I also would like to congratulate Steve Steinberg, Lyle Spatz and Mitchell Nathanson for their award-winning books!

—

“The 2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Awards, which honor outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year that have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball, have been awarded to:

Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz, Mike Donlin: A Rough and Rowdy Life from New York Baseball Idol to Stage and Screen (University of Nebraska Press)

Mitchell Nathanson, Under Jackie’s Shadow: Voices of Black Minor Leagues Baseball Left Behind (University of Nebraska Press)

Derek Bain and John Racanelli, Hardball Retro’s Compendium of
Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds (Self-published)”

Source: SABR – 2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award winners announced

Here’s a rundown of the requirements:

• Earl Weaver Baseball – Game Disk
• optional, but recommended: Earl Weaver Baseball – Commissioner’s Disk

Earl Weaver Baseball was developed by Mirage Graphics and published by Electronic Arts in 1987 for the Amiga and IBM PC personal computers. An enhanced version (1.5) was later released solely for the IBM PC while the game was also ported to the Apple ][ and Macintosh computers. I’m utilizing the Earl Weaver Baseball v1.5 edition in my tutorial, however the menu options and key combinations are similar in all versions of the game.

View the tutorial video here:

Season Disk Downloads:

You can download season libraries for Earl Weaver Baseball 1.5 from the Files section of my Facebook group, Old Computer Baseball Simulations or my Dropbox account. It is possible to import those files into Earl Weaver Baseball II (IBM PC) using the EWB2CONV utility (which is part of the EWB2 installation).

References:

Earl Weaver Baseball 1.5:

https://archive.org/details/msdos_Earl_Weaver_Baseball_1987 

Note: copy protection code wheel required!

Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball

SABR Stay at Home – Don Daglow

SABR Stay at Home – Eddie Dombrower

Here’s a rundown of the requirements:

• SSI Computer Baseball – Game Disk
• optional – SSI Computer Baseball – Team Disks (included the Stat Compiler program)

SSI Computer Baseball was released in 1981 for the Apple ][ and was later ported to the popular personal computers of the 1980’s: Commodore 64 (1983), IBM PC (1983), Atari 8-bit computers (1984), Macintosh (1986) and Amiga (1986). I’m utilizing the Commodore 64 version in my tutorial, however the menu options and key combinations are fairly standard across platforms.

View the tutorial video here:

Season Disk Downloads:

coming soon

References:

SSI Computer Baseball (Apple ][ edition):

https://archive.org/details/a2_Computer_Baseball_1981_SSI_RDOS

SSI Computer Baseball (Commodore 64):

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Baseball_1983_SSI_Side_A

SSI Computer Baseball manual:

https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ftp.apple.asimov.net/unsorted/SSI%20Computer%20Baseball.pdf

Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – SSI Computer Baseball

Here’s a rundown of the requirements:

• MicroLeague Baseball Game Disk
• MicroLeague Baseball General Manager / Owner Disk
• optional – MicroLeague Baseball Box Score / Stat Compiler

MicroLeague Baseball was released in 1984 for the Commodore 64, Apple ][, IBM PC and Atari 8-bit computers. The Amiga and Atari ST computers received ports of the game in 1987. I’m utilizing the Commodore 64 version in my tutorial, however the menu options and key combinations are fairly standard across platforms.

View the tutorial video here:

Season Disk Downloads:

Download my MicroLeague Baseball – Commodore 64 season disks here!

They will also be available on the MicroLeague Baseball Forever website.

References:

MicroLeague Baseball (Atari 8-bit edition):

https://archive.org/details/a8b_Micro_League_Baseball_1984_Micro_League_Sports_Association_US

MicroLeague Baseball (Commodore 64 edition):

Game Disk

General Manager/Owner Disk

Box Score/Stat Compiler Disk

MicroLeague Baseball (IBM PC edition): https://archive.org/details/msdos_MicroLeague_Baseball_1984

MicroLeague Baseball Forever: https://www.microleague-baseball-forever.com

Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball

available now at Amazon for $29.99 (paperback) and $9.99 (Kindle)

Celebrating 50 years of our pixelated National Pastime, this compendium documents the pertinent details for baseball video games and electronic handheld games released in the last half-century and follows the evolution of the genre. Game ratings and reviews for hundreds of baseball games are included along with interviews of designers, programmers and pioneers of the computer, video and handheld gaming industry – Don Daglow, Eddie Dombrower, Lance Haffner, Mark Lesser, Tom Tippett and Glen Wolfram. The authors wish to encourage readers to explore these games, both past and present, create your own teams and leagues, and share those results with fellow baseball gaming and simulation enthusiasts!

400 pages, full-color

Book Discussions / Promotional Appearances

SABR’s Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter – John Racanelli and Derek Bain present “A Brief History of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds” – April 29, 2026

Hittin’ Season: A Philadelphia Phillies podcast (WHYY) – Derek Bain and John Racanelli drop by to discuss their book, “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds,” with Justin Klugh of Baseball Prospectus. – June 20, 2025

Romantic About Baseball podcast – Jason Wood and Bruce Sarte interview Derek Bain – June 11, 2025

Sports Sim Magazine – “A Sports Sim Roundtable Examines the Charm and Torment of All-Time Greats Gaming Sets” – by Dan Verdun – May 2025 (Issue 20)

Beatles Eternally – “A Saturday Night Baseball Chinwag with Authors Derek Bain and John Racanelli” – March 22, 2025

SABR Games and Simulations – John Racanelli and Derek Bain discuss their book, “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handheld. – January 8, 2025

Praise for Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games & Electronic Handhelds

“Hardball Retro’s Compendium is a nostalgic treasure trove for baseball video game enthusiasts. (Authors) Bain and Racanelli take readers on a journey through baseball’s digital evolution… Packed with updated insights, interviews with legendary game designers, and reflections from players, this book is both a time capsule and a celebration of baseball’s virtual past. A must-read for fans of baseball and gaming history alike!” – Jamie Marshall, Sports Games Journal

Podcasts, Interviews and Videos

Beatles Eternally – Steve Etzel, Kurt Bergland and I field questions and talk about our new book with Joe Caracciolo.

Box Scores From The Basement – Steve Etzel and I discuss our book, “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Tabletop Simulations” and I play a game of Digital Diamond Baseball v14 against the BSFTB guys using the starting lineups and pitchers from the 2026 World Series, Game 4!

Box Scores From the Basement – The “Box Score” guys are joined by the co-chair of the SABR games and simulation committee, Derek Bain to discuss How to Create the Perfect Baseball Sim. – May 24, 2026

SABR’s Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter – John Racanelli and Derek Bain present “A Brief History of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds” – April 29, 2026

Hittin’ Season: A Philadelphia Phillies podcast (WHYY) – Derek Bain and John Racanelli drop by to discuss their book, “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds,” with Justin Klugh of Baseball Prospectus. – June 20, 2025

Romantic About Baseball podcast – Jason Wood and Bruce Sarte interview Derek Bain – June 11, 2025

Sports Sim Magazine – “A Sports Sim Roundtable Examines the Charm and Torment of All-Time Greats Gaming Sets” – by Dan Verdun – May 2025 (Issue 20)

Beatles Eternally – “A Saturday Night Baseball Chinwag with Authors Derek Bain and John Racanelli” – March 22, 2025

SABR Games and Simulations – John Racanelli and Derek Bain discuss their book, “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handheld. – January 8, 2025

The New Sports Games Journal – “Diamonds in the Code: A Look into Baseball’s Digital Legacy: an Interview with Derek Bain” – by Jamie Marshall – November 2023 (Vol. 9, Issue 2)

Farther Off the Wall – “In our book, the 2021 spring baseball book reviews are done, but can there be more?” – Q&A session with Derek Bain – by Tom Hoffarth – June 2021

Comfortably Zoned Radio – podcast hosted by Ralph Tyko with guest Derek Bain (running time 30m) – March 26, 2018 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh_02J25QMY

Weighted Donuts – podcast hosted by Wayne Unger and Craig Stier with guest Derek Bain (running time 53m) – September 18, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPZNSVC6IE

Comfortably Zoned Radio – podcast hosted by Ralph Tyko with guests Bill Hall and Derek Bain (running time 50m) – August 11, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vui8zzkjnuM

“Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter” – Wolfman Shapiro interview of Derek Bain – February 2018 http://www.ultimatestratbaseball.com/USBN-2-2018/DerekBain-Author-February2018.htm

Selected Resources for Retro Baseball Video Games

Weighted Donuts podcast – Wayne Unger interviews Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower (World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball and Tony La Russa Baseball series) – February 16, 2017

Computer Chronicles – “Baseball Software” episode – hosted by Stewart Chiefet (APBA Baseball for Windows with Kenneth Miller, Hardball III with Daniel Jung and Tony La Russa Baseball with Don Daglow) –

Computer Chronicles – “Games” episode – hosted by Stewart Chiefet (Earl Weaver Baseball with Eddie Dombrower)

The Making of Tony La Russa Baseball 3 (video included with the game) –

Intellivisionaries – Episode 7 – includes reviews of Major League Baseball, World Championship Baseball, and World Series Major League Baseball along with interviews of David Rolfe (MLB) and Eddie Dombrower (WSMLB).

Informs podcast – hosted by Ashley Kilgore with Gary Cokins, credited with the oldest computer game code by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Related article – Realizing a Kid’s Dream of Computerized Baseball

Articles and Reviews

SSI Computer Baseball – Oxner, Bill. “Play Ball.” Computer Gaming World, June-July 1985, Volume 5.3. pgs 24-25.

Computer Statis Pro Baseball – Peschel, William. “View From The Dugout – Major League Baseball on the Computer.” Computer Gaming World, May 1986, Volume 28. pgs 19-20, 45.

MicroLeague Baseball – Kunerth, Jeff. “For Fanatics, Micro League Baseball is a Big Hit”. Chicago Tribune. December 27, 1987.

MicroLeague Baseball – Oxner, Bill. “Play Ball!” Computer Gaming World. Volume 5.3, June-July 1985, p24-27.

MicroLeague Baseball – Trunzo, James V. “An Interview With the Designer of MicroLeague Baseball.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 28. May 1986. p22-23.

Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager –
Oxner, Bill. “Play Ball!” Computer Gaming World. Volume 5.3, June-July 1985, p24-27.

Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager – Wilson, Johnny. “Baseball Game Survey.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 36, April 1987, p6-9, 42-44.

Pure-Stat Baseball – Jala, Beth S. “Software Gallery: Pure-Stat Baseball.” RUN Magazine. Issue 37, January 1987, p18, 24.

Pure-Stat Baseball – Teverbaugh, Rick. “Sports Scoreboard.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 33, December 1986, p52.

Pure-Stat Baseball – Wilson, Johnny. “Baseball Game Survey.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 36, April 1987, p6-9, 42-44.

Monday Morning Manager – Atari Explorer, Spring 1987. Letters to the Editor. “Update for Baseball Fans”. Page 4.

Radio Baseball – Teverbaugh, Rick. “Sports Scoreboard.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 33, December 1986, p52.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Connor, Peter. “Screen Test – Earl Weaver Baseball.” Advanced Computer Entertainment. October 1987, Issue 1, p68-69.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Jago, Francis. “Baseball Head to Head.” Commodore User. October 1987, Issue 49, p86-87.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Kendall, Mark. “Putting Bytes into the Old Ball Game.” Pomona College Magazine. June 26, 2013.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Leeds, Matthew. “Software Reviews – Earl Weaver Baseball.” May 1987, Issue 5, p48-49.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Lesser, Hartley and Patricia Lesser. “The Role of Computers.” Dragon Magazine. Issue 126, p84.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Lesser, Hartley and Patricia Lesser. “The Role of Computers.” Dragon Magazine. Issue 127, p78, 80.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Lesser, Hartley and Patricia Lesser. “The Role of Computers.” Dragon Magazine. Issue 132, p83.

Earl Weaver Baseball – McLean, Mickey. “Fast Looks – Earl Weaver Baseball 1.5” Compute! Issue 113, October 1989, p114.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Randall, Neil. “Reviews – Earl Weaver Baseball.” Compute! Issue 93, February 1988, p49-50.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Sipe, Russell and Johnny Wilson. “An Interview With Earl Weaver.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 36, April 1987, p36-39.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Wilson, Johnny. “Bezbol Been Berry, Berry Good To Me!” Computer Gaming World. Volume 36, April 1987, p6-8.

Earl Weaver Baseball – Wyss, Tony. “Hall of Fame – Earl Weaver Baseball.” SportPlanet.

Full Count Baseball – Fisher, Lew and Eric Faust. “Full Count Baseball.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 37, May 1987, p26.

Full Count Baseball – Trunzo, James V. “Lance Haffner Games.” Compute! Issue 83, April 1987, p66.

MicroLeague Baseball II – Compute! Issue 115, December 1989, p126, 130.

Microleague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge – Amiga World, June 1992, p96.

Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – Murray, Rink. “386 Down the Power Alleys: Baseball Simulations Emerge From Spring Training.” PC Magazine. April 28, 1992, p493.

Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – Rogers, Win. “Great A’s Baseball: SSI’s Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 88, November 1991, p104, 106.

Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – Rogers, Win. “Not Yet the Ultimate: SSI’s Expansion Disks for Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 97, August 1992, p80, 82.

Earl Weaver Baseball II – Murray, Rink. “386 Down the Power Alleys: Baseball Simulations Emerge From Spring Training.” PC Magazine. April 28, 1992, p493.

Earl Weaver Baseball II – Poho, Seth. “Earl Weaver and the Greatest Baseball Game of All-Time.” RO Baseball. January 5, 2017.

Earl Weaver Baseball II – Rogers, Win. “Field of (Weird) Dreams.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 89, December 1991, p16, 18, 20.

