Tap Sports Baseball: Tips, Cheats and Strategies

Tap Sports Baseball is a free-to-play baseball game from Glu Mobile that combines one-touch gameplay with deep stats and the ability to build an ever-improving team of real big league baseball players. Even better, there’s no pitching involved, just good old-fashioned swinging for the fences.

Despite its simplicity, there are a few things to keep in mind both on the diamond and in the clubhouse that can set you up for faster success. Ready? Then lace up those virtual cleats and let’s get to it …

• Be patient at the plate. Some pitches are much easier to time than others, and the AI pitchers throw a lot of balls when their Control ratings are low. You can afford to take some pitches and wait for something right over the middle. The timing part is up to you.
• Speed ratings are your friend. Players with lots of speed can reliably be counted on to steal bases and take extra based on hits that give you that option. On the other hand, anyone with a four or lower is probably getting thrown out. Hold those slower guys up.
• Bunting is also a good option for players with a six or above in that attribute. Assuming you make contact (see that first tip about waiting for your pitch), a sacrifice bunt will always work provided the player attempting it has enough skill. The game will also take away your ability to bunt with two strikes, saving you the embarrassment of a bunted third strike.

• Pay attention to the prompts that the game gives you about your pitcher’s performance. Since you don’t play that side of the game, this is the only chance you’ll have to make life more difficult for your opponent. If a pitcher is still strong and hasn’t given up many runs, leave him alone. But if he’s tiring or getting hit hard, don’t hesitate to give him the hook.
• Use the bonus games that you get when you first start playing. There’s no real benefit to holding onto them, and they can help you get through the first league faster, improving your team with the rewards that you earn.
• Don’t be afraid to have multiple games in progress at once. There are really two benefits to this: one is that advancing to the league playoffs at any level requires a certain number of wins, and you can knock them all out quickly if you have several games going. The other is that different opponents will tak their turns at different speeds, so if you only have one game underway, you could be waiting a long time before your next inning.

• Consider using your cash on free agents instead of draft picks early on. I used to be a big baseball card collector, so I understand the temptation to open packs instead of going for the sure thing. But free agents can help you upgrade positions where you know you need help instead of leaving things to chance. It’s probably worth it to get every starter to three stars or above before rolling the dice on the chance at a five-star player.
• Don’t forget about upgrading your coaches. Defensive boosts like Pitching Coach, Pitch Calling, Infield Hands and Outfield Hands are especially wise choices since they have a direct effect on what happens when your opponent is batting and you can’t take matters into your own hands.
• Check out the batting order option under Gameplan and think about setting it to “VsLeftAndVsRight.” It actually is easier to “see” and time pitches coming from the opposite side just like it is in real life, and since you can’t set the order manually, this will give you a better chance to have some good hitters in the heart of your order who bat from the more advantageous side.

Nick Tylwalk

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Nick Tylwalk enjoys writing about video games, comic books, pro wrestling and other things where people are often punching each other, regaardless of what that says about him. He prefers MMOs, RPGs, strategy and sports games but can be talked into playing just about anything.