Alright, so I got the itch to switch things up in MLB The Show 24 the other day. Got kinda bored facing the same flamethrowers over and over, you know? I figured, let’s try messing around with some sidearm pitchers. Those funky deliveries can really mess with people online, or even the CPU sometimes.
First thing I did was jump into my Diamond Dynasty section. That’s usually where I spend most of my time. Had to figure out how to even find these guys easily. I started just browsing through the player cards I already had, looking at their pitching motions listed on the card details. Didn’t find many that way, not right off the bat.
So then I went over to the main Rosters section, outside of Diamond Dynasty, just to get a feel for who the real-life sidearmers are. I just started scrolling through teams, checking out the bullpen guys mostly. Wrote down a couple names that looked interesting. Then I went back to Diamond Dynasty, specifically the Market, and searched for those names. Some were cheap, some not so much, depends on the card I guess.
Found a couple of silver or gold cards that didn’t cost much just to try it out. Picked up one reliever, can’t recall his name right now, nothing special, but definitely a sidearmer. Plugged him into my bullpen.
Putting Them to the Test
Next step, actually use ’em. I hopped into a Conquest game first, figured it was low stakes. Put the new guy in to pitch an inning. Man, that delivery animation is different. Using the pinpoint pitching, which I usually prefer, felt a bit strange tracing the pattern for his pitches because it starts from that weird angle. Took me a few batters to get the timing down, definitely threw a couple into the dirt.
But here’s the thing: the movement on his slider was kinda nasty. It just sweeps across the plate differently than from a normal arm slot. The CPU hitters were often way out in front or just making weak contact. It was pretty interesting to see.
Tried another guy I found in a Mini Seasons game later. Same deal, awkward at first, but the sinker seemed to have this extra tail that caught hitters off guard. It wasn’t like they’re unhittable, but it definitely gives a different look.
Team Affinity Grind and Squad Building
Then I realized, some of the really decent sidearm guys, the ones with better stats or maybe specific quirks, they weren’t just sitting on the market cheap. A lot of them seem to pop up in the Team Affinity programs. You know, where you gotta grind missions and moments for specific teams?
- Had to check which teams had pitchers I wanted.
- Started focusing my playtime on doing the missions for those teams.
- Eventually unlocked a better diamond sidearmer that way.
Building out your squad isn’t just about getting the highest overall players, sometimes finding these niche guys through things like Team Affinity makes a difference. It added a new goal to the usual grind, which was kinda nice.
So yeah, that was my process. Started with an idea, poked around the menus and market, tested them out in some games, and then had to do a bit of program grinding to get the better versions. It’s definitely a different way to play, and honestly, kinda fun to throw opponents off balance with those weird arm angles. Worth trying if you want a change of pace.