APBA Baseball for Windows / Broadcast Blast – Gindin, Jim. “Baseball: Diamonds Are A Fan’s Best Friend”. Computer Gaming World. May 1995.

APBA Baseball for Windows / Broadcast Blast – Murray, Rink. “386 Down the Power Alleys: Baseball Simulations Emerge From Spring Training.” PC Magazine. April 28, 1992, p493.

APBA Baseball for Windows / Broadcast Blast – Poulter, Wallace. “A 3.1-Run Homer”. Computer Gaming World. November 1993. p134, 136.

APBA Baseball for Windows / Broadcast Blast – Rogers, Win. “Miller Associates’ APBA Major League Players Baseball 1.5”. Computer Gaming World. August 1992. p72–74.

APBA Baseball for Windows / Broadcast Blast – Gindin, Jim. “The Old Ballgame: Baseball for Windows Boasts a New Sound, But the Same Old Gameplay”. Computer Gaming World. November 1995. p206.

APBA Baseball for Windows / Broadcast Blast – McCauley, Dennis. “Atop the Mound: Baseball Slides Head-First Into Your PC”. Computer Gaming World. July 1996. p78.

Tony La Russa Baseball II – Poulter, Wallace. “Tony La Russa 2 Earns Some ‘A’s’”. Computer Gaming World. June 1993. p24,26.

Tony La Russa Baseball II – Wilson, Johnny L. “Another At Bat For Tony La Russa”. Computer Gaming World. April 1993. p8-10

Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – Computer Gaming World. November 1994. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_124.pdf

Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – Ginden, Jim. “Baseball: Diamonds Are A Fan’s Best Friend”. Computer Gaming World. May 1995. p62. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_130.pdf

Front Page Sports Baseball ’98 – McCauley, Dennis. “Sim World Series: Winners and Losers in This Year’s Baseball Sim Contest”. Computer Gaming World. December 1997. p312. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_160.pdf

ESPN Baseball Tonight – Gindin, Jim. “Double Play: Turn Two With Reviews of Hardball IV and ESPN Baseball Tonight”. Computer Gaming World. April 1995. p132, 134, 136. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_129.pdf

ESPN Baseball Tonight – Gindin, Jim. “Baseball: Diamonds Are A Fan’s Best Friend”. Computer Gaming World. May 1995. p62. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_130.pdf

ESPN Baseball Tonight – Jones, George. “ESPN Baseball Tonight: Chris Berman Charisma, Tony La Russa Design”. Computer Gaming World. February 1995. p132, 134. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_127.pdf

Hardball 3 – Rogers, Win. “Sights and Sounds of the Summer Game – Al Michaels Announces Hardball III”. Computer Gaming World. August 1992. p78-79. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_97.pdf

Hardball 4 – Gindin, Jim. “Double Play: Turn Two With Reviews of Hardball IV and ESPN Baseball Tonight”. Computer Gaming World. April 1995. p132, 134, 136. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_129.pdf

Hardball 4 – Gindin, Jim. “Baseball: Diamonds Are A Fan’s Best Friend”. Computer Gaming World. May 1995. p62. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_130.pdf

Hardball 5 – Gindin, Jim. “Back to the Bullpen: Accolade’s Hardball 5 is More a Changeup Than a Fastball”. Computer Gaming World. January 1996. p274, 276. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_138.pdf

Hardball 5 – Jones, George. “Holiday Top 100: Sports”. Computer Gaming World. December 1995. p110. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_137.pdf

Hardball 6 – Kaiafas, Tasos. “Strike Six (HardBall 6 Review)” . Computer Gaming World. August 1998. p208. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_169.pdf

Pursue the Pennant – Teverbaugh, Rick. “Sports Scoreboard”. Computer Gaming World. Volume 38, June-July 1987. p40. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_38.pdf

APBA, Full Count Baseball, Pursue the Pennant, Strat-o-Matic – Widner, Duane E. “Baseball is the Numbers”. Computer Gaming World. Volume 71, May 1990, p20-21. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_71.pdf   

Diamond Mind Baseball – Gindin, Jim. “Baseball: Diamonds Are A Fan’s Best Friend”. Computer Gaming World. May 1995. p62. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_130.pdf

Baseball Analytics – Retro Reviews

	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – SSI Computer Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review –Computer Statis Pro Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pure-Stat Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Monday Morning Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Radio Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Full Count Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball II – III – IV
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – APBA Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – ’96 – ’98
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – ESPN Baseball Tonight
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Hardball 3-4-5-6
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pursue the Pennant – Diamond Mind Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pro League Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball 3 – 4 – Old Time Baseball

Links to my Retro Reviews on Mobygames

https://www.mobygames.com/mobyrank/source/sourceId,2697/

MicroLeague Baseball II (Atari ST edition):

MicroLeague Baseball II (Enhanced) for Commodore 64:

MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge (IBM PC edition):

MicroLeague Baseball IV (IBM PC edition):

Publisher – MicroLeague Sports Association

Release Year – MicroLeague Baseball II – 1989 (Atari ST/IBM PC/Macintosh), 1990 (C64)

MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge – 1991

MicroLeague Baseball IV – 1992

Platforms –MicroLeague Baseball II         Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Macintosh

MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge          IBM PC

MicroLeague Baseball IV          IBM PC

Credits

MicroLeague Baseball II

MicroLeague Baseball IV

Review

This is a combined review for MicroLeague Baseball II, MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge and MicroLeague Baseball IV. I decided to merge the 3 releases into a single review based on the following observations:

• MicroLeague Baseball II failed to offer a significant upgrade over the original version.
• The Commodore 64 release (MicroLeague Baseball II “Enhanced”) essentially represents an entirely different product (Pure-Stat Baseball) repackaged as MicroLeague Baseball. The relatively few “enhancements” in this version do not warrant a separate review.
• MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge and MicroLeague Baseball IV introduce several new features while retaining much of the original’s charm.

Therefore I resolved to concentrate my efforts on a review of MicroLeague Baseball IV while noting the differences between the second and third editions of the game along the way. I launched DosBox and fired up MLBB IV. The main menu facilitates a multitude of functions. Note that the General Manager / Owner option can only be executed if you installed the GM/Owner add-on disk (sold separately).

I generated a schedule to replay the 1992 season using the Schedule Editor then selected League Play. You have the ability to quick-play a single day, week or entire season with a single click. My entire replay of the regular season took less than 7 minutes to complete. The virtual ’92 Mets outpaced their real-life counterparts by 20 games to claim the NL East by a 4-game margin over the actual division-winning Pirates. The Braves secured the NL West in both realms, albeit by the slimmest of margins in the MicroLeague replay. The American League simulation featured tight races with the Orioles edging the Brewers in the East and the White Sox tiptoeing past the Twins in the West. Oakland fared the worst among actual division champs in the simulation as the club posted a 77-85 mark, 19 games below their real victory total.

A quick glance at the compiled statistics reveals an issue with the lineup selection, fatigue/usage factors and in-game AI. With the American League lineups in particular, the bench is hardly utilized and in some cases, the “starting 9” played the entire season without any rest. Perhaps due to faulty stamina ratings, I noted a number of starting pitchers with 30+ starts and less than 50 innings pitched. Consequently one or more relievers were saddled with an extremely unrealistic workload. Jeff Johnson (Yankees) yielded a 6.62 ERA in a preposterous 410 innings of work! Milwaukee portsider Bruce Ruffin’s 30-10 record in 99 appearances defies logic. Rod Nichols crafted a 28-9 record with a 3.15 ERA in 394 relief innings for the Tribe. Dave Righetti prevailed in 19 of 21 decisions out of the Giants’ bullpen. Red Sox southpaw Tom Bolton delivered a 21-15 mark in 71 outings. Several teams only utilized 3 relievers for the entire year. Other long relief aces included Mike Flanagan (20-5, 5.26 for the O’s) and Bob Kipper (24-11, 4.09 for the Twins).

The game does not include an option to view leader boards so the user must tab through individual team statistics. I did not perform an exhaustive search but observed a record-breaking 74 home runs by Indians first baseman Paul Sorrento! Juan Guzman notched 21 wins for the Jays.

I quick-played a series of exhibition games to determine the American and National League champions. Atlanta advanced to the World Series with a convincing sweep of the Metropolitans in the NLCS. Terry Pendleton swatted big-flies in the second and fourth contest while Tom Glavine twirled a three-hitter in Game 2.  Mike Devereaux clubbed 3 circuit clouts and knocked in 5 runs in an 11-2 rout by the O’s in the initial matchup. Cal Ripken Jr. went yard in each of the next 3 contests and Devereaux added a round-tripper in Game 3 to punch Baltimore’s ticket to the Series as they took the Pale Hose to the cleaners with a sweep of the ALCS.

I elected to manage the Braves as the Series opened at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. John Smoltz took the ball in Game 1 while the O’s countered with Mike Mussina. After a pair of scoreless innings from both aces, Randy Milligan lashed a 2-run single up the middle to score Mike Devereaux and Cal Ripken Jr. In the fourth frame, Devereaux socked a 3-run blast into the left field bleachers to extend Baltimore’s lead to 5-0. Smoltz broke up Mussina’s no-hitter with 2 outs in the sixth with a clean opposite field single to right field. Ripken belted a big-fly to center off “Smoltzie” to put the O’s ahead 6-0. Juan Berenguer and Marvin Freeman put up goose eggs for the remainder of the game. Mussina cruised to a one-hit shutout, retiring Terry Pendleton on a lazy fly ball to left to close out the contest.

Tom Glavine got the nod in Game 2, squaring off against Bob Milacki. Cal Ripken Jr. socked a 2-run homer in the top of the first to put Baltimore ahead. In the bottom of the frame, Terry Pendleton rapped a long double to right-center and scored on a two-out base knock to right by Sid Bream. Both pitchers settled in and pitched scoreless ball for a few innings. The Braves knotted the game at 2-2 when Bream trudged home on a fielder’s choice in the fourth. Mike Flanagan replaced Milacki on the bump after Bream led off the bottom of the sixth with a sharp liner over Ripken’s head. Glavine laced a single to right with two away. O’s right fielder David Segui gunned down Mark Lemke at third base, but not before Bream crossed home plate with the go-ahead run. Pendleton extended the Atlanta lead with an opposite-field four-bagger in the seventh inning. Glavine got the hook after issuing consecutive free passes to Ripken and Glenn Davis in the eighth, followed by a two-out single by Chris Hoiles to close the gap to 4-3. Alejandro Pena fanned Segui to extinguish the threat. Baltimore brought their third pitcher into the contest after Brian R. Hunter delivered a pinch-hit line drive to left to open the bottom of the eighth. Todd Frohwirth induced Deion Sanders to rap into a 1-4-3 double play. Pena closed out the game with a clean inning, although Otis Nixon had to range into the left field corner to flag down Brady Anderson’s drive for the final out.

The teams headed to Baltimore for Game 3 with the Series tied. Ben McDonald got the starting assignment in the first World Series tilt at Camden Yards while the visitors countered with southpaw Steve Avery. Brady Anderson belted a long ball over the wall in right-center leading off the bottom of the first. Later in the same inning, Mike Devereaux came around on a hot grounder up the middle off the bat of Randy Milligan. Atlanta failed to answer until the fifth when Sid Bream’s line drive cleared the scoreboard in right. The Orioles knocked Avery from the contest in the seventh frame as they tacked on a pair of insurance runs. Atlanta brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth. Following a two-out double by Ron Gant, the O’s elected to walk David Justice intentionally. Lonnie Smith slapped a single past Cal Ripken Jr.’s outstretched glove and Gant slid under the tag at home plate. McDonald managed to retire Bream on a weak grounder to Glenn Davis at first base, preventing any further damage. Orioles’ skipper Johnny Oates signaled for the right-handed reliever after Jeff Blauser coaxed a two-out base on balls in the ninth. Gregg “Otter” Olson earned the save when Brian R. Hunter grounded out to shortstop.

In their post-Game 3 conferences, both managers declared that Game 4 would feature a rematch of John Smoltz and Mike Mussina.  Brady Anderson muffed a lazy fly ball to left-center off Ron Gant’s bat in the top of the first. Atlanta capitalized when David Justice ripped an offering from “Moose” into the right field corner for a two-bagger. Consecutive safeties by Lonnie Smith and Sid Bream plated another run but “Skates” was cut down at home plate on an ill-advised attempt to increase their lead. “Smoltzie” confidently blazed a path to the mound with his club ahead, 2-0. He promptly whiffed Brady Anderson and Mike Devereaux, then got Cal Ripken Jr. on a grounder to short. Devereaux delivered an RBI single in the third, cutting the Braves advantage in half. The Braves returned the favor in the fourth frame as Smith singled, swiped second and scored on a two-base knock by Bream. Each pitcher put up goose eggs for the balance of the game as Atlanta claimed the 3-1 victory. Smoltz struck out 9 Orioles and yielded only 3 base hits.

Tom Glavine, the 1991 NL Cy Young Award winner coming off consecutive 20-win campaigns, accepted the starting assignment in Game 5 against crafty right-hander Bob Milacki. Jeff Blauser initiated the scoring in the visitor’s second with a base hit to left field, plating David Justice and sending Sid Bream to third. Greg Olson barely beat the relay throw on an attempted 6-4-3 double play as Bream trotted home with Atlanta’s second run. After issuing a free pass to Rafael Belliard, Milacki dug himself a deeper hole when Otis Nixon lined a two-base hit up the left-center field gap. Mike Devereaux tracked down a long drive off Terry Pendleton’s bat near the warning track for the third out. Atlanta held a 3-0 lead as Glavine settled into a groove while Milacki got into a bases-loaded, no out jam in the third. Ron Gant singled and stole second, followed by successive walks to Justice and Lonnie Smith. Bream lofted a fly ball to right, deep enough to send Gant home with the fourth run. Blauser lashed a single to left to score Justice, then Olson smashed a hard grounder past second baseman Tim Hulett. Smith raced home and Oates immediately headed out to give Milacki the hook. Mike Flanagan entered the match down 6-0 and promptly avoided further damage when Belliard rapped into a 6-4-3 double play. Bream extended the Braves’ lead with a two-run blast off Mike Mussina, who was inexplicably brought into the contest despite the score along with the fact that he threw a complete game 24 hours earlier. Pendleton delivered a sac fly and Gant tripled in another run off Rick Sutcliffe in the eighth as the Braves went up 10-0. The only remaining drama in the game dissolved when Randy Milligan led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a clean single into shallow left field, breaking up Glavine’s no-hitter. The future Hall of Famer portsider racked up 11 strikeouts in a complete-game, one-hit shutout victory as Atlanta returned home with a 3-2 advantage in the Series.

