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

Many thanks to Beatles Eternally for organizing our chat and my co-author John Racanelli for joining us on short notice!

Check out the video here:

Derek Bain is the author of five baseball books and co-chair of the SABR Games and Simulations Committee. John Racanelli is the membership director for the Emil Rothe (Chicago) SABR Chapter, founder and Co-Chair of the SABR Baseball Landmarks Research Committee, and a regular contributor to the SABR Baseball Cards Research Committee blog.

Check out the meeting video here!

Learn how to play classic retro baseball video games in your browser here!

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Use the Comments section to discuss your favorite baseball video games!

If the Internet Archive does not host a particular game, I attempted to include details and a screenshot. In keeping with the retro theme I restricted the list to 1975 – 2000 in correlation with the first through fifth generation of video game consoles (Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation).

Personal Recollections

Our family’s first console was the Mattel Intellivision, which we received as a Christmas gift in 1981. In comparison to the other baseball games available in the early Eighties, Major League Baseball outshined the competition in graphics and gameplay. Unfortunately we did not buy the Intellivoice or the Entertainment Computer System add-ons required for Eddie Dombrower and Don Daglow’s innovative World Series Major League Baseball, which included various camera angles and actual player statistics.

My first personal computer, the Commodore 64, raised the bar in terms of graphics and sound along with the ability to edit team rosters and compile statistics.  We often played Star League Baseball and Hardball! for strictly arcade action, yet I found myself gravitating towards the statistics-based games such as Computer Baseball and especially MicroLeague Baseball. My friends and I created a league using the “General Manager / Owners” and “Box Score / Stats Compiler” disks. I started to tinker with the existing rosters to create All-Time Teams for every franchise. But the absence of a quick-play option and the unreliability of the Commodore floppy drives, not to mention our short attention spans, thwarted my efforts to complete a full season of simulated contests.

I acquired an Apple ][e during the mid-80’s and procured several ballgames: the old standbys along with Computer Statis Pro Baseball and APBA Major League Baseball. Visiting the homes of family, friends and classmates during this period, I experienced the diversity of personal computers covering Apple ][, Atari 400/800 and Commodore Vic-20 / 64 / 128. Our collective minds were stunned when we located a peer with an Amiga 500 and the next Daglow / Dombrower collaboration – Earl Weaver Baseball. Having recently purchased EWB for my Apple ][e, the Amiga version blew me away! Construct your own ballparks, edit the pronunciation of player names and receive in-game managerial advice from Earl?!  All other games fell by the wayside that summer as we spent endless hours with Amiga EWB. In many ways, this gem of a game remains unsurpassed in terms of scope and gameplay even though it was released over thirty years ago.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Sega Genesis provided our family and friends with tons of classic gaming amusement! The repetitive background tune from Baseball Simulator 1.000 remains forever embedded in my brain while the physics involved in launching a long ball in the “space” stadium boosted the replay factor. My brother and I competed for supremacy in Sports Talk Baseball – loved the digitized speech in that one!

In the early Nineties, I obtained the first of several IBM PC clones, occasionally re-visiting my Apple and Commodore systems but mainly focusing on a new series of baseball games developed by the two individuals who repeatedly strived to implement improvements in the hybrid arcade/sim baseball genre. Electronic Arts published Eddie Dombrower’s Earl Weaver Baseball II, featuring enhanced physics modeling and a virtual camera that allowed the user to view the game from almost any perspective within the ballpark. Regrettably, EA released EWB II prematurely and compounded their mistake by failing to publish a patch to resolve several flaws in the code. Following successful stints as a director and producer with Mattel, Electronic Arts and Broderbund, Don Daglow founded his own company, Stormfront Studios in 1988. The Tony LaRussa Baseball series sustained the EWB tradition of working closely with the product’s namesake to design the artificial intelligence behind the game engine. Further enhancements comprised of the “fly ball cursor” (to assist with tracking and catching balls hit in the air), Fantasy Draft mode, head-to-head statistics, and a quick-play option to let gamers simulate an entire season in minutes! Old Time Baseball repurposed the TLB engine, added historical statistics and ballparks, and featured the Baseball Time Machine which permitted gamers to simulate games in different eras by altering the context where each player’s results were initially generated to align within the selected timeframe.

