Infield: 5
Fielder Arm Strength Outfield: 5
Baserunner Speed: 5
- DO NOT INCREASE any of these above default. With the lower exit velos from the solid hits slider, increasing these values will throw off a lot of the balance. Essentially, we used the solid hits slider to hone-in the defense and make the field feel “larger”. I’m VERY comfortable with where these are.
Baserunner Steal Ability 5
Baserunner Steal Frequency 5
- Frankly, if the players are rated properly they WILL steal a lot. I’ve had third stolen on me numerous times. I think this is incredibly well-balanced this year.
Wind: 5
- Just changes the MPH of wind as a percentage. So, if you have a 10 MPH wind at 5, it will be 20 MPH at 10.
Injuries: 6
- This has been a revelation this year. I’ve seen a greatly improved increase in injuries from ones that knock guys out for the rest of the game, to short term injuries, to much longer-term injuries. HIGHLY recommended.
Trade Slider
- Personal preference – I usually ramp up in June/July
Feedback
The season is just about over, but you can still provide feedback or just thank JoshC1977 by heading to the thread.