As the fans settled into their seats after the last note of the National Anthem rang out, Mike Devereaux crushed a moon-shot into the left-field seats off Steve Avery in the first frame to put the O’s on the board. Leo Gomez clouted a two-run round-tripper in the second inning as Avery had difficulty commanding his fastball. Atlanta chipped away at Baltimore’s lead in the bottom of the frame when Sid Bream doubled and came home on a Rafael Belliard base knock. Ben McDonald evaded further harm when Mark Lemke was thrown out attempted to go from first to third on the play. The Braves loaded the bases in the bottom of the third. Otis Nixon singled and stole second with one away, then Terry Pendleton walked. Ron Gant skied deep to center but Devereaux ran it down. Dave Justice drew a base on balls and Bream followed with a two-bagger off the right-center field fence, plating 3 runs as Atlanta assumed a 4-3 advantage. The inning continued when Greg Olson walked and Lemke chipped a soft single over Cal Ripken Jr. and into left field. The third base coach wisely held Bream at third. Mike Flanagan jogged in from the bullpen and the Braves countered with pinch-hitter Jeff Blauser. Four pitches later, another run was forced home via a bases-loaded walk! Avery grounded out to shortstop but he returned to the mound with a 5-3 lead. Leading off the fifth inning, Brady Anderson walloped a four-bagger over the scoreboard in right to pull the Orioles within one run. Devereaux hit into a fielder’s choice in the seventh off reliever Mike Bielecki, plating the tying run. Pendleton reclaimed the lead with a big fly that cleared the center field wall in the bottom of the frame off Rick Sutcliffe. The see-saw battle continued as Chris Hoiles launched a long ball to left which sent Bielecki to the showers in the top of the eighth. Pendleton sent the crowd into a frenzy with a titanic blast into the right field stands with two out in the bottom of the ninth to win the game and the Series!!

Ratings

Graphics – [3] The player graphics and animation is an improvement over the original MLBB. Yet the flight path and fielder movements remain choreographed. Observe the game for a few innings and you’ll be able to determine exactly where each batted ball will be caught or drop in safely for a hit. MLBB IV comes with 4 ballparks (Camden Yards, Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field). The artistic renderings enhance the feel of the game. Digitized video clips are a distraction – after viewing the same highlights repeatedly, I toggled off this feature after a few innings. A throwback from the first edition, players running on and off the field, can be disabled by the user. The scoreboard is centered at the top of the display. As this version incorporates the use of a mouse, you can click on the scoreboard to bring up several options including the current box score.

Sound – [2] The crack of the bat and the thud of the ball crashing into a glove are effectively represented. A digitized crowd roar is triggered at the appropriate moments. However one is left to wonder why the ballpark is completely silent during the balance of the contest, with the exception of the National Anthem and the “Seventh-Inning Stretch”.

Strategy – [3] The choice of pitch type from the original MLBB has been replaced with 3 generic pitching preferences – pitch normally, aggressively, or around the batter. There are 3 defensive positioning options – play outfield aggressively, infield in or in at the corners. You can also signal for the pitcher to attempt a pick off move, pitch out or issue an intentional walk. On offense you can advise the batter to swing away with the option of runners playing it safe or aggressive, hit and run or hit behind the runner. Bunting strategies include the sacrifice bunt, squeeze play or bunt for a hit. With runners on base, you have the ability to attempt a double steal or solely ask the lead runner to swipe a bag. Managers can modify their lineups, warm up or replace pitchers prior to every batter-pitcher confrontation.

Artificial Intelligence – [1] The computer manager allowed relief pitchers to bat on multiple occasions. In 3 games played without the designated hitter, my computer counterpart never opted to pinch-hit for the pitcher. I expected more from a simulation on its fourth iteration, especially since MLBB 4 offers lefty/righty breakdowns.

Box Score – [3] The concise, newspaper-style box score fits neatly on the display with arrows to scroll down for additional information. The upper segment includes the standard batting information for the visiting and home teams while the lower encompasses the line score, errors, double plays, left on base, extra base hits, baserunning events and pitching statistics. The umpires’ names are a nice touch along with the time and attendance. The user has the option to print or compile statistics.

Rosters – [1] – Teams consist of a 25-man active roster and 5 reserves. The active and reserved players can be adjusted through the League Utilities / Set Roster menu option.

Statistics – [3] – The optional General Manager / Owner Disk aids in the customization of rosters, player statistics and ratings. Users can modify lineups or trade players. MLBB 4 offered additional Season disks (1982-1992), Franchise History, All-Star Roster and World Series Team disks for purchase. In addition, 3 Stadium disks (American League, National League and Classic Parks) were created to augment the set of 4 ballparks that came standard with MLBB 4.

Usage/Injuries/Ejections – [2] – Injuries, ejections and fatigue can occur in the game although I did not encounter any. The lack of plate appearances for ballplayers that were not in the starting lineup during the regular season simulation leads me to question whether the fatigue and injury factors were properly implemented and thoroughly tested. Many bench players and a number of relief pitchers did not appear in any games despite being on the active roster for the entire simulated season.

Ballparks / Park Factors – [1] – The manual claims “more stadium factors are taken into consideration.” However teams are not assigned to specific stadiums and only 4 stadiums are available without the purchase of the add-on stadium disks, so it’s not clear how park factors are accounted for.

Commentary – [1] – Play result text appears on the bottom of the screen while the play is in progress. The observations are fairly basic and variation is minimal.

Note: MicroLeague Baseball II “Enhanced” for the Commodore 64 is essentially Pure-Stat Baseball repackaged as MicroLeague Baseball with a few additional strategic options bolted on. My rating for MicroLeague Baseball II “Enhanced” mirrors the Pure-Stat Baseball score (16 out of 50).

Scale:  Ratings from 1 (worst) to 5 (best)

Total Score: 20 out of 50

Enhancements and Features

Observations

The MicroLeague Sports Association fine-tuned this product with 4 editions released in the span of a decade. Yet I’m left with the feeling that there were many wasted opportunities to enhance and improve this game especially when you compare it to the competition. The play-by-play commentary regressed, player movement remained choreographed, and the strategic options lagged behind contemporary text-based and graphical baseball sims of the era. The omission of a “league leaders” option is difficult to fathom. Why bother compiling the stats if you’re unable to view and sort them at your discretion?

Please add a comment below if you spent a significant amount of time and/or have any recollections of MicroLeague Baseball II, MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge or MicroLeague Baseball IV.

Screenshots

Articles in the Series

	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – SSI Computer Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review –Computer Statis Pro Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pure-Stat Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Monday Morning Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Radio Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Full Count Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball II – III – IV
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – APBA Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – ’96 – ’98
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – ESPN Baseball Tonight
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Hardball 3-4-5-6
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pursue the Pennant – Diamond Mind Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pro League Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball 3 – 4 – Old Time Baseball

Additional Links

Play MicroLeague Baseball II in your browser! –

https://archive.org/details/msdos_MicroLeague_Baseball_2_1989

Play MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge in your browser! –

https://archive.org/details/msdos_MicroLeague_Baseball_-_The_Managers_Challenge_1991

Play MicroLeague Baseball IV in your browser! –

https://archive.org/details/msdos_MicroLeague_Baseball_IV_1992

Playthrough – HardballRetro

“Microleague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge.” Amiga World, June 1992, p96.

https://archive.org/details/amiga-world-1992-06/page/n97/mode/1up

“Microleague Baseball II.” Compute! Issue 115, December 1989, p126, 130.

https://archive.org/details/1989-12-compute-magazine/page/n127/mode/1up

Microleague Baseball II manual –

http://www.atarimania.com/st/files/microleague_baseball_ii_micro_league_sports_association_manual.pdf

MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge manual – https://www.old-games.com/getfile/7581

Microleague Baseball IV manual – https://www.old-games.com/getfile/7579

https://www.mobygames.com/game/microleague-baseball-ii

https://www.mobygames.com/game/microleague-baseball-the-managers-challenge

https://www.mobygames.com/game/microleague-baseball-iv

http://www.stadium64.com/gameinfos/microleaguebaseball2/microleaguebaseball2.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9tPkIfJJ_0 (MicroLeague Baseball II for the IBM PC,

video by Squakenet)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMrEuqPmZpI (MicroLeague Baseball: The Manager’s Challenge for the IBM PC, video by Squakenet)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOIA4aUfrfc (MicroLeague Baseball IV for the IBM PC,

video by Squakenet)

About the Author

I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League)“, published in July 2020 and
“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League)”, published in April 2022, examine the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set. Both books are available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 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. Team performances are analyzed based on transaction type with graphs depicting the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in every decade. Individual results for each player-transaction is charted over the duration of their stint with the franchise. Every team chapter includes All-Time Rosters and Single-Season Leaders based on transaction type. The Team Trade Record chronicles the WAR and WS (Win Shares) accumulated by players acquired in comparison to those traded to opposing teams. The opening chapter is devoted to the Evolution of the General Manager and incorporates a discussion with former Dodgers GM Fred Claire (along with former Angels and Red Sox GM Mike Port and current Reds GM Nick Krall in Volume 2) on a variety of front office topics.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“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. 

Amiga version:

IBM version:

Publisher – Electronic Arts

Release Year – 1987

Platforms – Amiga, Apple ][, IBM PC, Macintosh

Credits

Review

Earl Weaver Baseball represented a transformation in the computer baseball gaming experience from a text-based or minimally animated exercise into an authentic re-creation of America’s Pastime. From the realism of the statistical engine to the striking audio and visual effects, EWB signified a tremendous leap forward in sports simulations and set an extremely high bar that most challengers in the past 3 decades have failed to achieve. When I first cast my gaze upon the Amiga version, I was captivated by the sound effects, speech and graphics. After playing a few series I discovered that the variety of strategic options, ability to create ballparks and the accurate game outcomes contributed to a remarkable product unlike anything I had seen before. Many years later, I purchased an Amiga 500 for the sole purpose of playing this game. However in 1987 I had to settle for the Apple ][ version (which omitted several key features due to memory constraints). I regrettably sold my Apple ][e Enhanced system in the early Nineties. Although I currently have the Amiga and IBM versions, I’m using emulation for the sake of convenience. In order to provide an objective comparison of the versions I scheduled a series against Earl using both the IBM (PC / MS-DOS) edition and Amiga games.

The IBM series featured the teams that lost the 1982 AL and NL Championship matchups in a what-if World Series – Atlanta Braves vs. California Angels. I managed the Angels squad while “Earl” skippered the Bravos. After selecting the teams and game options, I was prompted to enter my season ticket number from the wheel of copy protection:

