Tap Sports Baseball Mobile Game Tips and Tricks Guide

First, let's tackle the good news. You do not have to be a hardcore baseball fan to enjoy Tap Sports Baseball. You'll notice from the outset that things have been dumbed down for beginners like myself so the game is most definitely easy to pick up and difficult to master.

As a manager, your job is to get good players and good bonuses. Here are your different options to do so:

• Draft picks - You can buy draft picks using either gold or cash which will net you a field player or a pitcher for your bullpen.
• On the low end of things is the Late Round Draft Pick which will most likely be 1-2 stars with an outside shot at 2.5-3 stars. Don't waste your time on buying these as you'll get several for free as you start playing the game.
• Next up you have the Second Round Draft Pick which is more 2-3 starts with an outside shot of 3.5+ stars. It's a sweet spot at the price of $4000 cash and these will be immediate upgrades when you start out.
• First Round Draft Pick is 3-4 stars with a slight chance at something better. Think of these as potential all stars. If you draft one, you're going to have a long time fixture for your lineup.
• #1 Draft Pick is the creme de la creme and will net you someone you've probably heard of if you follow baseball at all. They're not cheap but could very well be worth it.
• Free Agents are the other way to get new players. You'll see a list of 4 or 5 players that are all going to be slight upgrades to moderate upgrades for your team. If you're really hurting at a specific position, then free agents can be a quick fix.

Tap Sports Baseball is my favorite type of sports video game. Harkening to the best Madden console titles and even Bases Loaded on the original Nintendo, Tap Sports Baseball puts you both in the front office as well as on the field. Whether you're playing on Android or IOS you've probably noticed that there is a lot going on in the game, so let's take a look and break it down into small pieces so we can get straight to winning the pennant.

After the initial setup, you get a look at your team ranging from the borderline starting player (2 stars) to mostly a group of misfits (1-1.5 stars). It's suddenly very clear that it's going to be a long road to win any games, and getting good players isn't even half of the struggle. You'll have to balance your resources to get good players, good management bonuses, and most importantly, become good at playing the game.

So where do we start?

As the game was designed for baseball enthusiasts and newbies alike, the management side of the game is simple but robust at the same time. The game lets you focus on the fun parts of getting players that you want, while handling the details like setting your batting order. The game also automatically swaps out players when you draft or purchase a better player at the same position. This really comes in handy when it comes to pitching as a new #1 starting pitcher will result in the game optimizing the rest of your rotation as well.

The other major part on the management side is Upgrades. These are basically team-level bonuses that can be leveled up by using your gold or cash:

• Hitting Coach - Upgrade to help your batters get on base more often.
• Base Coach - Upgrade to help your team get more steal and take extra bases.
• Trainer - Upgrade to increase your offensive power so you get more extra base hits (doubles, triples, and home runs)
• Pitching Coach - Upgrade to help your pitches get outs more easily.
• Pitch Calling - Upgrade which increases your strikeouts and reduces the number of walks your pitchers throw
• Catcher Arm - Upgrade to your ability to pick off runners trying to steal bases.
• Infield Hands - Upgrade to reduce infield errors and botched grounders.
• Outfield Hands - Upgrade to reduce outfield errors and misplayed fly balls.
• Outfield Arms - Upgrade to your outfielders' arm strength so they can catch more runners and dissuade them from attempting to take extra bases.

More good news, you only have to worry about actually playing the offensive side of the ball. Actually, it's simpler than that, you worry about the hitting and you'll be given opportunities to decide what your players will do in other situations.

Example 1: When you have a base runner on 2nd, then you may be asked whether you want your batter to attempt a bunt to maximize the base runners chance of getting to 3rd.

Example 2: When you have a base runner on 1st, then you may be asked whether you want that player to attempt a steal of 2nd base.

Example 3: When you have a base hit, and your base runner is rounding 2nd or 3rd base, then you may be asked whether you want the player to attempt to reach the next base.

On the defensive side of things, you'll be relying heavily on your upgrades, your pitching rotation, and you'll basically have 1 decision between innings (when asked): Whether to pull your pitcher when they're getting tired or fading.

Players come in all shapes and sizes, and what will matter most is their star level:

1 star players are bench warmers plain and simple

1.5 star players are situational starters. When you're starting out, you may have a few you're depending on.

2 star players are your core starters when you begin playing the game.

