Best Camera Angles in MLB The Show 23

MLB The Show 23 excels at bringing the game of baseball to life on the virtual diamond. There’s always been a significant amount of care that goes into recreating stadiums and broadcast presentations. That makes choosing the best camera angle in MLB The Show 23 even more important to balance gameplay and immersion.

We have some options when it comes to tailoring the experience to our personal tastes. For offline folks, this often leads to clean screen settings (zero or minimal screen overlays) to get a truly immersive experience. Then there’s the online competitive crowd who wants the experience tailored to have the best chance to win. I’m in the middle as I love having that immersive feel when playing offline, even in Diamond Dynasty, while wanting every competitive advantage I can get while playing online.

Camera angles can make or break your competitive spirit so let’s talk about the best camera angles in MLB The Show 23. We’ll mostly be discussing the best camera angles for online play in Diamond Dynasty. The offline experience can be perfectly tailored to each person’s own taste, whereas the online side of things has a more “accepted” group of settings.

Best Camera Angles In MLB The Show 23

Hitting – Strike Zone

There’s one true king when it comes to the competitive DD player’s hitting camera. For years now, Strike Zone has been the most commonly used camera angle online. The reason is fairly simple — it’s the most zoomed-in camera that allows you to read pitches more efficiently. If you have a good enough monitor and a good enough eye, you can actually read the spin of the pitches coming towards the plate. This view is essentially from the catcher’s perspective, which reduces the view you’ll have on the hitter. If you’re someone who loves seeing full batting stances, you’re going to dislike using Strike Zone. Early in my Show playing days, I actually rebelled against Strike Zone for this very reason. Seeing a hitter’s stance is part of the romance of the game. But I eventually reneged as I finally accepted that this gave me the best competitive edge while playing online.

If you aren’t used to this zoomed-in view, it’ll definitely take some adjustment so don’t give up too quickly. For me, I found it incredibly difficult to read breaking pitches below the zone when I first switched to this camera angle. Over time, you’ll adjust but there was definitely a learning curve. Another adjustment came with perceived velocity. At least to my eyes, Strike Zone results in pitches coming in at a faster perceived velocity. That means you’ll have to adjust your timing as well.

There’s a reason most prominent competitive players use this camera angle — it’s simply the best. It provides the clearest view of the ball as it approaches the plate, and once you adjust, your hitting should improve over time.

Hitting – Strike Zone 2

For hitting, the second best camera angle in MLB The Show 23 is Strike Zone 2. It’s slightly less zoomed-in than its big brother, but provides essentially the same angle. I actually found myself using Strike Zone 2 a lot as I was searching for the best camera angle. Everyone pointed to Strike Zone (like we are here) but I simply couldn’t make the adjustment. I used Strike Zone 2 as a stepping stone to the granddaddy of camera angles and it definitely helped.

Perceived velocity isn’t as fast as Strike Zone, which is certainly a plus. There’s also the added bonus of seeing more of the hitter’s batting stance. It’s not a full view, but you actually see more of the hitter. If you don’t care about maxing out on competitive edge and want more presentation, then Strike Zone 2 might be for you. Before I fully adopted Strike Zone, I would bounce back and forth between these two camera angles to help break me out of slumps and give my eyes something new to look at.

With Strike Zone I found myself struggling to lay off low pitches, but with Strike Zone 2 I find myself struggling to lay off high pitches more. Again, persistent repetition should allow you to adjust no matter what setting you roll with — just an anecdotal observation to consider.

My recommendation for anyone looking to play online is to utilize one of the above camera angles. There’s some other Strike Zone variants to experiment with and perhaps you’ll find success with one of those. But the zoomed-in view of the Strike Zone family of camera angles provides the best angle for playing online.

Above all else, find something you’re comfortable with and have fun! There’s nothing wrong with using a camera angle not listed here. Everyone’s different and your eyes might track the ball better from a different view.

Pitching – Strike Zone 2

I used to subscribe to the idea that pitching from the same view that you hit from is more productive. The theory being that you’re seeing more pitches from the same angle that you’re hitting from and therefore getting more reps reading pitches. This is even more valuable if you’re using the same pitchers you face as a hitter. I still think this tactic works but I’ve since migrated to using Strike Zone 2 for pitching. However, if you’re new to The Show or simply playing online more and want as much of an edge as possible, I definitely recommend hitting and pitching from the same camera angle for an extended period of time.

The reason I switched my view for pitching to Strike Zone 2 came down to comfort. The less-zoomed nature of SZ 2 allowed me to see more of the area outside the strike zone, which ultimately worked better for me. I’m not sure if I can fully quantify the belief system in place here, I simply felt the reduced zoom helped me pitch better.

Pitching – Pitcher Zoom

As mentioned above, using the same camera angle you hit from can reap significant benefits. Naturally, my recommendation of Strike Zone for hitting would lead to me recommending the same angle for pitching as well. However, I wanted to highlight a different angle here. Pitcher Zoom places you behind the pitcher’s mound with a tight shot on the plate. Broadcast, Pitcher, and Pitcher Wide are similar views with varying degrees of zoom. I see these angles a lot when I watch streamers and other content creators. The reason I’m highlighting Pitcher Zoom is because it’s the best of both worlds to me.

Related: Read how to play MLB The Show 23 on PC on Dot Esports.

It gives a similar view and angle that you get from broadcasts but the added zoom just feels better while locating around the plate. You’re also getting the full experience of the hitter’s batting stance from this view. So even if you want a competitive edge factor in your camera angle, this also gives you an authentic broadcast feel. While I consider Strike Zone 2 my usual pitching camera angle, I’ve been experimenting a lot with Pitcher Zoom and quite like it so far.

What’s your favorite camera angle to use in MLB The Show? Do you go for the most immersive experience or do you want the most competitive settings?