After selecting the starting pitchers and lineups, Game 1 was underway. Geoff Zahn (18-8, 3.73) took the mound for the home team against veteran knuckleballer Phil Niekro (17-4, 3.61). Claudell Washington split the defenders in left-center field gap and the ball rolled all the way to the wall. Fred Lynn retrieved the ball but Washington raced around the bases and beat the relay throw for an inside-the-park homer! Zahn settled in and retired the next 3 Braves in order. Brian Downing laced a flutterball into the right field corner for a two-bagger to lead off the bottom of the first for the Halos. Rod Carew walked and was promptly erased on a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop as Reggie Jackson safely reached base. With runners on the corners and one away, Fred Lynn drew a walk to load the bases. Don Baylor ripped a two-hopper to Rafael Ramirez at short, forcing Lynn at second. Baylor beat the relay to first as Downing crossed home plate, knotting the score at 1-1. Doug DeCinces hit into a 6-4 force at second base for the final out. In the home third, Carew and Jackson blooped successive singles in front of Washington to set up a first-and-third situation for Lynn with one down. Hubbard scooped up Lynn’s slow roller and flipped to Ramirez for the second out, but the relay was too late allowing Carew to cruise home as the Angels took a 2-1 lead. Braves’ third baseman Jerry Royster sparked a rally in the fifth with a single and a pair of stolen bases. Glenn Hubbard’s dribbler up the third base line was slow enough to score Royster with the tying run. Jackson and Lynn delivered back-to-back opposite-field doubles in the home half of the frame to re-take the lead. Atlanta roared back in the top of the sixth when Ramirez legged out an infield hit to third and Bob Horner lashed a two-base knock up the right-center field gap. Bob Watson tagged a long fly ball over the center field fence, giving Atlanta a 5-3 advantage. I gave the signal for the right-hander Don Aase as Zahn marched slowly to the dugout. Aase whiffed Terry Harper and Royster to end the inning. Bobby Grich smacked a double down the right-field line to open the bottom of the sixth and Tim Foli followed with a base hit to left, cutting the Braves’ lead to 5-4 as Foli advanced to second base on the throw home. Earl visited the mound but elected to leave Niekro in the game to face the #9 hitter, Bob Boone. California evened the score at 5 runs apiece when Boone delivered a solid single to left. Harper gobbled it up and fired home but Foli evaded the tag. Atlanta rallied again in the seventh when Hubbard singled up the middle and Aase plunked Bruce Benedict. Luis Sanchez entered the contest after Washington flied out to right and Hubbard tagged up to put runners on the corners with one out. Ramirez tripled to right-center, plating Hubbard and Benedict with the go-ahead runs. Sanchez issued an intentional pass to Dale Murphy. Horner followed with a ground-rule double to left and Watson supplied a sacrifice fly as the Braves tacked on two more runs. Earl brought Steve Bedrosian into the match in the bottom of the seventh as Atlanta had a four-run cushion. The Angels threatened when DeCinces cracked a double off the left field wall with one away, placing runners on second and third. “Bedrock” doused the blaze by striking out Grich and inducing pinch-hitter Ron Jackson to lift a harmless fly ball to right. Dave Goltz hurled a scoreless eighth for the Halos. Boone and Downing started the bottom of the frame with successive safeties to left. Carew tapped a slow roller towards first. Watson wheeled and fired to second base but Downing beat the throw. Jackson stepped to the dish with the sacks full and nobody out. He took a mighty cut but hit a three-hopper towards Hubbard, who shoveled to Ramirez to get the lead runner (Carew). Earl stormed from the dugout when the first-base umpire called Jackson safe on the relay throw. Boone crossed home plate on the play to bring California within 3 runs at 9-6. The subsequent play yielded another 4-6 fielder’s choice with Lynn safe at first and Downing scoring. Bedrosian struck out Baylor and the Braves retained a 9-7 lead. In the ninth, Grich coaxed a one-out walk and pinch-hitter Juan Beniquez knocked Bedrosian out of the game with a long double to left. Earl called upon Gene Garber to close out the contest.  Boone greeted Garber with a medium fly towards left-center. Grich and Beniquez tagged up on the play and witnessed a collision between Murphy and Harper. Murphy scrambled to recover the ball as Grich raced home and Beniquez scooted to third. On Murphy’s throw home, the potential winning run (Boone) tiptoed into second. The side-arming Garber whiffed Downing for the second out. Earl gestured towards his battery that he wanted to intentionally walk Carew. Garber and Benedict complied, bringing “Mr. October” to the plate in a bases loaded, 2 out, bottom of the ninth confrontation. Jackson’s patience paid off as Garber issued a base on balls to force in the tying run. Lynn drilled a hard grounder to Royster who fired down to Hubbard, sending the game into extra innings. Bruce Kison gave up back-to-back base hits to Harper and Royster to start the top of the tenth. Hubbard hit into a 4-6-3 double play with Harper advancing to third base. Benedict grounded out to Rob Wilfong at shortstop to suppress the threat.  Garber retired the Angels in order in the home half of the tenth and Kison returned the favor in the visitor’s eleventh. Beniquez sent Garber to the showers with a ground-rule double that one-hopped the right-center field fence. Earl summoned the left-hander Al Hrabosky to pitch to the veteran backstop Boone. “The Mad Hungarian” had trouble finding the plate and Boone drew a walk. Downing’s slow roller up the middle evaded Hrabosky’s glove and the Braves were only able to secure the out at second. Carew strolled to the dish with one out and runners at the corners. “Hungo” walked the perennial All-Star on four pitches. Wilfong lashed a line drive to right as the Angels walked off with a 10-9 victory!

Rick Mahler (9-10, 4.21) squared off against Ken Forsch (13-11, 3.87) in Game 2. Chris Chambliss lifted a fly ball to Reggie Jackson leading off the top of the second. The ball glanced off Jackson’s glove for a two-base error. Chambliss advanced to third on a fly out to right off the bat of Glenn Hubbard, then tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Larry Whisenton. California loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second inning on a fielder’s choice, an errant throw by Rafael Ramirez and a walk. Dale Murphy raced into foul territory to snare Brian Downing’s sky-high pop up to extricate Mahler.  In the third, Rod Carew flicked an opposite field two-base hit into the left field corner. “Mr. October” launched Mahler’s next offering into the right-center field bleachers for a 2-run jack. Fred Lynn legged out an infield hit and came all the way around from first when Don Baylor drilled a double up the gap in right-center. Doug DeCinces reached on Ramirez’s second error of the inning. Baylor scooted home on a Tim Foli groundout to increase the Angels’ advantage to 4-1. The Halos resumed their offensive barrage in the fourth. Downing led off with a single to center and Jackson drew a one-out walk. Lynn lofted a can of corn towards the right field line. Claudell Washington lost it in the sun and the ball bounced over the wall for a two-base error with Downing scored. Earl replaced Mahler with Pascual Perez. DeCinces drew a base on balls with two away but Grich grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the frame. Atlanta got a run back in the top of the fifth. Bruce Benedict lined a shot off Forsch’s hip. Forsch recovered but threw the ball past Carew for an error. Brett Butler hit a frozen rope to right-center sending Benedict to third, but Jackson cut down Butler when he tried to stretch a single into a double. Washington knocked in the Braves’ backstop with a three-hopper to second. Atlanta crept closer in the visitor’s sixth. DeCinces booted a hot smash off the bat of Bob Horner. Both runners were safe on a slow grounder by Chris Chambliss. After a walk to Whisenton loaded the bases with one out, Benedict beat the relay on a potential double-play ball to extend the inning and allow Horner to cross the plate. Butler batted into a 6-4 force with the Angels clinging to a 5-3 lead. California came storming back in the bottom half of the sixth. Carew and Jackson supplied back-to-back singles, then Lynn absolutely crushed a moon-shot to straightaway center. Earl grimaced and cussed at no one in particular as his favorite weapon, the 3-run homer, effectively extended the Angels advantage to 8-3. The Braves scratched a run across against Andy Hassler in the eighth when Benedict doubled into the right-field corner to knock in Chambliss. Washington skied a sacrifice fly to right to bring the Braves within 3 runs. Ramirez walloped reliever Doug Corbett’s sinker to the left field wall, but the sure-handed Downing gloved it to retire the side. In the top of the ninth, Corbett clipped Chambliss with a changeup then yielded a two-out double to Hubbard. Luis Sanchez relieved Corbett and induced pinch-hitter Jerry Royster to hit a slow roller towards the third base line. DeCinces fielded the ball and made a diving stab at Hubbard, who avoided the tag to keep the inning alive. Rufino Linares smacked a fly ball to medium center where Lynn corralled it for the final out. The Angels boarded a plane bound for Atlanta holding a 2-0 advantage in the Series.

A pair of young right-handers got the call in Game 3 as sophomore Mike Witt (8-6, 3.50) prepared for his first post-season assignment versus Bob Walk (11-9, 4.87). Atlanta handed the Halos a cheap run in the first when Walk failed to get out of the way on Don Baylor’s pop-up to the infield, resulting in a collision with Glenn Hubbard. The ball dropped untouched allowing Reggie Jackson to score from second base. Claudell Washington commenced the bottom of the first with a ringing double into the right field corner. Rafael Ramirez followed with an infield hit. Mike Witt struck out Dale Murphy with a knee-buckling curve, but he issued a free pass to Bob Horner to load the bases. The Braves tied the game on a wild pitch to Chris Chambliss as Washington scurried home. California put ducks on the pond in the top of the second after successive singles by Bobby Grich and Tim Foli. Bob Boone bunted the ball towards Walk who wheeled and fired to Horner at third base, but Grich avoided the tag. Brett Butler snagged Brian Downing’s long fly to center as Grich tagged and tallied the Angels’ second run. Rod Carew rapped a clean single past Horner and into left field to knock in Foli. Jackson whiffed then Fred Lynn walked to re-load the bases for Baylor. “Groove” took a healthy hack but fouled it high in the air behind home plate. Biff Pocoroba whipped off his catcher’s mask, ran back towards the screen and made a fancy sliding catch, eliciting cheers from the hometown crowd. Washington whacked a clean single to right, stole second and came around on a base hit to center by Murphy. Horner knotted the score at 3-3 with a bullet off the left field wall. Earl relieved Walk with two down in the fourth and two runners on base. Gene Garber struck out DeCinces to conclude the frame. Washington sliced a three-base hit up the left-center field gap with two away in the bottom of the fourth. Ramirez lined one sharply over Foli’s head to plate Washington with the go-ahead run. Murphy dunked a bloop double that hugged the left field line, advancing Ramirez to third. Witt delivered four consecutive balls to Horner. Down 4-3 with the sacks full of Braves, I brought Steve Renko in to face Chambliss. Foli flawlessly fielded Chambliss’ bounding ball to short and flipped to Grich for the force at second. Facing Al Hrabosky to start the top of the eighth, Foli cracked a two-bagger that one-hopped the left field wall. Pinch-hitter Ron Jackson and Downing hit consecutive groundouts that prevented Foli from advancing. Carew drew a walk, bringing Jackson to the plate with the tying run in scoring position. “Mr. October” served a soft single to center and Foli zipped home to tie the game at 4-4. “Hungo” rebounded to strike out Lynn. Ken Dayley relieved Hrabosky in the top of the ninth. Baylor led off with a screaming liner towards right-center that Washington misplayed into a three-base error. The Angels immediately capitalized when DeCinces thumped a low liner back through the box and into center for a base hit. Baylor trotted home as California took the 5-4 lead. Grich’s fourth hit of the contest sailed into the left field seats to endow the visitors with a 3-run cushion. Joe Ferguson left the yard with a solo shot to left-center, prompting Earl to call down to the pen for another arm. Rick Camp jogged to the mound to face the top of the order. Downing hit a high chopper behind third. Horner fielded the ball and airmailed it into the first-base stands for a 2-base error. Camp retired Carew on an easy two-hopper to short, then yielded to southpaw Carlos Diaz. Luis Sanchez closed out the ninth, allowing only a two-out single to Chambliss. The Braves fell behind 3 games to none in the Series, setting the stage for a possible sweep by the visiting club.

Geoff Zahn and Phil Niekro opposed each other in a rematch of Game 1 starters. Rod Carew and Reggie Jackson generated back-to-back safeties to place runners on the corners with one away in the opening frame, but “Knucksie” escaped the jam without conceding a run. Claudell Washington walked, swiped second and scored on a triple by Rafael Ramirez. An infield hit to deep short by Dale Murphy plated Ramirez with the Braves’ second run. Chris Chambliss rocked a two-base hit into the right field corner and Atlanta led 3-0. Brian Downing swatted an opposite field big-fly leading off the visitor’s third. Two-out safeties by Fred Lynn and Doug DeCinces followed by a base on balls to Bobby Grich provided a golden opportunity to Don Baylor. Niekro presented another Houdini act as “Groove” lofted an innocuous fly to Rufino Linares in left field, who camped under it and made the catch for the final out. Ramirez beat out a dribbler to DeCinces, pilfered second and recorded a tally on a double to right-center by third-sacker Bob Horner. Bob Watson slashed a two-bagger with two outs to extend the Atlanta advantage to 5-1. California rallied in the top of the fifth. Jackson registered an infield single and Lynn pounded a double down the line in right. A sacrifice fly to left by DeCinces brought the Angels within 3 runs. Grich grounded out to Ramirez allowing Lynn to score. Dave Goltz relieved Zahn to commence the bottom of the fifth with the Angels trailing 5-3. Ramirez laced his third base hit to right and Murphy walked. Horner put a charge into a Goltz fastball but Lynn flagged it down in deep center as Ramirez tagged up and cruised into third. Watson’s looping liner evaded Tim Foli’s outstretched glove, increasing the Atlanta lead to 6-3. Niekro issued a free pass to Jackson to open the seventh. Lynn thumped a sharp single to center, bringing DeCinces to the dish as the potential tying run. The wily veteran held the Halos at bay once again, provoking a weak fly ball to right by DeCinces and a two-hopper by Grich to his opposite number (Glenn Hubbard). Baylor opened the eighth with a base hit to left. Al Hrabosky relieved Niekro and promptly served up a single to pinch-hitter Juan Beniquez. Baylor scored when Ron Jackson bounced a high chopper behind third for an infield hit. Downing batted into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play, with Beniquez advancing to third. Carew rapped a base hit up the middle, cutting the Braves’ lead to a lone run. Jackson tied the game when his long blast to center sailed over Murphy’s head and one-hopped the wall as Carew dashed around the bases. Lynn drew a walk but DeCinces struck out to quash the rally. Doug Corbett allowed a two-out double to Bruce Benedict, then pinch-hitter Jerry Royster ripped a single to center to knock in the go-ahead run. Earl called upon Pascual Perez in the top of the ninth. Beniquez and “Papa Jack” supplied consecutive two-out singles, placing runners on first and third. Steve Bedrosian entered the match to face Downing. The Halos pulled even at 7-7 when a laser beam off the bat of Downing pierced the left field wall. A subsequent bloop hit to center by Carew tallied 2 more runs for the visiting squad. Earl came out to argue the call at home plate, kicking up a severe dust storm in the process. Bruce Kison shut down the hometown Braves in the final frame as Watson flew out to Downing to end the Series. California claimed the World Championship with a 4-game sweep!