APBA Presents Baseball for Windows and the later editions of Broadcast Blast featured Ernie Harwell announcing the play-by-play accounts. (Mel Allen and Curt Gowdy highlighted the broadcasters in the Tony LaRussa games while Al Michaels’ voice adorned the later Hardball releases.) Augmenting the APBA games with The Bill James Baseball Encyclopedia, I possessed a method to import players from any season from 1876 to 1994. I started collecting “classic” video games around 1996, culminating in the purchase of two upright arcade games: Galaga and World Series: The Season. I pumped tons of quarters into WS:TS as a teenager and jumped at the chance to play as many innings as I wanted on “free-play”! The game retains your statistics based on your initials and birthdate and the spring-loaded batting and pitching system provided pinpoint control in the batter’s box and on the mound. Always a rush to crank a long ball in this blast from the past!

Wrapping up my baseball gaming experiences in the Twentieth Century, I found enjoyment in the arcade aspects of High Heat Baseball and the World Series Baseball games for the Sega Saturn. I dabbled in Diamond Mind Baseball for a while but found myself returning to APBA BBW. I presently run my sim seasons with Digital Diamond Baseball or Out of the Park Baseball. Both games are extremely flexible, provide accurate replay outcomes and contain all of the qualities that I have come to expect in a computer hardball simulator.

Your Memories

Please submit comments regarding your favorite baseball games (arcade, console, computer, handheld, tabletop) – whatever you play, share your memories with fellow gamers!

Poll

Vote on your favorite baseball video games here!

