You'll need to practice timing your swings for change ups, curves, and fastballs. The depiction of speed during pitches makes it very difficult to get this timing just right. The AI in High Heat 2002 is definitely better than last year's version. Base running is the weakest part of most console or PC arcade games, but High Heat 2002 has some pretty nice AI on the base paths. You can actually move runners to third from second on infield ground balls.
Players move naturally on the field and the ball physics are much improved from last year's version.
The outfielders don't all have cannons for arms, and they throw the ball very realistically. Momentum, a concept absent from computer baseball games for a long time, has been modeled very nicely in High Heat 2002. Fielders don't stop on dimes when making running catches, and they generally take a few moments to gather themselves and make throws. This may be frustrating to folks accustomed to the bang-bang button mashing throwing model found in other games, as you can't count on the quick reaction that you can in other titles. High Heat 2002 is exciting because the game you see develop on the field looks and feels like the game of baseball.