Using the 1988 Team Disk for the Amiga series, I elected to match up the worst teams in the American League (Mariners vs. Orioles) in the Battle for the Basement. Flamethrower Mark Langston (15-11, 3.34) faced off against junkballer Jeff Ballard (8-12, 4.40) in Game 1. Bill Ripken rocked a one-out double to the base of the center field wall at the Kingdome with one out in the opening frame. Langston settled down and retired Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray to end the inning. Alvin Davis scorched a changeup off the right field fence for a long single leading off the bottom of the second. Ballard set down the next 6 Mariners in order until Henry Cotto dialed long distance in home half of the fourth. Successive singles by Fred Lynn and Rick Schu gave the O’s a first-and-third situation with one away in the fifth. Langston escaped the jam when Rene Gonzales and Pete Stanicek lofted shallow flies to left. Glenn Wilson dove headfirst into the bag to sneak in safely with a two-base hit under Bill Ripken’s tag. Harold Reynolds’ soft liner to left barely evaded the reach of the “Iron Man”. Wilson was running at the crack of the bat with two outs and scored easily while Reynolds sprinted into second on the throw home. Steve “Bye-Bye” Balboni hammered a deep drive down the left field line which crashed into the second deck, extending the M’s lead to 3-0 with 2 outs in the bottom of the sixth. Baltimore rallied with 3 straight safeties off the bats of Rene Gonzales, Pete Stanicek and Bill Ripken to open the eighth. Michael Jackson came on to duel Cal Ripken in relief of Langston. “Rip” took a mighty cut and struck out swinging on a slider. Murray belted Jackson’s next pitch towards right-center but Wilson made the catch. Gonzales tagged up and scurried homeward to put the O’s on the board. Wilson camped under Mickey Tettleton’s fly ball to close out the inning with the Mariners holding a 3-1 advantage. Mickey Brantley drilled a two-bagger off the base of the center field wall. Earl visited the mound and opted for Doug Sisk to replace Ballard. Davis walked on four pitches. Balboni delivered an insurance run with a ringing single to left-center. Scott Bradley batted for Dave Valle and Earl countered with the lefty Mark Thurmond. Bradley lobbed a soft liner to left, scoring Davis. Another pitching change ensued as Tom Niedenfuer trotted in from the pen. Wilson hit a weak grounder to second and the Ripken brothers completed the force play. Mike Schooler entered the game in a non-save situation. Lynn flied out to the warning track in right and pinch-hitter Joe Orsulak whiffed, but Reynolds dropped an infield fly off the bat of Larry Sheets to keep the Orioles’ hopes alive. Gonzales whacked a sizzling three-hopper to short which was scooped up by Rey Quiñones and fired to Reynolds covering second base for the final out.

Rookie right-hander Jose J. Bautista (6-15, 4.30) headed to the mound for the Orioles in Game 2 to face veteran Mike Moore (9-15, 3.78). Baltimore set up a potential scoring opportunity in the top of the second when Larry Sheets doubled to deep center after Eddie Murray led off the frame with a sharp single to right. Fred Lynn plated “Steady Eddie” with a ringing single over the outstretched glove of Harold Reynolds. Moore avoided further damage with a shallow pop fly and a pair of strikeouts. Larry Sheets laced an opposite-field single down the left field line to knock in Brady Anderson in the top of the third with the O’s second run. Bautista worked around a single, a balk and a walk in the fourth to maintain the 2-0 advantage. Murray belted a 2-run round-tripper to left-center, doubling the Orioles’ lead to 4-0. Seattle got on the board when Henry Cotto rapped a two-base hit and came around to score on a Bill Ripken throwing error. Alvin Davis brought the M’s within one, crushing a 2-run shot to right off Bautista with one out in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Reynolds rapped a double down the left field line but the third base coach wisely held Jim Presley at third. Bautista buckled down and retired Cotto on a medium fly to Lynn in left field. Brady Anderson opened the top of the eighth with a double to center off M’s reliever Jerry Reed. Anderson took off for third base on a stolen base attempt and Scott Bradley’s errant throw sailed past Presley into left field. Anderson quickly rose to his feet and scampered home to add a run to Baltimore’s tally. Reed got into further trouble by walking Murray and plunking Sheets. Bill Wilkinson entered the contest and induced Lynn to hit into a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Kennedy punched a routine grounder to short that Rey Quiñones booted as Murray glided home. Seattle went quietly in the ninth as Bautista completed an eight-hit, 6-3 victory to even the Series at one game apiece.

Both teams hopped on cross-country flights bound for Baltimore. The Series resumed one day later at Memorial Stadium where Scott Bankhead (7-9, 3.07) prepared to oppose Jay Tibbs (4-15, 5.39). A solo blast to right-center by Bill Ripken put the home team on the board in the bottom of the third. Neither team mustered any offensive threats until the top of the ninth. Tibbs was masterful through eight scoreless frames, limiting the Seattle lumberjacks to 3 singles. Henry Cotto, pinch-hitting for Bruce Fields to start the visitor’s half of the ninth, doubled up the right-center field gap. Earl signaled for right-hander Tom Niedenfuer to succeed Tibbs on the mound. The crowd roared and Tibbs tipped his cap as he walked off the mound. Mickey Brantley timed Niedenfuer’s heater perfectly and smoked a single past Cal Ripken Jr. Cotto raced towards home and deftly maneuvered around Terry Kennedy’s swipe tag to tie the game at 1-1. Clearly agitated by the turn of events, Earl bolted out of the dugout and yanked Niedenfuer in favor of Doug Sisk. Alvin Davis delivered a safety up the middle, moving the go-ahead run into scoring position with nobody out. Steve Balboni lashed a long single to left-center off southpaw Mark Thurmond as Brantley came around to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Pinch-hitter Jay Buhner grounded into a fielder’s choice but beat the relay throw to first. Earl chewed out the first base umpire, then called upon his fourth reliever of the inning, Don Aase. Jim Presley pulled the ball through the hole between short and third, extending the M’s advantage to 3-1. Mike Schooler entered the contest to do battle against the heart of the O’s order in the bottom of the ninth. He plunked Ripken in the ribs with a slider. Eddie Murray hit into a fielder’s choice and Jim Traber flew out to right field. Fred Lynn drilled a line drive to right but Mike Kingery snared it as the Mariners reclaimed the Series lead at 2 games to 1.

Mark Langston and Jeff Ballard toed the rubber in a rematch of Game 1 starters. Harold Reynolds led off with a sharp single to left and promptly stole second. Ballard issued a one-out walk to Mickey Brantley, then Alvin Davis plated Reynolds on a low liner to right field. Brantley scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Steve Balboni to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead. Baltimore rallied in the bottom of the fourth when Mickey Tettleton blasted a two-bagger off the warning track in center field, scoring Cal Ripken Jr. to cut the M’s lead in half. In the bottom of the seventh, Tettleton coaxed a base on balls. Fred Lynn, batting for Larry Sheets, surprised everyone with a two-strike bunt down the third base line for an infield hit. Rene Gonzales drove Langston’s heater down towards the left field corner. Brantley quickly cut off the ball and relayed it back to the infield, but “Froot Loops” easily cruised home with the tying run. Stanicek drew a walk to load the bases, but Bill Ripken lifted a routine fly ball which settled into Brantley’s glove to end the inning. Reynolds started the eighth with a base hit back through the box and swiped second. Ballard retired the next 3 Mariners in order to maintain the 2-2 tie. Mike Jackson hurled a clean inning for the M’s as Langston headed for the showers after 7 solid innings. Steve Balboni took a free pass to commence the ninth frame. Ballard’s 0-2 changeup struck Dave Valle in the left elbow, moving pinch-runner Mike Kingery into scoring position. None of which mattered when Jay Buhner connected on a mammoth 3-run home run that cleared the left-center field bleachers! Mike Schooler struck out 2 of the 3 batters that he faced to notch the save in Seattle’s 5-2 victory.

Baltimore attempted to stave off elimination as Seattle held a convincing 3 games to 1 advantage heading into Game 5. Mike Moore finished his pre-game bullpen session while rookie right-hander Oswaldo Peraza (5-7, 5.55) fired his warm-up tosses. The umpire bellowed “Play Ball!” and Harold Reynolds stepped into the batter’s box. Peraza set the M’s down in order. Joe Orsulak led off the bottom of the first with a one-hop double against the right-center field wall. He moved to third on a grounder to second off the bat of Brady Anderson. Cal Ripken Jr. delivered a sacrifice fly to right, allowing Orsulak to tag up and score effortlessly. Mickey Tettleton rocked a two-base hit over Glenn Wilson’s head following an Eddie Murray single, setting up a second-and-third with two outs situation for Fred Lynn. I held an impromptu conference on the mound to settle Moore down. Lynn hit a hot smash towards third but Jim Presley smothered it and threw over to first to minimize the damage. Presley walloped a Peraza fastball off the center field scoreboard, knotting the score at 1-1. Seattle loaded the bases with a hit batsmen (Rey Quiñones) and consecutive singles by Reynolds and Cotto to open the sixth. Mickey Brantley’s chopper was fielded cleanly by Peraza, who flipped the ball to Terry Kennedy for the out at home plate. Alvin Davis slapped a slow grounder up the middle and the Ripken brothers got the force at second, but Reynolds raced home for the go-ahead run. Bill Wilkinson, Jerry Reed, Mike Jackson and Mike Schooler each hurled scoreless frames in relief of Moore to clinch the Series as the Mariners edged the Orioles in the finale, 2 to 1.

Ratings

Graphics – [5] As the pitcher delivers the ball towards home plate, we are treated to a split-screen view with the playing field on two-thirds of the display (left side) and the batter-pitcher matchup in the rightmost section (the view of the right fielder is obscured). The scoreboard is positioned at the top of the screen, indicating the total runs, hits and errors for both teams along with the inning, number of outs and the ball-strike count on the present batter. In the batter-pitcher segment, the current hitter’s actual batting average, home runs and RBI are posted as well as his runner (speed) rating while the hurler’s ERA, won-loss record and fatigue rating are revealed. Once the ball is put into play or another event results in baserunner movement, the split screen disappears in favor of a full field view. The animation of the players is very fluid and smooth. Umpires signal out or safe, baserunners slide and fielders move their gloves into position at the last second. The close-up batter-pitcher confrontation is lifelike, a great achievement giving the state of personal computer graphics in mid-Eighties. The Instant Replay option allows you to review the previous play in real-time or slow motion (frame-by-frame).

Sound – [5] The Amiga and IBM versions perform John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever” during the introduction and as the batter rounds the bases during a home run trot. The music in the IBM game is a series of bleeps and bloops while the Amiga edition faithfully emulates the actual instruments. Similarly the IBM sound effects are fairly minimal in contrast to sweet resonances emanating from the Amiga such as the authentic crack of the bat, roar of the crowd or a ball nestling in a glove. Additionally the Amiga incorporates speech synthesis from the umpire’s calls to the enunciation of player names prior to each at-bat.

Strategy – [4] You can get fairly granular when adjusting your fielders’ depth and position. You cannot shift an infielder beyond the second base bag (i.e. no extreme shifts with 3 infielders on one side of the infield). As a manager, you have the ability to pitch around a hitter, have one or both corner infielders charge on a bunt attempt and determine baserunner aggressiveness. The squeeze play is an option and you can tell one or more baserunners to attempt a stolen base.

Artificial Intelligence – [4] Earl essentially made appropriate decisions with regards to batter and pitcher substitutions. The computer manager applied suitable in-game strategies such as when to bunt, hit-and-run and steal on offense or fielder positioning and intentional walks on defense.

Box Score – [4] The upper half of the post-game screen depicts the line score including innings, time, attendance, double plays and game-winning RBI along with the pitchers credited with the win, loss and save (if applicable). The lower-left corner allows the user to select the visitor or home sections of the box scores (batting and pitching) while the lower-right offers the ability to toggle output between the screen, printer or disk, view an instant or slow-motion replay from the final play of the game, Update Players Stats and/or Update W/L Records. The batting box score is enumerated in the correct order. However first names (or initials) are absent, making it difficult to differentiate between players with the same last name. The omission of defensive positions in the box score is an unfortunate oversight. The standard offensive statistics are compiled along with sacrifice hits, caught stealing, errors and passed balls while hit batsmen, wild pitches and balks are recorded with the conventional pitching data.

Rosters – [3] – Each team is permitted a 25-man roster. You can enter split statistics for batters and pitchers to indicate how they fare against righties and lefties. Each player is rated in several categories on a 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent) scale. Batter ratings include Power, Hit & Run, Bunt, Runs, Range and Arm while pitchers are graded on Speed (Velocity), Control, Fatigue, Bunt and Fielding ability. Players can be drafted, traded and cloned. In the Amiga version only, you can modify the phonemes for each player to tweak the pronunciation of their first and last name.

Statistics – [4] – Upon conclusion of a “League” game, the user has the ability to Update Players Stats and/or Update W/L Records. You can display actual and accumulated stats and standings using the main program. The optional (but highly recommended) Commissioner’s Disk affords the end-user with additional enhancements to the main Earl Weaver Baseball software. You can modify split and total statistics for any player using the Advanced Stats Editor. View and print the actual or accumulated statistics by individuals and teams, change the sort method (overall or by position) and specify minimum at-bats or innings pitched via the Advanced Stats Display. Accumulated statistics are merged into a single file using the Combine Accumulated Stats option. You may bestow days off to entire divisions, teams or individual players with Grant Days Off. This allows you to simulate travel days or modify injury status. Teams, divisions and league names can be modified via the League/Division Editor. Schedules can be created and sent to a printer, disk or the screen. With the exception of the IBM version, Earl Weaver Baseball does not adhere to generated schedules within the game program – this option simply allows you to generate a schedule that you will need to track manually. Create A Brand New League and Draft A League permit the creation of new leagues from scratch and the selection of players from an existing team disk. This utility allows you to trade, sign and cut players from a team’s roster.

Usage/Injuries/Ejections – [4] – Injuries can occur during the game (the user can toggle this feature on or off). Injured and fatigued players are denoted prior to each contest with the number of games that they are unavailable. This can be modified using the “Grant Days Off” option. The manager will argue an umpire’s call on occasion but I don’t believe players or managers can be ejected from the game.

Ballparks / Park Factors – [5] – 32 ballparks are included with the game – the 26 parks that were utilized in the late Eighties along with the Polo Grounds and 5 imaginary stadiums. The Commissioner’s Disk includes Advanced Ball Park Editor. You can fine-tune park factors (wind direction and speed), stadium dimensions (distance to fences, wall height and color, number of decks, foul ball area), capacity and turf type.