2.5 star players are a step above but really won't result in a huge boost in performance.

3 star players are nice players and once you have a full roster of 3 star guys then you'll be pretty pleased with how they play.

3.5 star players are your All Star caliber players. They're likely not household names but they can bring home the bacon.

4 star players are All Stars. I love getting 4 star players.

4.5-5 star players are the best in the game, and they are very hard to get.

Also, depending on the player group, you'll see individual ratings in the following categories:

• Hit - For hitters, this is their ability to make contact to have a chance at getting on base
• Power - For hitters, this is their ability to get extra base hits (doubles, triples, home runs)
• Speed - For hitters, this is their ability to get to the next base quickly. It's most important when you're considering stealing bases or sending a runner to home base.
• Arm - For pitchers, this is how hard they throw the ball
• Control - For pitchers, this is how accurate their pitches are
• Stuff - For pitches, this is how hard it is to make contact

Now that we have the basics out of the way, let's get to tips:

1. Collect your stats achievements. One feature that's touched on when you play, but easily missed, is your stats achievements section. As you play more games and you have individual and team milestones, you'll unlock gold and cash bonuses which you collect in stats achievements.
2. Wait until you've moved up to semi-pro level. So when you start playing the game, you basically will have to win 3 games to get to the playoffs and then 2 more games to get to semi-pro level. When you level up, the leap in competition as well as the improvement in free agents is significant. So instead of using all your gold and cash to pump up your team with Late Round Draft Picks, wait until you get to semi-pro and use your gold wisely on targeted free agent moves.
3. Higher draft picks are gold. If #1 Draft Picks are gold, then 1st Round Draft Picks are silver, 2nd Round Draft picks are bronze, and Late Round Draft Picks are 4th place in the Olympics. Since you're going to be successful at this game and you'll be playing for a while, then you're going to want to focus on getting as many Silver and Gold level transactions as possible. Don't blow the kitten kaboodle on 2nd Round Draft Picks.
4. Invest in pitching. Since you're not actually playing on the defensive side of the ball, all you can really do is get good pitchers to improve that half of the game. You need 4 starters, 3 relievers and a closer so you're not going to run into situations where you have too many pitchers.
5. Remember this is baseball, not basketball. In basketball, 1 superstar changes the game entirely. Lebron James makes everyone else better and is worth 25-30 points on his own. In baseball, aside from a stud starting pitcher, no other play is going to be worth a run. Make sure you don't have any holes in your lineup, rather than getting just 1 good player.

Now, to the actual playing of the game:

1. Don't bother swinging at balls. Especially early on, your players are unlikely to get on base even with the perfect pitch. If you try to swing at curveballs, outside pitches or pitches in the dirt, then you're just going to end up either striking out or popping it up.
2. Don't attempt to steal extra bases if you have less than 5 speed. General rule of thumb, if you have a guy with 4 speed, don't try to steal the base. Also, don't try extending plays unless you have at least 5 speed.
3. Bunting works...usually. If you've watched baseball lately, you rarely see the bunt unless it's the 9th inning in a playoff matchup. But in this game, when offered the bunt with a baserunner on 1st or 2nd, it works. Obviously if you have a good hitter up next, skip the bunt and just hit the darn ball out of the ballpark.
4. Invest in Upgrades. I know it sounds like the 1 or 2% improvement in hitting ability or reduced errors seems trivial, but when you add them up together, it makes the difference between a 2 star team and a 2.5 star team.
5. Be patient. You're playing other folks so you have to wait for them to play the other half of the inning. Don't give up on the game; it's a lot of fun.

Hey gang, just wrote up some advanced tips in a separate article, so if you're interested, here's the link:

http://dealforaliving.hubpages.com/hub/Tap-Sports-Baseball-Mobile-Game-ADVANCED-Tips-and-Tricks-Guide

Thanks!

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I admit that I'm biased as someone that likes sports management video games, but this game is a blast. Not only do you get to put together an improving baseball roster, but the actual batting experience is thrilling and rewarding. It's difficult given how fast the pitches come in, but when you get a double down the line, it feels awesome.

In mobile gaming, you usually either have to accept a game with levels designed to be consumed in 30 second chunks, or games that take 2 hours to get through the initial tutorial. Tap Sports Baseball is both, and it's just as good when you have 30 seconds as when you have 2 hours to really dig in.

Please let me know if you're playing so I can set up a match.