Mechanic · input & timing · baseball

Batting timing

How a baseball game turns the moment and place of contact between bat and ball into a hit's direction and power.

stubAlso: swing timing, contact timing, hit directionUpdated 2026-10-22
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Batting timing decides what contact does. In Konami’s Baseball a swing hits only in its middle three poses, the pose at contact sets the angle the ball flies off at, and the ball’s offset from the bat’s point sets how high it starts1.

  • Pose and angleKonami's Baseball (1984). The bat's pose at contact sets the angle; the ball's row against the bat sets the launch.1

See also

Games

GameYearHowNote
Konami's Baseball1984Pose and anglethe bat's pose at contact sets the angle; the ball's row against the bat sets the launch
Every claim about this mechanic, by game (1)
Konami's Baseball 1984In Konami's Baseball a swing starts on a button press and, while a button is held, steps to the next bat pose every 3 runs of the batter routine, which runs on odd frames. A hit needs the bat in pose 2, 3, or 4 and the ball inside a contact box around the bat's position, one box per batting side, so a held swing can hit for 9 runs (computed). Letting go leaves the bat in its pose, and unless that is the fifth the contact test goes on (the routine's comment says letting go ends the swing). The angle the ball flies off at comes from a table by pose and by the pose's step counter, 3, 2, or 1 while the button is held, plus 0 to 3 from the Z80's R register. On one batting side, pose 2 gives 48 to 56, pose 3 28 to 36, and pose 4 8 to 16 (before the random part); the other side's table is the mirror image, so early and late contact send the ball toward opposite ends of the range. A second value is the ball's row plus 3 less the bat's point at 0xE144 plus an offset (16 on one side, 2 on the other), negated on the second side: 0 to 9 hits, and anything else misses. It picks the value the comment calls the ball's starting height, highest at 4. When the computer bats, a value of 0 or of 8 and over, including one that would miss, becomes 6.Code

References

  1. ^ abIn Konami's Baseball a swing starts on a button press and, while a button is held, steps to the next bat pose every 3 runs of the batter routine, which runs on odd frames. A hit needs the bat in pose 2, 3, or 4 and the ball inside a contact box around the bat's position, one box per batting side, so a held swing can hit for 9 runs (computed). Letting go leaves the bat in its pose, and unless that is the fifth the contact test goes on (the routine's comment says letting go ends the swing). The angle the ball flies off at comes from a table by pose and by the pose's step counter, 3, 2, or 1 while the button is held, plus 0 to 3 from the Z80's R register. On one batting side, pose 2 gives 48 to 56, pose 3 28 to 36, and pose 4 8 to 16 (before the random part); the other side's table is the mirror image, so early and late contact send the ball toward opposite ends of the range. A second value is the ball's row plus 3 less the bat's point at 0xE144 plus an offset (16 on one side, 2 on the other), negated on the second side: 0 to 9 hits, and anything else misses. It picks the value the comment calls the ball's starting height, highest at 4. When the computer bats, a value of 0 or of 8 and over, including one that would miss, becomes 6.Codeantxiko/KonamisBaseball-disassembly
    How we know
    lleva_al_bateador: ; El cuadro del bateador. … rrca … ; el bit 0: ya esta bateando jr c,lleva_el_bateo … and 0f0h … ; los cuatro bits altos: los botones … set 0,(hl) … ; el bit 0: a batear
    src/baseball.asm#L4653-L4670 · upstream ↗
    4726lleva_el_bateo:		; Con el bateo ya en marcha: mientras el mando siga pulsado el bate avanza de postura cada tres cuadros, y en cuanto suelta o llega a la sexta se acaba
    src/baseball.asm lines 4726–4757 at d687f54 · upstream ↗
    mira_si_le_da_a_la_pelota: ; Con el bate en la postura 2, 3 o 4 y la pelota dentro de la caja de contacto … call mira_si_esta_en_la_caja … ; la prueba … cp 002h … ; antes de la 2 no hay golpe … cp 005h … ; y de la 5 en adelante, tampoco … ld c,(hl) … ; C = la columna del bate … ld hl,07285h … ; HL = 0x7285, los angulos de un lado … …
    src/baseball.asm#L4757-L4800 · upstream ↗
    cp 008h … ; con la maquina bateando, el golpe se ajusta … ld b,006h … ; B = 6, un golpe del monton … cp 00ah … ; de 10 para arriba no hay golpe ret nc
    src/baseball.asm#L4801-L4818 · upstream ↗
    5001;   segun la fuerza del golpe, de 0x0110 a 0x0200. La ultima se mete dos bytes
5002;   en la tabla de al lado
    src/baseball.asm lines 4985–5007 at d687f54 · upstream ↗
    ld hl,072a8h … ; HL = 0x72a8, las alturas rlca … ; por dos: son palabras
    src/baseball.asm#L4824-L4831 · upstream ↗
    mide_donde_da_en_el_bate: ; La distancia entre la fila de la pelota y el punto del bate … add a,003h … ; tres mas … ld a,(0e144h) … ; (0xE144), el punto del bate … ld d,010h … ; D = 0x10, el desplazamiento de un lado … ld d,002h … ; o 0x02, el del otro … sub c … ; la distancia … …
    src/baseball.asm#L5142-L5162 · upstream ↗
    mira_si_esta_en_la_caja: ; Prueba si el punto (D,E) cae dentro de la caja del punto (B,C).
    src/baseball.asm#L5036-L5037 · upstream ↗
    6454la_otra_mitad_del_cuadro:		; Los cuadros impares
    src/baseball.asm lines 6447–6456 at d687f54 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-22.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-22.

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