I got it and have been playing it quite a bit today.
Pitching:
They added a lot of depth to the pitching. The camera while pitching is behind the mound. You pull the wiimote back to go into the windup. Keeping it there charges the pitch. You let go when a purple circle on the ground reaches you and it unleashes a charged pitch (fastball). You can pull the wiimote back and move it forward before to throw a normal speed pitch. If you hold A while winding up, you'll throw what they call a changeup. However, it's really a curveball (12-6 to be exact). You can also use sliders by pulling the wiimote back, pointing the analog stick left or right, and then flicking forward. You can do all of these pitches while charging. The curveball comes out the same but the sliders are faster. I like these changes a lot. Also, virtually every pitch you throw is a strike. Even when the curveballs that bounce are strikes and sliders that the catcher catches behind the hitter.
Hitting:
To hit, you pull the wiimote back and then flick forward. You can hold it back to charge and then flick forward for a power swing. You can move your character left or right in the batter's box but not up or down like in the last game. It's much better than Wii Sports.
Fielding:
The Achilles Heel of almost every baseball game. Only MVP Baseball did it right. It's similar to the last game. You automatically control the player closest to the ball. Which can be frustrating. To throw to a certain base, you push the analog stick in the direction of that base and flick the wiimote. I think it would have been better if you held it on the D-pad and flicked it since it'd me more accurate. To help out with these deficiencies, they added some tricks to help you which I will describe later. You move with the analog stick and shake the wiimote to move quicker. You can press Z to change fielder which is good.
Running:
Running can be tricky. However, the AI is stupid so you can run back to a base and almost always be safe. Point the analog stick in the direction of the base the runner is on and press A to advance them or B to retreat them. To steal, press the direction(s) of the base(s) you want to steal and press A. Shaking the wiimote makes all baserunners run faster.
Specials:
In addition to the hitting and pitching specials, they added defense and running specials. Some of the defense specials are quick throws, laser throws, and ball dash. Quick throws are quicker than normal and the character always throws them. Laser throws are throws from the OF that are incredibly fast. Your outfielder only throws them if runners are on base. Ball dash makes your fielder run faster when they have the ball. Running specials are for close plays (see below).
They also expanded the chemistry/buddy system in the game. Let's say you have Yoshi in Left, Mario in Center, and Luigi in Right. Mario has chemistry with both of them. Bowser hits a ball in the air that is going to go out for a home run towards left center. You take control of Mario and both you and Yoshi head towards the wall. As the ball approaches the wall, you can press A twice. Mario will jump on Yoshi and bounce high into the air to rob the home run. Another thing is what I'll call buddy relays. Let's say a character hits a ball between Left and Center that goes by Mario. As Mario, you can run after it and when you're close, Press B. This will kick it to Yoshi. As the character is trying to get to 2nd, Yoshi can throw to 2nd (which is about as fast as a laser throw) and get the runner at 2nd. Another way you can do a buddy relay is if one buddy character in the OF and one in the Infield. Let's say a ball falls in for a hit in shallow center. A runner is on 3rd and trying to score. If Mario is the CF and say Peach is the shortstop or second baseman, Mario can come in, kick the ball to her, and she'll do a fast throw to home to get the runner.
The final special is for close plays at a base (I think it's only at 3rd and Home). When a runner is close and the ball is close to the fielder, a Close Play! message comes up. It'll zoom in at the plate and freeze. A button will quickly appear (A or B). If the defensive team presses it first, the fielder will get the ball and knock the runner out. If the offensive team presses it, the runner will stun the fielder and be safe. Some characters have Close Play specials. I haven't had a chance to use them. Mario's is Enlarge and Bowser's is Spin Attack. I imagine Mario becomes big and stomps the fielder and Bowser goes into his shell and spins into the fielder. Seems like it's just for show since you still have to press the button to be safe.
There are also new things called error items. When you have two buddy characters hitting next to each other in the lineup you can use them. Let's say Yoshi is hitting and Mario is hitting behind him. As Yoshi is at bad, a slot machine-type icon appears on the screen. When you hit the ball, it will stop on an item and you can quickly press Z to throw it onto the field. Examples are banana peels, fireballs, POW orbs, and Bom-ombs. They are to knock the opponent over so you can be safe or advance another base. You can turn these off.
Getting star powers is easier. There's a meter on the bottom. Whenever you get an out (as defense) or hit (as offense), your meter goes up. I think getting a strikeout (as pitcher) or scoring a run (as offense) automatically gives you a star. Max is 5. To use the star powers, press and hold A+B while hitting or pitching.
Challenge:
This game has a single player challenge mode like the last. Going through this unlocks all the stages and characters. Unlike the last, you don't just play games and fulfill the scouting mission requirements when they pop up. Instead you explore the overworld (the 5 stadiums) to encounter all the players. You will enter scouting missions to have them join your party. Some of the missions are easy like getting an out, making a quick throw. Some of the harder ones are like hitting to all fields (it'll tell you where to hit it) or hit a home run (which I'm not very good at). But it's made so you have an equal oppurtunity to fulfill these each of your 10 tries. The challenge isn't long (probably 3 hrs) but there's more to do than the last game.
Characters:
There are 71 characters but that's including different colors. What's good is unlike the last game, you can have multiple characters on your team. So you can have 2 Shy Guys instead of having only one and then just choosing the color.
Hope that gives some more insight into the game. If anyone has anymore questions, let me know.