Commentary – [4] – The announcer in the Amiga version keeps us informed through the built-in speech synthesis with regards to the current batter (“At bat.. Cal Ripken”) as well as any player substitutions (“Now pitching.. Lee Smith”). When the computer manager calls down to the bullpen, the human manager is notified: “Earl’s got.. Kent Tekulve.. throwing in the pen”. During a pitching change – “Earl’s taking out.. Ron Guidry… Dave Righetti .. is now in the game.” In the Apple and IBM editions, the commentary scrolls across the center of the screen before any action takes place.

Scale:  Ratings from 1 (worst) to 5 (best)

Total Score: 42 out of 50

Observations

Earl Weaver Baseball offers an engaging computer baseball game that will stimulate your mind and your senses. Despite evolutions in console and computer processing power in addition to sound and graphics capabilities over the past 30+ years, I consistently find myself returning to EWB. Other games have come close and even surpassed EWB in certain respects, but this game just feels like baseball to me.

There are several key differences between the Amiga, IBM and Apple versions of EWB. The Amiga game utilizes the built-in speech synthesis and features the best graphics, sound and music. The Apple edition only comes with 2 teams (AL 00-30 and NL 00-30) and the game manual enumerates a number of glitches that were present at the time of release. The bugs include issues with the recording of strikes, errors and hit types along with several visual anomalies (fielders running through walls, balls rolling off the screen). I’m not sure if a patch was released to correct any of those flaws. With regards to the IBM version, I have EWB 1.5 and the manual references versions 1.0 and 1.1. According to designer and programmer Eddie Dombrower, version 1.1 addressed “several minor bug fixes” while 1.5 provided “some additional graphics and audio enhancements (like newer/additional sound card support) and possibly even an additional graphics resolution update”.

In the process of researching this article, I stumbled upon several references and a video of a prototype of Earl Weaver Baseball for the Sega Genesis. According to Mr. Dombrower, “While we were working on EWB 2, we were working on a Genesis version of EWB which, for reasons I cannot recall, never got finished and/or released.” The video confirms a 1991 copyright date and the EWB computer versions received many accolades, so I can’t imagine why Electronic Arts cancelled this project. EA whiffed on that decision!

Please add a comment below if you spent a significant amount of time and/or have any recollections of Earl Weaver Baseball.

Screenshots

Earl Weaver Baseball (Amiga version)

Earl Weaver Baseball (IBM version)

Articles in the Series

	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – SSI Computer Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review –Computer Statis Pro Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pure-Stat Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Monday Morning Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Radio Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Full Count Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball II – III – IV
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – APBA Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – ’96 – ’98
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – ESPN Baseball Tonight
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Hardball 3-4-5-6
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pursue the Pennant – Diamond Mind Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pro League Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball 3 – 4 – Old Time Baseball

Additional Links

Play Earl Weaver Baseball in your browser! –

https://archive.org/details/msdos_Earl_Weaver_Baseball_1987 *-copy protection code wheel required

Playthroughs – Hardball Retro

Computer Chronicles – “Games” episode (1987) – Eddie Dombrower demonstrates Earl Weaver Baseball on an Amiga 1000 (14:50 – 19:45).

SABR Stay at Home – Don Daglow

SABR Stay at Home – Eddie Dombrower

SeasonTool utility by Daniel Guenther – for use with one of the older (pre-2005) versions of the Lahman Baseball database (comma-delimited file) to import 1901-2005 seasons into EWB 1.5. Just follow the instructions in the SeasonTool readme file! -> http://www.jtc-ufo.com/ewb/

Connor, Peter. “Screen Test – Earl Weaver Baseball.” Advanced Computer Entertainment. October 1987, Issue 1, p68-69. https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_01_1987-10_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n67

Dombrower, Eddie. Text message to author. 27 Dec. 2019 and 2 Jan. 2020.

Jago, Francis. “Baseball Head to Head.” Commodore User. October 1987, Issue 49, p86-87.

https://archive.org/details/commodore-user-magazine-49/page/n85

Kendall, Mark. “Putting Bytes into the Old Ball Game.” Pomona College Magazine. June 26, 2013.

https://magazine.pomona.edu/2013/summer/putting-bytes-into-the-old-ball-game/

Leeds, Matthew. “Software Reviews – Earl Weaver Baseball.” May 1987, Issue 5, p48-49.

https://archive.org/details/05-commodore-magazine/page/n49

Lesser, Hartley and Patricia Lesser. “The Role of Computers.” Dragon Magazine. Issue 126, p84.

https://archive.org/stream/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine126#page/n85/mode/1up

Lesser, Hartley and Patricia Lesser. “The Role of Computers.” Dragon Magazine. Issue 127, p78, 80.

https://archive.org/stream/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine127#page/n79/mode/1up

Lesser, Hartley and Patricia Lesser. “The Role of Computers.” Dragon Magazine. Issue 132, p83.

https://archive.org/stream/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine132#page/n84/mode/1up

McLean, Mickey. “Fast Looks – Earl Weaver Baseball 1.5” Compute! Issue 113, October 1989, p114.

https://archive.org/details/1989-10-compute-magazine/page/n116

Randall, Neil. “Reviews – Earl Weaver Baseball.” Compute! Issue 93, February 1988, p49-50.

https://archive.org/stream/1988-02-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_093_1988_Feb#page/n49/mode/1up

Sipe, Russell and Johnny Wilson. “An Interview With Earl Weaver.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 36,

April 1987, p36-39.  http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_36.pdf

Wilson, Johnny. “Bezbol Been Berry, Berry Good To Me!” Computer Gaming World. Volume 36,

April 1987, p6-8.  http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_36.pdf

Wyss, Tony. “Hall of Fame – Earl Weaver Baseball.” SportPlanet.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050904184735/http://www.sportplanet.com/features/articles/ewb

Shot97. “Earl Weaver Baseball Review.” AmigaLove. October 9, 2021.

https://www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?t=2010

FAQ – https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/564318-earl-weaver-baseball/faqs/21689

https://amigalove.com/games.php?game_id=22

https://www.mobygames.com/game/earl-weaver-baseball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKp_fP06f0Q&t=7s (Earl Weaver Baseball – Amiga gameplay video by TheBaldingChimp)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWDHbPgc4ck (Earl Weaver Baseball – Apple ][ gameplay video by TheVideogameDatabase)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s3Gq8d-X7o (Earl Weaver Baseball – IBM PC gameplay video by Squakenet)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s2LDanhlz4 (Earl Weaver Baseball – Sega Genesis prototype video by azn3349)

About the Author

I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League)“, published in July 2020 and
“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League)”, published in April 2022, examine the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set. Both books are available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 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. Team performances are analyzed based on transaction type with graphs depicting the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in every decade. Individual results for each player-transaction is charted over the duration of their stint with the franchise. Every team chapter includes All-Time Rosters and Single-Season Leaders based on transaction type. The Team Trade Record chronicles the WAR and WS (Win Shares) accumulated by players acquired in comparison to those traded to opposing teams. The opening chapter is devoted to the Evolution of the General Manager and incorporates a discussion with former Dodgers GM Fred Claire (along with former Angels and Red Sox GM Mike Port and current Reds GM Nick Krall in Volume 2) on a variety of front office topics.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“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. 

Publisher – MicroLeague Sports Association

Release Year – 1984

Platforms – Amiga, Apple ][, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC

Credits

Review

MicroLeague Baseball is the computer hardball simulation that consumed a significant percentage of my youth. I owned the game, GM/Owner and Box Score/Stat Compiler disks for my Commodore 64 and purchased the same disks several years later for my Apple ][e. My friends and I spent many hours with MicroLeague Baseball over a five-year period. The competition was fierce as the opposing managers sat next to each other and shared the keyboard. The defensive manager had to shield their view with the strategy card while the offense selected their play. Several managers looking for an edge resorted to cheating (partially or pretending to cover their eyes). We created numerous team and league disks and even composed a pair of teams from our stickball statistics! Due to a lack of a quick-play option, we never completed a full season but I always smile when I reminisce about the MicroLeague days.

In order to show the various features and offer a comprehensive review, I launched the Commodore 64 edition of MicroLeague Baseball – Box Score/Stat Compiler in the VICE emulator. The Main Menu appears following a passing glimpse of MicroLeague Stadium:

I chose ‘P’ to play a game, whereas I was prompted to place the Game Disk in the drive. Once the Game program loads, I selected ‘N’ to start a new game. You can choose from 25 Great Teams available on the Game Disk, or insert a Team Disk.

I scheduled a rematch of the 1984 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Padres, utilizing the original lineups from each contest. A friendly reminder:  before commencing each game, press the ‘R’ key to prevent players from running on and off the field after each inning. This will slice at least ten minutes off your total game time. The animation may have been amusing at first but the interminable wait detracts from the experience after repeated viewing.

Eventual 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe (20-6, 3.64) and Eric Show (15-9, 3.40) initiated the festivities with a pitcher’s duel in Game 1. In the bottom of the third inning, Rick Sutcliffe reached on a fielder’s choice (a sacrifice bunt in which the lead runner Larry Bowa was cut down at second). Sutcliffe lumbered into second on Bob Dernier’s groundout to Steve Garvey and advanced to third when second-sacker Ryne Sandberg laced a single to center field. Gary “Sarge” Matthews popped up to Alan Wiggins to end the threat.  Sutcliffe carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Tony Gwynn slapped a clean hit between shortstop and third base with one out, but he was promptly caught stealing with a laser peg by the backstop Jody Davis. Show was lifted for pinch-hitter Bobby L. Brown as he was due to lead off the top of the eighth as the contest remained scoreless. Sutcliffe whiffed Brown and escaped further harm by inducing Garvey to ground out to shortstop after plunking Gwynn with 2 outs. Craig Lefferts came on in relief to begin the bottom of the 8^th to do battle against the top of the Cubbies’ lineup. Dernier lofted a fly ball towards the right-field line that Gwynn misplayed into a two-base error.  Sandberg launched a long ball into the stands in left-center, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead. Lefferts recovered to set the next 3 Cubs down in order. Lee Smith began to warm up in the Cubs’ pen as Sutcliffe marched to the mound in the hopes of twirling a shutout. He retired Graig Nettles and Terry Kennedy on soft line drives to the infield and then got Kevin McReynolds on a lazy fly ball to Dernier for the final out.

A pair of lefties squared off as Mark Thurmond (14-8, 2.97) took the hill against Steve “Rainbow” Trout (13-7, 3.41) in Game 2. Ryne Sandberg blasted a shot off the ivy in left-center which Kevin McReynolds played into a triple. Gary Matthews scored Sandberg on a groundout to second base. Chicago struck again in the second frame when Larry Bowa drove in Jody Davis with a single to the right field gap. In the home half of the fifth inning, Trout hammered a two-bagger off the wall in left-center to knock in Bowa for the third run. Thurmond recovered to finish 5 frames and then exited the game for a pinch-hitter (Bobby L. Brown) to start the sixth inning. Rich “Goose” Gossage entered in the bottom of the sixth as the Friars trailed 3-0. Ron Cey doubled with one out and Davis followed with a solid safety to right, placing runners at the corners. Leon Durham beat out a slow dribbler to Alan Wiggins and Cey skipped home with the fourth run. After Bowa grounded into a fielder’s choice, Trout stroked his second hit to left, extending the lead to 5-0. Bob Dernier hit a two-hopper to Luis Salazar to conclude the inning. The “Goose” was cooked when Cey belted a 3-run bomb to left-center following a pair of walks to begin the bottom of the seventh. Trout held the Padres hitless through 7 1/3 innings when Salazar drilled a hard ground ball back through the box and into center field. Sandberg booted Garry Templeton’s bouncer to second, but Trout wriggled off the hook. Dave Dravecky pitched a scoreless eighth inning, yielding only a base knock to Dernier. Trout caught McReynolds looking at a back-door slider to complete his one-hit shutout! The Cubs took a 2-game lead as the series headed to San Diego.

Dennis Eckersley (10-8, 3.03) opposed fellow veteran right-hander Ed Whitson (14-8, 3.24) in Game 3. Ryne Sandberg tattooed a solo shot down the left field line to put the Cubs on the board in the top of the first. Whitson issued back-to-back walks to Gary Matthews and Leon Durham. Keith Moreland ripped a single up the middle, scoring Matthews. San Diego averted disaster when Ron Cey and Jody Davis were retired on fly balls to finish the frame. The Friars finally plated their first run of the series in the bottom of the third. Whitson led off with an opposite-field single and Alan Wiggins bunted for a hit. Tony Gwynn grounded into a fielder’s choice, leaving runners at the corners with one out. Steve Garvey slapped a single back through the box to drive home Whitson. Graig Nettles rocked “Eck’s” next offering, clearing the left-center field for a three-run blast!  Whitson cruised through 7 innings, yielding only 4 hits while Eckersley settled down and pitched effectively for 6 innings. Rich Bordi came on in relief to start the seventh. Wiggins doubled up the left-field alley and Gwynn laced a single to center, increasing the Padres’ lead to 5-2. Garvey walloped Bordi’s next offering into the bleachers as the Friar fans went nuts! After retiring Nettles on a pop fly, Terry Kennedy poured gasoline on the fire when he crushed another batting-practice fastball from Bordi into the right-center field seats. The Cubs mercifully relieved Bordi, bringing in veteran Dick Ruthven to put out the dumpster fire. Durham swatted an opposite-field big-fly in the top of the eighth, cutting the deficit to 8-3. Moreland doubled and attempted to score on a Davis single to left field, but he was gunned down at the dish on a strong throw from Carmelo Martinez. Kennedy walloped a three-run bomb down the right field line off Ruthven in the bottom of the 8^th as the San Diego squad extended their advantage to 11-3. Whitson completed the contest on a harmless fly ball to McReynolds off the bat of pinch-hitter Gary Woods.

