Alright, so I wanted to figure out how to do this pick-off thing in MLB The Show 23. It looked pretty cool when I saw it online, and I figured it’d be a good way to keep those speedy base runners honest, you know? So, I jumped into the game, ready to give it a shot.
First thing I did was just mess around in a regular game, trying to get a feel for the controls. I’m playing on a PlayStation 5, so I remembered something about holding down L2 and then pressing the button for the base you want to throw to. Sounded simple enough, right?
I messed around in a couple games. I tried doing pick-offs with different pitchers, even that one guy I have that is supposed to be good at it. So, I tried to pick off this guy at first. I held L2 and pressed Circle, but I just ended up throwing the ball to first base like a regular throw. No sneaky pick-off move. I did it over and over again.
Then I realized, I needed to step off the mound first! So, I pressed L2 to step off, and THEN I pressed Circle to throw to first. And guess what? My pitcher did this quick little throw, trying to catch the runner off guard! It didn’t work every time, but I could tell I was onto something. The runner had taken a step or two off the bag, and I fired it over there. Boom! Tagged him out.
I kept practicing, trying different timings and throwing to different bases. It’s definitely a timing thing. You gotta watch the runner and anticipate when they might be leaning too far off the base. Plus, I learned there’s like a limit to how many times you can try to pick someone off before you get penalized, like two times or something. There’s also something about runners advancing resetting this limit but I’m not too worried about that now. I’m pretty sure it also depends on your players stats.
Anyways, I’m still getting the hang of it, but it’s pretty satisfying when you actually pull off a successful pick-off. I figured out that if I lead off only one step, it is really difficult to get picked off. It definitely adds another layer to the game, having to think about what the runners are doing and not just focusing on the batter. I’m gonna keep working on it, but I wanted to share what I’ve learned so far. Maybe it’ll help some of you other guys out there trying to master the pick-off too.
- Step 1: Step off the mound by pressing L2 (or LT on Xbox).
- Step 2: Press the corresponding base button (Circle for first, Square for second, Triangle for third on PlayStation).
- Step 3: Watch the runner’s lead and time your throw.
- Step 4: Try to have a pitcher and catcher that are good at pick-offs.
Good luck, and happy gaming!
