Contact vR

[daves]

Not sure why there is a vR contact rating in the Card shop but not on the cards? Also why when comparing players there is a contact vL but no contact vR?

Does contact equate to batting average?

[bailey]

They're trying to get rid of contact because it is meaningless. Same with movement. More housecleaning needs to be done.

[daves]

Originally Posted by bailey

They're trying to get rid of contact because it is meaningless. Same with movement. More housecleaning needs to be done.

Contact is everywhere except for the cards and vR comparison.

It's been there so long, why is it meaningless? What makes Tony Gwynn or Rod Carew great hitters?

[cwhitman]

Originally Posted by daves

Contact is everywhere except for the cards and vR comparison.

It's been there so long, why is it meaningless? What makes Tony Gwynn or Rod Carew great hitters?

because they have high babip and avoid k. which is what creates "contact"


contact is not a rating that corresponds to any specific stat, since removing power from it a few years ago

[daves]

So, Contact has always been in the game as a combination of BABIP and avoid Ks. It's in PT and the base game. It not a true rating but very helpful. But we want to eliminate it since we are all experts?

This is disappointing to eliminate. We all are not high-level players. Eliminating Contact does not improve the game; Contact just gives us a clearer understanding.

[daves]

Originally Posted by bailey

They're trying to get rid of contact because it is meaningless. Same with movement. More housecleaning needs to be done.

I hope they don't get rid of these. I think it is a poor decision to eliminate for the PT and the base game. Granted these ratings are combinations of other ratings, but when presenting KPIs it is important to provide easier to understand ratings. That is what contact and movement is.

[cwhitman]

Originally Posted by daves

So, Contact has always been in the game as a combination of BABIP and avoid Ks. It's in PT and the base game. It not a true rating but very helpful. But we want to eliminate it since we are all experts?

This is disappointing to eliminate. We all are not high-level players. Eliminating Contact does not improve the game; Contact just gives us a clearer understanding.

this is also incorrect: contact used to have power in it, up until like three years ago. with power in it, contact made sense: homers, babip, and strikeouts are the three things that contribute to batting average. without homers in it, it lost all meaning.

[daves]

Originally Posted by cwhitman

this is also incorrect: contact used to have power in it, up until like three years ago. with power in it, contact made sense: homers, babip, and strikeouts are the three things that contribute to batting average. without homers in it, it lost all meaning.

It still combines babip and avoid k. Therefore, it is easier to use rather than combining on our own.

It would be disappointing to eliminate from the game.

[cwhitman]

Originally Posted by daves

It still combines babip and avoid k. Therefore, it is easier to use rather than combining on our own.

It would be disappointing to eliminate from the game.

but what does it MEAN? it does NOT mean batting average because homers are not in it. it's some weird concept of bat to ball skills, which doesn't really give you much info

[daves]

Originally Posted by cwhitman

but what does it MEAN? it does NOT mean batting average because homers are not in it. it's some weird concept of bat to ball skills, which doesn't really give you much info

It gives you batting average potential. I almost purchased Luis Arraez because I thought his high avoid k meant higher average, But there was not contact rating on his card.

Luis Arraez is the perfect example of where the ratings system feels a little misleading. His Avoid K is elite (basically best-in-class), which suggests he should be a batting average machine—and in real life, he absolutely is. But in-game, Contact vs RHP (108) not fully matching that creates a disconnect.

Here’s the core issue:

Avoid K ≠ Contact

Avoid K = how often you don’t strike out

Contact = PCI size / ability to square up the ball

You can have high Avoid K but still not have maxed Contact (in the game engine)

So what ends up happening:

Arraez puts a lot of balls in play (low Ks)

But the PCI isn’t as big as you’d expect → fewer perfect/solid hits than a true 120+ Contact hitter

Why removing visible Contact feels wrong

You’re basically losing transparency. Before:

You could evaluate hitters based on true hitting ability (Contact)

Now:

You're forced to infer it from Avoid K + outcomes, which aren’t 1:1

The real frustration

They likely removed or deemphasized Contact to simplify ratings or reduce redundancy—but:

It actually removes useful distinction

Especially for players like Arraez who are unique archetypes

What you’re picking up on (and you're right)

You’re identifying that:

High Avoid K should correlate strongly with Contact

But the game isn’t fully aligning those ratings

So it feels like:

“I’m being told he’s elite—but the gameplay doesn’t fully reflect it.”