The Game 4 matchup showcased Scott Sanderson (8-5, 3.14) versus southpaw Tim Lollar (11-13, 3.91). Lollar immediately got into trouble in the opening frame, loading the bases with walks to Bob Dernier and Gary Matthews along with an Alan Wiggins error on Keith Moreland’s potential double-play grounder. Lollar got Ron Cey on an infield fly for the second out but subsequently walked Jody Davis to force in a run. Leon “Bull” Durham smoked a single between shortstop and third, plating Matthews and Moreland. Larry Bowa lofted an easy fly to left to retire the side with the Cubs claiming a 3-0 advantage. Chicago threatened in the top of the third when Cey lined a base knock to right which skipped off Tony Gwynn’s glove. “Mr. Padre” recovered in time to peg Moreland at the plate attempting to score all the way from first. Kevin McReynolds led off the bottom of the fifth with an opposite-field wallop to reduce the Padres’ deficit to 3-1. Warren Brusstar relieved Sanderson as Chicago took the field in the bottom of the eighth. Bobby L. Brown, batting for Lollar, singled between Cey and the new shortstop Tom Veryzer. One out later Gwynn delivered a base hit to right-center to plate Brown and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Lee Smith entered the contest looking for a 5-out save. Moreland corralled Steve Garvey’s can of corn for the second out. Graig Nettles bounced into a fielder’s choice as Veryzer elected to go the short route to Ryne Sandberg to retire the side. San Diego’s skipper inserted portsider Craig Lefferts to oppose the #9 hitter Smith followed by the top of the Cubs’ batting order. Lefferts worked around a one-out knock by Dernier. After whiffing Sandberg for out # 2, the Padres called a pitchout and nailed the Cubs fleet-footed center fielder to end the threat. Terry Kennedy walked on 5 pitches against Smith to start the bottom of the ninth. McReynolds belted a curveball into right-center and Kennedy lumbered into third. With the infield playing in to cut off the tying run, Carmelo Martinez went down swinging for the first out. Garry Templeton blooped Smith’s next offering down the right-field line as Kennedy tallied the tying run, but Moreland rifled a shot to third to cut down McReynolds. Smith recovered to strike out pinch-hitter Tim Flannery, yet the Padres were alive and kicking as the game headed to extra innings. Dave Dravecky took his warm-up tosses as the Chicago bench shook the heads in stunned silence.  Facing the heart of the Cubs order, Dravecky set them down 1-2-3. The top of the Padres’ lineup prepared to do battle against Tim Stoddard, but they proved to be no match for the towering right-hander. Tom Veryzer cuffed a two-out seeing-eye grounder between Wiggins and Garvey. Steve Lake, batting for Stoddard, ripped a base hit through the hole on the left side and pinch-runner Henry Cotto scurried from first to third. Bob Dernier hammered Dravecky’s next offering between Nettles and Templeton as the Cubs reclaimed the lead. Greg A. Harris trotted out to the mound, attempting to limit the damage. “Ryno” crushed Harris’ offering deep into the left-center field bleachers, extending the Cubbies’ advantage to 7-3. Harris then plunked Gary Matthews in frustration but he remained in the game and got Moreland to mercifully ground into a fielder’s choice to complete the half-inning. Nettles stepped to the dish to face Rich Bordi. Cey snared a line drive off Nettles’ bat for the first out. Kennedy scalded an atom ball to Durham and the Friars were down to their final out. McReynolds clubbed a long drive towards the right field wall, but defensive replacement Henry Cotto settled under it just shy of the warning track. The Cubs won the pennant!!!

Ratings

Graphics – [3] A generic ballpark is displayed with the scoreboard at the top of the screen listing the teams, runs, hits, errors, inning and outs. The bottom left corner shows the current and on-deck batter while the bottom right names the current pitcher along with a prompt to input your strategy option on offense or defense. The play-by-play is delivered 2 or 3 lines at a time on the scoreboard while the on-screen action occurs on the field. The players move accurately and the physics of the ball in flight are captured adequately, although specific plays will soon become apparent as there are no variations from the pre-programmed outcomes. That is, the trajectory of the ball for each event type will always follow the same flight path and the patterns will become easily discernable. The attention to detail enhances the experience and boosts the graphics rating. The defensive whips the ball around the horn after a strikeout and convene at the mound to conference with the pitcher and manager. Runners slide into bases and batters scamper off the field after making an out.

Sound – [2] The tail-end of the “Star-Spangled Banner” plays prior to the start of every game. “Charge!” blares from the speakers during rallies. Hits, walks, runs, outs, and strikeouts produce a variety of bloops, beeps and razzes. A descending 3-note sequence denotes the end of an inning. The Seventh-Inning Stretch features a brief rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”.

Strategy – [3] Most plate appearances are resolved by showing the pitch which results in a ball in play, walk or strikeout. Exceptions include a pitchout, foul bunt or a stolen base attempt. In a 2 player game, the offense is prompted to enter their strategic selection, followed by the defense. The offense has several additional options when there are runners on base: swing away with aggressive or safe running, steal, hit & run, sacrifice bunt. With no runners on base, the offense can only choose to swing away or bunt for a hit. The defense has 4 pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, off-speed/changeup) and 4 strategy options: pitchout, corners in, infield in, intentional walk. Either manager can view the lineup and pitching screens by pressing the ‘9’ key while the ‘0’ key triggers a mound visit on defense. You may save a game in progress or restart a previously saved game.

Artificial Intelligence – [2] The computer manager will generally pinch-hit and replace the pitcher at appropriate intervals in the game. MicroLeague Baseball does not utilize left/right split stats, so the manager does not take the platoon advantage into account.

Box Score – [3] The post-game box score consists of at least 4 pages: the visitor and home offense results, pitching outcomes for both teams, and individual listings for errors, extra-base hits, stolen bases, etc. All of the standard pre-USA Today newspaper-style statistics are included. The final line score is omitted, which makes it difficult to reconstruct when each team scored their runs. The user has the ability to print the box score or compile statistics. If you choose the Compile option, you are prompted to select the teams or create new teams if this is the first time that you are compiling statistics for a particular team.  You can view compiled stats by selecting ‘S’ from the main menu (See or print compiled stats). This provides 3 screens worth of offensive statistics along with 2 pitching screens. The box score / stat compiler disk does not keep track of the standings.

Rosters – [1] – Each team consists of a 25-man roster (15 batters and 10 pitchers). Each team disk includes a “Reserve List” roster which grants the General Manager the flexibility to temporarily swap out from an existing team’s roster.

Statistics – [3] – The General Manager / Owner Disk provides the user with a range of options to customize team disks. Among the available tasks – copy teams from another disk, delete or rename teams on the current disk, create a new team, view teams or verify team’s status. You can edit stats or change a roster for existing teams. Additional Season-by-Season, Special Edition and Franchise History disks were offered for purchase. In addition to the standard statistics, each player is assigned a fielding rating at their primary and secondary position (if applicable) between 0 (poor) – 3 (excellent). Every player receives a speed rating between 1 (slow) – 5 (fast).

Usage/Injuries/Ejections – [1] – Injuries, ejections and fatigue do not occur in the game and player usage is not a factor.

Ballparks / Park Factors – [1] – The simulation does not appear to account for any park factors and you do not have the ability to select different ballparks.

Commentary – [2] – Play-by-play text appears in the scoreboard as the pitch is delivered and continues one line at a time while the play is in progress. There’s not much variety here… once you’ve played a few games, you’ll have the majority of the commentary and the corresponding graphics memorized.  

Scale:  Ratings from 1 (worst) to 5 (best)

Total Score: 21 out of 50

Observations

MicroLeague Baseball represented a leap forward in graphics and sound from SSI Computer Baseball and Computer Statis Pro Baseball. The text descriptions provided additional flavor but still fall a bit short. I heartily recommend MicroLeague Baseball to replay a short series but would probably look elsewhere if you’re looking to re-create a full season’s worth of games.

Please add a comment below if you spent a significant amount of time and/or have any recollections of MicroLeague Baseball.

Screenshots

Articles in the Series

	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – SSI Computer Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review –Computer Statis Pro Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pure-Stat Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Monday Morning Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Radio Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Full Count Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball II – III – IV
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – APBA Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – ’96 – ’98
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – ESPN Baseball Tonight
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Hardball 3-4-5-6
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pursue the Pennant – Diamond Mind Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pro League Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball 3 – 4 – Old Time Baseball

Additional Links

Play MicroLeague Baseball in your browser! –

Archive.org – MicroLeague Baseball (Apple ][)

Playthrough – HardballRetro

Trunzo, James V. “An Interview With the Designer of MicroLeague Baseball.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 28. May 1986. p22-23. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_28.pdf

Oxner, Bill. “Play Ball!” Computer Gaming World. Volume 5.3, June-July 1985, p25.

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_5.3.pdf

MicroLeague Baseball manual – https://www.scribd.com/document/119942396/MicroLeague-Baseball

https://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/microleague-baseball/credits

http://www.stadium64.com/gameinfos/microleaguebaseball/microleaguebaseball.htm

http://www.stadium64.com/gameinfos/microleaguebaseball/microleaguebaseball.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroLeague_Baseball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDkz8n9i8e8 (MicroLeague Baseball for the Apple II,

video by Highretrogamelord)

About the Author

I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League)“, published in July 2020 and
“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League)”, published in April 2022, examine the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set. Both books are available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 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. Team performances are analyzed based on transaction type with graphs depicting the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in every decade. Individual results for each player-transaction is charted over the duration of their stint with the franchise. Every team chapter includes All-Time Rosters and Single-Season Leaders based on transaction type. The Team Trade Record chronicles the WAR and WS (Win Shares) accumulated by players acquired in comparison to those traded to opposing teams. The opening chapter is devoted to the Evolution of the General Manager and incorporates a discussion with former Dodgers GM Fred Claire (along with former Angels and Red Sox GM Mike Port and current Reds GM Nick Krall in Volume 2) on a variety of front office topics.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“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. 

Publisher – Strategic Simulations Inc.

Release Year – 1981

Platforms – Amiga, Apple ][, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Macintosh

Credits

Interview

Joel Billings founded Strategic Simuations Inc. (SSI) in 1979. The company published over 200 games spanning more than 15 years in the industry. Although SSI primarily focused on war games and role-playing games, they figure prominently in the development of early microcomputer sports sims (Computer Baseball, Computer Quarterback) and published two games in the Tony La Russa Baseball series. I contacted Joel and he responded to a series of questions about Computer Baseball.

DB: How was the original design of Computer Baseball conceived and what was your role?

JB: Charlie Merrow and Jack Avery, IIRC, were the designers of the game. They had done a wargame for SSI in late 1980, Computer Air Combat, so they were already familiar with the Apple II computer. I don’t remember, but assume they were baseball fans and talked to us about making a baseball game. As a former Strat-o-Matic board game player (of their baseball, football and basketball games), I’m sure I was as interested as they were. We had previously released Computer Quarterback so we knew that sports games have a larger market than wargames. As with all SSI games in those early years, I was the game developer/producer for the game. So I oversaw the testing and development of the game, as well as worked on the marketing of it.

DB: This was among the earliest titles published by SSI. What was your prior game development or programming experience?

JB: I started SSI during the summer of 1979, and we published 6 games in 1980. I was a long time board game player, and had used large computers in college. I didn’t see my first personal computer until May 1979 a few weeks before I graduated college. IIRC, Charlie and Jack were friends that worked at the same company. I think it was a defense or aerospace company in the San Diego area. IIRC they were engineers and programmed the games for fun.

DB: Did you take any computer programming courses in high school or college?

JB: I took one BASIC computer class in college in 1976 (a fluke pick-up 6 weeks into the semester when I needed to drop a Probability class I was struggling in). It was the only computer class my college offered. As a quantitative econ major, I used computers a lot in college and my internship at Amdahl in Silicon Valley. It was my summer job at Amdahl after college that put me in Silicon Valley the summer of 1979.

DB: I have the original Commodore 64 version. I am aware that several enhancements including Stat Compiler and Season Disks were released over the next 5+ years. Was a sequel to Computer Baseball ever under consideration?

JB: Not that I remember. After Charlie and Jack did a game called Fighter Command on the Battle of Britain, but that was the last game that I remember they worked on. I don’t know what happened to them. In 1991 we released Tony La Russa Baseball, and 2 years later Tony La Russa Baseball II.

DB: Are you still in contact with any of the other individuals involved with the design, development or testing of Computer Baseball?

JB: No, I haven’t had any contact with them in over 30-35 years.

DB: Were any features scaled back or omitted due to budgetary, compute power, or time constraints? Were those features considered in later editions?
(assuming the Stat Compiler disk falls into this category)

JB: I don’t remember. I’m not exactly sure why we didn’t put the modern players into the original game, but probably given the Strat-o-Matic system of selling player cards by season, we probably assumed from the start we’d do the same thing.

DB: Computer Baseball focused on the gameplay and the engine as opposed to graphics and sound. Are the results for each play determined by random “dice” rolls or similar method? Is the algorithm based on any specific tabletop baseball game or developed on-the-fly specifically for this project?

JB: Again, I don’t remember any of the details. I’m not sure I ever knew the details, so you’d have to find Charlie or Jack to get an answer to that. Since I would guess they are about 20 years older than me, they’d probably be in their 80s now.

DB: Nearly a decade after the release of Computer Baseball, SSI published several of the Tony La Russa Baseball games. What were your impressions of the La Russa series along with the competition as it evolved from Computer Baseball to games such as MicroLeague and Earl Weaver Baseball which incorporated major improvements in graphics, sound, play-by-play and statistical capabilities?

JB: Tony La Russa which was designed by Don Daglow/Stormfront Studios was intended to compete with Earl Weaver Baseball, and thus had to step up the graphics. AFAIK, we were able to successfully compete with Earl Weaver Baseball back then, and Tony La Russa I and II were very good sellers for us. The founder of Electronic Arts, Trip Hawkins, was on our board of directions from 1979 to sometime in late 1981/early 82 when he left to start EA. As a designer of a stat based football game in college, I remember he loved playing our sports games. Not surprising that EA Sports became such a big part of EA’s success. When we did Tony Baseball, it was actually distributed by EA as we were then an affiliated label of EA (and they then owned 20% of SSI). So they were distributing both Earl Weaver and Tony La Russa Baseball, probably the 2 best sellers at that time.

