Welcome to part 2 of the MLB.com Home Run Derby tips and tricks guide! Click here to go back to part 1 of the guide.
When you are playing in the home run derby mode, it’s easiest to hit home runs in the very first round of the game, because the pitch location will be far more predictable. Hit as many home runs as you can in the first round, then, so that even if you lose during the second round, you’ll still be in at least fifth place, allowing you to earn at least one MLBuck for placing in the top 50 percent in the round.
Ignore that screen in front of the pitcher when you are playing in the regular home run derby mode. At first, it can be extremely distracting, because it sort of looks like a batter’s strength and weakness zone, but there aren’t any strong or weak zones in the game that are specific to each batter. Your hitting a home run depends entirely on your timing, your bat swing location, and how much power and contact you have.
Don’t use the temporary power ups in the arcade mode at all, because they will merely be wasted. You likely won’t earn enough coins to make anything happen with them. Only use them in the home run derby mode, so that you have a chance to earn more MLBucks by using them.
When in the arcade mode, practice watching and reading the pitches, and using their initial tilt and height to predict where in the batter’s box they will end up. Stop swinging if you have to – just watch the pitches and memorize where they will go, especially after hitting your fourth or fifth home run as this is when they will become unpredictable. If you can learn to read where the pitches will go, you can drastically increase your home runs hit per round.
You can buy a new ticket for 2,500 coins, but don’t even bother. Not only can you earn free tickets using the method described in the previous article, but you can save your coins for better bats and other equipment, and buying another ticket will only cause it to take even longer to get new equipment.