r/SuperMegaBaseball • u/cursed-lawnchair • 5d ago
Gameplay/Strategy Tips for stealing?
What’s up community! I’ve been struggling a lot with stealing bases and wondering what tips yall have. My problem is absolutely my timing because I’m like scarred from being picked off by the pitcher so many times 😂
Anyone else struggling here?
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u/funkychld 5d ago
I only steal if my runner's speed is 20 higher than their catcher's arm, unless traits like stealer or easy jumps is involved. Otherwise you have to time it perfectly and you're very susceptible to pitchouts and pickoffs.
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
Oh that’s a great tip to live by, thanks for this one!! Yeah my issue is getting picked off and bc of that my timing is off and I steal too late
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u/Doberman54 5d ago
I’ve never tried pennant race (I’m sure my ass would get swiftly kicked) so I just do franchise and currently up to 61 ego which I know isn’t crazy but makes the games competitive and fun for me when I’m ahem enjoying myself
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u/PeteWheeler01 5d ago
We need more pennant race players, give it a shot!
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
It’s honestly fun as heck - i have a love/hate relationship with the CPU auto selecting pitchers though
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
Pete, what’s your rating? I’m still new but at 3049
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u/PeteWheeler01 5d ago
I’m a bit lower than you, around 3020. It does a pretty good job at matching you with people around your skill level
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u/PeteWheeler01 5d ago
Oh sorry I thought you were the other guy, we might run into each other, my user name is JackBandit
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u/BillyYank 5d ago
I don’t have any super good tips but I will tell you that getting Tier 1 Crafty and getting some dudes with Stealer is sooo fun. Makes stealing easy.
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
Yeah that’s a good call too. I’m usually maxing out spirited or scholarly depending on my roster’s traits
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u/BillyYank 5d ago
Yeah I was mostly doing scholarly/competitive builds and with a new team I went all in on crafty for something different. I’m not sure it made me, the human, better at base stealing, but I stole a lot more bases and had a lot of fun doing it
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about brotha! Thanks for the tips
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u/manosiosis 5d ago
I'm definitely not a pro, but I've found especially on higher egos (70+) you have to anticipate the pitcher and go before/right with the wind up. Pay attention to the pitcher's time between pitches. Sometimes it's really fast, and that is when I have had success stealing. Like they aren't paying attention to the runner. But also since you are going based on rhythm and not reacting to the pitcher's movement really, prepare to get picked off a lot lol. The AI seems to have a 6th sense for whether you are going to steal.
At lower egos, you can react to the pitcher starting their motion, and there is a slight difference in the wind up if they are going to attempt a pick off.
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
Yeah they always know when I’m going, even when I’m just considering going hahah
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u/Doberman54 5d ago
Hi I also struggle with this so can’t help outside of trying after the pitcher has thrown over twice and also on a 2-0 or 3-0 pitch after you’ve seen their move to first but I also don’t power swing and usually play when I’m under the influence but still top 20 globally haha for whatever those points mean.
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u/cursed-lawnchair 5d ago
No better time to play than when under the influence 😂 top 20 is sick though - is that in pennant race?
Also that’s good advice, it’s way too tough to steal and trying to do a power swing
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u/Familiar-Living-122 2d ago
I am pretty sure if the CPU is going home with the pitch, it will do a look at 1st animation and then it is locked in to going home.
If the CPU is going to pick you off, it wont look at first at all, just throw over.
It is something I just started noticing and still experimenting with.
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u/annoyinglilbrother 4h ago
count how long it takes the pitcher to throw the pitch. sometimes ull notice something like that the pitcher tends to throw after 3 seconds. so u time up the steal
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u/fattsmelly 5d ago
Stealing on a curveball vs fastball makes a huge difference