DB: Are you currently working in the computer / gaming industry?

JB: Yes, in 2000, Gary Grigsby, Keith Brors and I formed 2by3 Games to design computer wargames. We publish our games through Matrix Games, and we are still designing and releasing games (last one was War in the East 2).

DB: Do you have any interest in reviving Computer Baseball on a current platform?

JB: No, we just focus on wargames. Besides, the sports market now is so advanced it’s like making a movie to make a sports game (very expensive).

DB: If there are any important points about SSI Computer Baseball that I’ve missed, please share your thoughts here!

JB: We never licensed the player names or stats, and surprisingly no one ever contacted us about it. I didn’t know anything about licensing back then. By the time of Tony La Russa Baseball we understood that licenses had to be obtained, but back in 1981 the computer industry was so small that no one in Major League Baseball ever gave us a thought.

Review

The first electronic baseball simulation available to the masses, Computer Baseball by SSI accurately replicated the decision-making processes offered to tabletop baseball card and dice game “managers” while introducing the artificial intelligence of the computer skipper, “Casey”. I fired up the game on my Commodore 64 emulator. After the intro screen loaded, I examined the main menu and immediately noticed the absence of a computer vs. computer mode. Among the five choices are 1- and 2-player modes, enter data for a new team, edit / review existing team data file, and demo game. I opted for single player mode and selected the teams, lineups and starting pitchers.

I played a 3-game series (Royals-85 at Angels-85) using the Commodore 64 edition to reacquaint myself with the software and run through the various options.

The first game pitted Royals ace and 1985 AL Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen (20-6, 2.87) against Angels Mike Witt (15-9, 3.56). In the bottom of the second inning, Bobby Grich tripled to right-center and scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Ruppert Jones. The Royals responded with a run in the top of the third when Steve “Bye Bye” Balboni ripped a single to left field to plate Willie Wilson. Doug DeCinces led off the bottom of the 7th with a round-tripper to deep center field, giving the Halos the advantage, 2-1. Saberhagen pitched brilliantly on the losing end, yielding 3 hits over 8 innings, but Witt matched him and Donnie Moore notched the save.

Game 2 featured southpaw Charlie Leibrandt (17-9, 2.69) and sophomore right-hander Ron Romanick (14-9, 4.11). Willie Wilson led off Game 2 with a sharp single to right field and advanced to second on a Lonnie Smith groundout. George Brett followed with a base hit to right, but Juan Beniquez cut down the fleet-footed Wilson at home plate. A similar sequence in the top of the third (with Smith sacrificing Wilson to second) netted the Royals their first run. In the home half of the sixth, Brian Downing and Rod Carew delivered back-to-back singles, placing runners at the corners with no outs. Bobby Grich lifted a shallow fly to left but the runners were unable to advance. Doug DeCinces lined a single to the left-center field gap, scoring Downing and sending Carew to third. Leibrandt avoided further damage and contest remained knotted at one run apiece heading into the 7th inning. Gary Pettis walked with 2 outs and advanced to third on a wild pickoff throw. Downing grounded out to shortstop Buddy Biancalana to quell the threat. Stewart Cliburn entered the game to start the eighth inning, confronting the top of the Royals lineup after Romanick scattered 6 hits over 7 innings. Cliburn retired six of the seven batters he faced while Leibrandt continued to deal into the ninth frame. Bob Boone singled to center field with 2 outs in the ninth, and Casey summoned Dan Quisenberry to the mound. I pinch-ran Rob Wilfong for Boone and batted Ruppert Jones for the Angels shortstop Dick Schofield. Then Casey substituted lefty Mike Jones for Quisenberry, a move that should not have been permitted to occur as the MLB rules state that a pitcher must face at least one batter. The Jones vs. Jones matchup concluded with a line out to first base, and the contest proceeded to extra innings. I relieved Cliburn after 2 scoreless innings with fellow right-hander Doug Corbett. I was not prompted to correct my lineup (I had Jones and Wilfong playing out of position), so I had to adjust this after realizing my mistake and pitching to Jorge Orta. Jerry Narron replaced Wilfong, catching and hitting seventh in the lineup while Craig Gerber came on to play shortstop and bat eighth. Hal McRae pinch-hit for Biancalana with one down in the top of the tenth and coaxed a base on balls. Wilson bunted towards first base but Carew gunned down McRae at second for a fielder’s choice. Kansas City had the go-ahead run at second after Wilson swiped the bag. Corbett whiffed Smith to snuff out the rally. Downing laced an opposite-field double to right with one out in the bottom of the tenth. Casey elected to walk Carew intentionally then brought Steve Farr into the game to face Grich and DeCinces. Both veterans stranded the runners with fly outs to left field. Corbett retired the heart of the Royals order in the top of the eleventh. Joe Beckwith and Rafael Lugo trotted in from the bullpen for their respective teams as the duel marched past the twelve frame. After the Royals designated hitter Jorge Orta doubled with 2 outs in the 12th, I noticed that Hal McRae remained in the lineup. Unable to view my opponent’s defensive orientation, I could only surmise that the 39-year-old was playing shortstop as Biancalana’s replacement, even though Casey had a healthy Onix Concepcion on his bench. Lugo struck out McRae, and we continued to the bottom of the twelfth. Pettis started the inning with a walk, then stole second. Beckwith issued a free intentional pass to Downing, bringing Carew to the dish with no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd.The Royals turned a 4-6-3 double play (nicely executed by full-time DH turned shortstop!) Another intentional walk to Grich gave DeCinces a chance to be the hero. The Halos third-sacker drilled a single that landed in front of left fielder Darryl Motley and the Angels triumphed 2 to 1.

Kansas City struck first in Game 3, as George Brett socked a two-out, two-run blast in the third inning off Don Sutton (15-10, 3.86). Danny Jackson (14-12, 3.42) limited California to one safety through 6 innings. Dane Iorg misplayed Bob Boone’s single to left to begin the seventh, so the backstop trudged over to third base. Gary Pettis grounded into a double play following an intentional pass to Dick Schofield, scoring Boone with the Halos’ first run. Jackson continued his masterful effort through 8 2/3 innings when Boone lined a single in front of center fielder Willie Wilson. Casey visited the mound and brought in his ace reliever, Dan Quisenberry. I selected Rob Wilfong as the pinch-runner for Boone and selected Ruppert Jones off the bench to hit for Schofield. Jones crushed Quiz’s offering into the right-field seats for a walk-off, 3-2 victory to sweep the Royals!

Ratings 

Graphics – [1] The bare essentials… The in-game display consists of a scoreboard at the top of the screen, a generic baseball diamond on the left and pertinent information on the right (batter, on-deck, pitcher, bullpens and action prompt). Character graphics are utilized to depict the ballplayers. A white dot representing the ball moves in a straight line (there are no fly ball arcs or shadows to assist with illustrating the ball in flight. Fielders move immediately to intercept the ball. Baserunners are denoted only by their runner rating, a number from 1 to 9 pasted on top of the base that they currently occupy.

Sound – [1] The lone sound effect in the Commodore 64 edition was the crack of the bat.

Strategy – [3] The documentation includes strategy cards for Defense and Offense Options. Prior to throwing the first pitch to the current batter, the user is prompted to enter the Defense and/or Offense action, depending on the number of players (1 or 2). The defensive options consist of actions taken against the current batter (pitch to the batter, pitch around or issue an intentional walk), setting the infield and outfield depth, and whether or not to hold the baserunners. Visiting the mound (VM) and bullpen change (BP) allows you to warm up pitchers, check their status or bring them into the game.  The Change players (CP) option facilitates lineup modifications. A glaring omission is the inability to call for a pitchout. On offense, the manager can advise the batter to swing away, hit and run, or bunt. The baserunner(s) can be given the green light to steal and there are 3 options instructing the advancement of runners on a base hit (run normally, conservatively or aggressively). You can decide to pinch-hit or pinch-run along with handling the bullpen (relievers continue to “warm up” while your team is batting). Lastly, there is the ability to save the state of the game in progress. You can resume the game at a later date after choosing the number of players at the main menu (you’re asked if you wish to play a new game or resume a saved game).

Artificial Intelligence – [3] In a 1-1 game in the bottom of the 7th with runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs, Casey sent Hal McRae to pinch-hit for the Royals shortstop, Onix Concepcion (.204). McRae promptly bunted into a 1-6-3 double play. Omar Moreno struck out to end the threat, stranding Jim Sundberg at 3rd base.  Later in the same contest, Jorge Orta was caught stealing second base to end the game, leaving McRae dumbfounded at the dish. However, the vast majority of in-game substitutions and tactical decisions were conducted appropriately.   

Box Score – [1] You are given the option of printing the box score to the screen or printer. After posting the line score for the contest, the visitor’s box score appears. I immediately noticed that the results do not match the actual lineup order. Instead the order is based on defensive positioning. Omitting the pitcher (1), the Royals box score begins with Jim Sundberg (2 – catcher), Steve Balboni (3 – first baseman), etc. I’m not sure why the programmers chose to ignore the standard box score format as this presentation leads to confusion. Several standard statistics are omitted from the box score, including wild pitches, passed balls, saves and double plays.

Rosters [1] – Each team consists of a 25-man roster (15 batters and 10 pitchers). There are no reserves. My version came with the rosters from the 1985 season. The 1986 SSI catalog lists team disks from 1980 through 1984 along with “305 Computer Baseball Teams” encompassing every pennant and division winner from 1900 through 1979 (see page 10).

Statistics [2] – Most of the standard (pre-Sabermetrics) statistics are utilized. Split stats are neglected (outcomes broken down by right- or left-handedness of the opposing pitchers) which limit the ability to simulate platoon advantages. My version of the game did not include the stat compiler, so I was unable to determine which statistics are tracked or if standings and league leaders were recorded.  

Usage/Injuries/Ejections [2] – Prior to setting your lineup, you have the option to “Enter days since each pitcher has pitched”. Users selecting this option proceed to enter the amount of days since the pitcher’s most recent appearance in a ball game along with the number of innings he pitched. You will need to keep track of each pitcher’s “Days Rest” and innings pitched manually. Computer Baseball simulates the pitcher’s durability based on several factors: complete games/games started, average # of innings per appearance in addition to a random factor. Bringing a relief pitcher into a game without properly warming up diminishes their effectiveness. Player injuries and ejections can occur during the game. The manager will be prompted to substitute for the injured / ejected player.  Multiple game injuries need to be tracked manually. Injuries are the sole mechanism to account for durability in offensive players.

Ballparks / Park Factors [1] – All games are played at the generic “SSI Field”. The simulation does not take any park factors into account. The Designer’s Notes section in the manual states that “there were many things that we would like to have included, such as the effects of different ball parks, or the inclusion of more data on each player, but the practical limitations of computer memory intervened.”

Commentary [1] – Descriptions of the actions are limited to a single line of text indicating the event type and location (“Single to CF”, “Strikeout”, “Base on Balls”, “Shallow Fly To LF”).

Scale:  Ratings from 1 (worst) to 5 (best)

Total Score: 16 out of 50

Observations

The only game in town through the embryonic years of 8-bit personal computing, SSI Computer Baseball delivers the basics and introduced many would-be managers and general managers to the world of hardball simulation. The software appears dated when compared to games released in the mid-to-late Eighties, although those comparisons can be tempered by the fact that those games derived from this highly competent package. Despite my overall rating, I highly recommend sampling Computer Baseball if for no other reason than to compete against Casey in the grand-daddy of all baseball sims.

Please add a comment below if you spent a significant amount of time and/or have any recollections of SSI Computer Baseball.

Screenshots

Articles in the Series

	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – SSI Computer Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review –Computer Statis Pro Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Avalon Hill Pro Manager / Major League Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pure-Stat Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Monday Morning Manager
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Radio Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Full Count Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – MicroLeague Baseball II – III – IV
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Earl Weaver Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – APBA Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball II
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Front Page Sports Baseball ’94 – ’96 – ’98
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – ESPN Baseball Tonight
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Hardball 3-4-5-6
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pursue the Pennant – Diamond Mind Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Pro League Baseball
	Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball 3 – 4 – Old Time Baseball

Additional Links

Play SSI Computer Baseball in your browser! – https://archive.org/details/a2_Computer_Baseball_1981_SSI_RDOS

Playthroughs – HardballRetro

Oxner, Bill. “Play Ball.” Computer Gaming World, June-July 1985, Volume 5.3. pgs 24-25. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_5.3.pdf

https://www.mobygames.com/game/computer-baseball

http://www.stadium64.com/gameinfos/computerbaseball/computerbaseball.htm

PDF version of the manual – SSI Computer Baseball manual

About the Author 

I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League)“, published in July 2020 and
“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League)”, published in April 2022, examine the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set. Both books are available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 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. Team performances are analyzed based on transaction type with graphs depicting the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in every decade. Individual results for each player-transaction is charted over the duration of their stint with the franchise. Every team chapter includes All-Time Rosters and Single-Season Leaders based on transaction type. The Team Trade Record chronicles the WAR and WS (Win Shares) accumulated by players acquired in comparison to those traded to opposing teams. The opening chapter is devoted to the Evolution of the General Manager and incorporates a discussion with former Dodgers GM Fred Claire (along with former Angels and Red Sox GM Mike Port and current Reds GM Nick Krall in Volume 2) on a variety of front office topics.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“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. 

Note: article originally posted on August 6, 2019.

The current article reflects revisions posted in July 2022:

• interview with game developer and founder of Strategic Simulations (SSI), Joel Billings