I created a tutorial to discuss how to conduct a solo draft in Old Time Baseball. You can also execute drafts with multiple human participants using these methods – I elected the solo option with the computer general manager configured to draft the remaining teams for the sake of simplicity.
Here’s a rundown of the requirements:
Old Time Baseball (or Tony La Russa Baseball 3 or 4) – Game Disk
optional, but recommended: Tony La Russa Baseball 3 or 4 – Season Disk(s)
Old Time Baseball was developed and published in 1995 by Stormfront Studios for the IBM PC personal computer. Please note that while the tutorial utilizes Old Time Baseball, you can perform the same steps in Tony La Russa Baseball 3 or 4. The only additional steps would be to import the season in OTBB first, then import into TLBB 3 or 4. Alternatively, you can create / edit teams and conduct a draft using the players that you create.
I divided the tutorial into three sections: Draft (importing the 1954 season from the Old Time Baseball CD-ROM, selecting the player pool, configuring the draft rules, conducting the draft), Simulate Season (create schedule, simulate an entire season, play an All-Star Matchup with Mel Allen performing the play-by-play, reviewing the final standings) and Stat Review (games of note including one-hitters and 3-homer games, league leaderboards, and a team-by-team rundown).
View the tutorial videos here:
Part 1 – Import Universe, Draft, Review Lineups and Pitching Staffs
Part 2 – Simulate Season, All-Star Matchup, Final Standings
Part 3 – Statistical Review (Games of Note, League Leaders and Team-by-Team)
I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family. Co-chair of the SABR Games and Simulations Committee since August 2022 along with Mark Wendling.
Visit my Amazon author page to check out my books, promotional videos, and post a review if you're a Hardball Retro fan!
My Books:
“Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds”, published in September 2024 with co-author John Racanelli, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds was recognized with the 2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award.Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.
“Hardball Architects” examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives.
Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. A cross-section of essays that I penned for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog spanning nearly a decade touching on subjects including "Taking the Extra Base", "General Manager Scorecard", "Worst Trades", "BABIP By Location" and "Baseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic". Rediscover your favorite hardball arcade and simulations in "Play Retro Baseball Video Games In Your Browser" or take a deep dive into every franchise's minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations in "Minors vs. Majors".
“Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills.
Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here“Hardball Retrospective - Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each "original" team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 - 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.
Contact me on BlueSky - @hardballretro.bsky.social
