I've played video games for decades, everything from saving the world to shredding a virtual guitar. Yet, few gaming moments compare to taking the mound in MLB The Show 25 and retiring three elite hitters on just nine pitches. Pitching in The Show isn't just about throwing strikes, it's a chess match, a test of patience, and a battle of wits.
Whether you're playing casually or competing in Diamond Dynasty for rewards like MLB 25 Stubs, this guide will break down the key strategies to help you control the game from the first pitch to the final out.
- The Feeling-Out Process
A nine-inning game is a marathon, not a sprint. The first couple of innings should be about gathering intel, not overpowering hitters. Every batter has weaknesses, maybe they can't handle a high fastball, or maybe they struggle against breaking pitches low and away.
Your job early is to figure that out. Throw a variety of pitches, mix locations, and take note of what gets whiffs or weak contact. If you notice your opponent can't catch up to a high-and-tight fastball, keep it in your back pocket and use it strategically later.
And remember, you don't have to throw strikes every pitch. If a batter chases balls out of the zone, let them. Just beware of players with the "Bad Ball Hitter" quirk, like 91 OVR Shohei Ohtani or All-Star Bryan Reynolds, who can punish pitches well off the plate.
- Mastering Pitcher Confidence
Pitcher confidence is an underrated weapon in MLB The Show 25. Build it by throwing strikes, getting swings and misses, and racking up strikeouts. Make a hitter look foolish, and your confidence meter will soar.
Lose confidence by issuing walks, giving up hits, or, the worst offense, serving up a home run. Even defensive errors will dent your confidence, just like in real baseball.
A sneaky tactic: in older games, you could gain easy confidence by striking out opposing pitchers. In Diamond Dynasty, where the DH rule applies, that's gone, but you can still identify weaker hitters in the lineup, often in the ninth spot, and attack them aggressively. If your pitcher has a sinker (and in the current MLB 25 meta, most elite sinkers are nasty), you can induce ground balls for easy outs and quick confidence boosts.
- The Art of Tunneling
Pitching is as much about deception as it is about execution. Tunneling means making two pitches look the same out of your hand, forcing the hitter to commit before realizing they're wrong.
For example, cutters and sinkers both appear like fastballs early, but their movement takes them in opposite directions. Combine that with varying velocities, different arm slots, or quirks like Outlier, and you can make batters guess all game long.
The new sweeper pitch, a slower, sweeping slider, is another great tunneling tool. Pair it with a high fastball or a sharp changeup, and you'll have hitters second-guessing every swing.
- Why Pinpoint Pitching Is King
There are multiple pitching controls in MLB The Show 25, but pinpoint pitching is by far the most accurate, and the most rewarding. You use the analog stick to trace a motion on-screen, and your accuracy is graded. Hit a perfect motion, and your pitch will land almost exactly where you aimed.
It's high-risk, high-reward. Mess up the motion, and you leave a meatball over the plate. But master it, and you'll dominate. Top players can hit 70% or more perfect pitches in a game, making them nearly unhittable.
Each pitcher's motion is unique based on their arsenal. Remember, when pitching from the stretch with runners on MLB Stubs, the motion changes, and for left-handed pitchers, everything is mirrored.