News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming:
• More than 629,000 perfect games have been attempted and 555 have been verified as thrown in Major League Baseball 2K12‘s $US1 Million Perfect Game Challenge, which has about 10 days left. Those numbers are the latest available from 2K Sports.
That means in the past week, more than 200,000 attempts have been made, about 280 perfectos have been thrown. Weekend and Monday games featured starts by the Angels’ C.J. Wilson, the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg, the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez, probably accounting for either so many perfect games, or the number of attempts.
But taking a stud pitcher against a bad nine is probably not going to get the job done. The games are scored, and one of the factors is beating a good hitting team. Doing that with an underpowered pitcher is another way to get a higher score. The player atop the leaderboard right now scored an 825 with Kyle Drabek of the Toronto Blue Jays beating the Boston Red Sox on April 10. Two of the other top eight also got in with a 27-up/27-down effort from Drabek. Conversely, Roy Halladay beating the Pirates, and many have done that, returns an average score under 600-something.
It looks like 800 is going to be the cutoff point for getting to the final round. The top eight finishers all go to New York to play a tournament, no perfect-game-throwing required. The winner of that pockets the million.
• This week, MLB 12 The Show‘s roster update added in 49-year-old Jamie Moyer, who on Tuesday became the oldest Major Leaguer ever to win a game. Two weeks ago, I asked the Sony developers how the game handled age in its season-long modes. They said Moyer would be forcibly retired by the game after a single season.
I ran a simulation and, yep, that’s the case. He did pretty well for a geezer, though, going 14-10 over 204 innings pitched, even lodging a complete-game shutout. His WHIP was pretty bad, 1.41, but his ERA was a respectable 3.52. When the Rockies missed the playoffs, Moyer retired right on schedule — with Todd Helton, the 38-year-old all-star first baseman who has spent his entire 16-year career in Denver.
• Speaking of Moyer and perfect games, his next start should be on Monday at the Pirates. Moyer’s novelty, his solid control, the Pirates’ poor batting, and his overall 72 rating could make him an attractive choice for perfect game treasure hunters trying to get in the top eight with a high degree-of-difficulty performance. Moyer’s 87 stamina gives him a range of 85 to 102 pitches. He won’t strike out many with an 82-mph fastball, but he can go the distance if you’re efficient.
• And NBA Jam: On Fire Edition has updated its roster again. This update adds in rookies, like Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and gets Jeremy Lin on the Knicks although it’s a little late for that. Full details at Operation Sports.
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