Bootmline. contact is relevant and please keep in the game (or put back).

[cwhitman]

Originally Posted by daves

It gives you batting average potential. I almost purchased Luis Arraez because I thought his high avoid k meant higher average, But there was not contact rating on his card.

Luis Arraez is the perfect example of where the ratings system feels a little misleading. His Avoid K is elite (basically best-in-class), which suggests he should be a batting average machine—and in real life, he absolutely is. But in-game, Contact vs RHP (108) not fully matching that creates a disconnect.

Here’s the core issue:

Avoid K ≠ Contact

Avoid K = how often you don’t strike out

Contact = PCI size / ability to square up the ball

You can have high Avoid K but still not have maxed Contact (in the game engine)

So what ends up happening:

Arraez puts a lot of balls in play (low Ks)

But the PCI isn’t as big as you’d expect → fewer perfect/solid hits than a true 120+ Contact hitter

Why removing visible Contact feels wrong

You’re basically losing transparency. Before:

You could evaluate hitters based on true hitting ability (Contact)

Now:

You're forced to infer it from Avoid K + outcomes, which aren’t 1:1

The real frustration

They likely removed or deemphasized Contact to simplify ratings or reduce redundancy—but:

It actually removes useful distinction

Especially for players like Arraez who are unique archetypes

What you’re picking up on (and you're right)

You’re identifying that:

High Avoid K should correlate strongly with Contact

But the game isn’t fully aligning those ratings

So it feels like:

“I’m being told he’s elite—but the gameplay doesn’t fully reflect it.”

Bootmline. contact is relevant and please keep in the game (or put back).

i think you're missing the point, still.

[daves]

Originally Posted by cwhitman

i think you're missing the point, still.

You might be too high level to understand the importance of a rating that combines two other ratings into one. I guess batting average is not an advanced stat and should be eliminated.

Is contact being eliminated from the base game as well?

[daves]

I know I get beat up profusely, but I definitely miss the vR contact comparison. I know it's BABIP + Avoid K, but I like how easy it is for comparison reasons.

[Dr.Drill]

"MOV stands for Movement, one of the three core pitching ratings (along with Stuff and Control) used to determine how effective a pitcher is".

[cwhitman]

thanks for pointing out something that needs to be removed! will report to the devs

[LeeD]

Originally Posted by cwhitman

thanks for pointing out something that needs to be removed! will report to the devs

lol

[daves]

Originally Posted by cwhitman

thanks for pointing out something that needs to be removed! will report to the devs

It helps people make better decisions. Why remove something that isn’t harming anyone?

I'd love to have vR contact comparison back.

[cwhitman]

it's making you make worse decisions. it's giving you a lazy way to look at a number that's meaningless and pick cards without seeing all the context that you need to make decisions correctly.

[daves]

Originally Posted by cwhitman

it's making you make worse decisions. it's giving you a lazy way to look at a number that's meaningless and pick cards without seeing all the context that you need to make decisions correctly.

A rating that combines two relevant ratings is helpful.

I know you an expert, but please don't remove helpful basic ratings.

[ineedplayerpics]

Originally Posted by daves

A rating that combines two relevant ratings is helpful.

I know you an expert, but please don't remove helpful basic ratings.

Cwhitman justs like to act like an expert, but he really just enjoys arguing for the sake of arguing. There is clearly a glitch if they are showing contact versus lefties and not towards righties. If they were getting rid of contact, then it wouldn’t be on the card at all. This is what happens when a company hires twitch streamers thinking they can do actual work… the past few years the game has become more glitchy with random changes made for no good reason. Look at the change to the UI for example.