Platform	Title	Year	Publisher	Play It Now
Amiga	Earl Weaver Baseball	1987	Electronic Arts
Amiga	MicroLeague Baseball: Manager’s Challenge	1992	MLSA
Amiga	TV Sports Baseball	1992	Mindscape
APF M-1000	Baseball	1978	APF
Apple ][	Computer Baseball	1981	SSI
Apple ][	Computer Statis Pro Baseball	1983	Avalon Hill
Apple ][	Star League Baseball	1983	Gamestar
Apple ][	MicroLeague Baseball	1984	MLSA
Apple ][	HardBall!	1985	Accolade
Apple ][	APBA Major League Baseball	1985	Random House
Apple ][	Baseball Fanatic	–	Performing Arts Software
Apple ][	Championship Baseball	1986	Gamestar/Activision
Arcade	Baseball: The Season II	1987	Cinematronics
Arcade	Champion Baseball	1983	Sega
Arcade	Super Champion Baseball	1989	SNK
Arcade	World Series: The Season	1985	Cinematronics
Atari 2600	Home Run	1978	Atari
Atari 2600	Pete Rose Baseball	1988	Absolute Entertainment
Atari 2600	RealSports Baseball	1982	Atari
Atari 2600	Super Challenge Baseball	1982	Mattel
Atari 5200	RealSports Baseball	1983	Atari
Atari 7800	Pete Rose Baseball	1989	Absolute Entertainment
Atari 7800	RealSports Baseball	1988	Atari
Atari 800	MicroLeague Baseball	1984	MLSA
Atari Lynx	Baseball Heroes	1992	Atari
Bally Astrocade	Tornado Baseball	1977	Bally Midway
Colecovision	Super Action Baseball	1983	Coleco
Commodore 64	Full Count Baseball	1987	Lance Haffner Games
Commodore 64	Grand Slam Baseball – Steve Garvey vs. Jose Canseco	1987	Cosmi
Commodore 64	Monday Morning Manager	1986	TK Computer Products
Commodore 64	Pure Stat Baseball	1986	Sublogic
Commodore 64	The Slugger	1986	Mastertronic
Commodore 64	Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball	1991	SSI
Emerson Arcadia 2001	Baseball	1982	Emerson Radio Corp
Fairchild Channel F	Baseball	1977	Fairchild
Mattel Intellivision	Major League Baseball	1980	Mattel / APh
Mattel Intellivision	World Championship Baseball	1986	Mattel / INTV
Mattel Intellivision	World Series Major League Baseball	1983	Mattel
MS-DOS	Bo Jackson Baseball	1991	Data East
MS-DOS	Diamond Mind Baseball	1995	Diamond Mind
MS-DOS	Earl Weaver Baseball 1.5	1987	Electronic Arts
MS-DOS	Earl Weaver Baseball 2	1991	Electronic Arts
MS-DOS	ESPN Baseball Tonight	1994	Sony Imagesoft
MS-DOS	Front Page Sports: Baseball ‘94	1994	Sierra On-Line
MS-DOS	Hardball II	1989	Accolade
MS-DOS	Hardball III	1992	Accolade
MS-DOS	Hardball 4	1994	Accolade
MS-DOS	Hardball 5	1995	Accolade
MS-DOS	Major League Manager	1986	Spinnaker Software
MS-DOS	MicroLeague Baseball 2	1989	MLSA
MS-DOS	MicroLeague Baseball 4	1992	MLSA
MS-DOS	Old Time Baseball	1995	Stormfront Studios
MS-DOS	Orel Hershiser’s Strike Zone	1989	Melbourne House
MS-DOS	Out of the Park Baseball	1999	Out of the Park Developments
MS-DOS	Pro League Baseball	1992	Interplay
MS-DOS	Pete Rose Pennant Fever	1988	Gamestar
MS-DOS	Pursue the Pennant	–	Pursue the Pennant
MS-DOS	Radio Baseball	1986	Electronic Arts
MS-DOS	RBI Baseball 2	1991	Domark Software
MS-DOS	Sporting News Baseball	1988	Epyx
MS-DOS	Strat-o-Matic Baseball	–	Strat-o-Matic
MS-DOS	Street Sports Baseball	1987	Epyx
MS-DOS	Tony LaRussa Baseball II	1993	SSI
MS-DOS	Tony LaRussa Baseball 3	1995	Stormfront Studios
MS-DOS	Tony LaRussa Baseball 4	1997	Maxis
MS-DOS	World’s Greatest Baseball Game	1984	Epyx
Magnavox Odyssey 2	Baseball!	1980	Magnavox
Neo Geo	Baseball Stars Professional	1991	SNK
Nintendo NES	Bad News Baseball	1990	Tecmo
Nintendo NES	Baseball	1985	Nintendo
Nintendo NES	Baseball Simulator 1.000	1990	Culture Brain
Nintendo NES	Baseball Stars	1989	SNK
Nintendo NES	Baseball Stars II	1992	Romstar
Nintendo NES	Bases Loaded	1988	Jaleco
Nintendo NES	Bases Loaded 2: Second Season	1990	Jaleco
Nintendo NES	Bases Loaded 3	1991	Jaleco
Nintendo NES	Bases Loaded 4	1993	Jaleco
Nintendo NES	Base Wars	1991	Konami
Nintendo NES	Legends of the Diamond: The Baseball Championship Game	1992	Bandai
Nintendo NES	Little League Baseball: Championship Series	1990	SNK
Nintendo NES	Major League Baseball	1988	LJN
Nintendo NES	RBI Baseball	1988	Tengen
Nintendo NES	Tecmo Baseball	1989	Tecmo
Nintendo SNES	Extra Innings	1992	Sony Imagesoft
Nintendo SNES	Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball	1994	Nintendo
Nintendo SNES	Ken Griffey Jr.’s Winning Run	1996	Nintendo
Nintendo SNES	Nolan Ryan’s Baseball	1992	Romstar
Nintendo SNES	Relief Pitcher	1994	Left Field Productions
Nintendo SNES	The Sporting News: Baseball	1995	Hudson Soft
Nintendo SNES	Super Baseball Simulator 1.000	1991	Culture Brain
Nintendo SNES	Super Bases Loaded	1991	Jaleco
Nintendo SNES	Super Bases Loaded 2	1994	Jaleco
Nintendo SNES	Super Bases Loaded 3: License to Steal	1995	Jaleco
Nintendo SNES	Super Batter Up	1992	Namco
Nintendo SNES	Super RBI Baseball	1995	Time Warner Interactive
Nintendo 64	All-Star Baseball 99	1998	Acclaim
Nintendo 64	All-Star Baseball 2000	1998	Acclaim
Nintendo 64	Ken Griffey, Jr.’s Slugfest	1999	Nintendo
Nintendo 64	Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr.	1998	Nintendo
Nintendo 64	Mike Piazza’s Strike Zone	1998	GT Interactive
Sega Genesis	Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball	1992	Mindscape
Sega Genesis	Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball	1995	Acclaim
Sega Genesis	MLBPA Baseball	1994	Electronic Arts
Sega Genesis	RBI Baseball 3	1991	Atari/Tengen
Sega Genesis	RBI Baseball 4	1992	Atari/Tengen
Sega Genesis	RBI Baseball ‘93	1993	Atari/Tengen
Sega Genesis	RBI Baseball ‘94	1994	Atari/Tengen
Sega Genesis	Roger Clemens MVP Baseball	1992	Acclaim
Sega Genesis	SportsTalk Baseball	1992	Sega
Sega Genesis	Super Baseball 2020	1993	Electronic Arts
Sega Genesis	Tecmo Super Baseball	1994	Tecmo
Sega Genesis	Tommy LaSorda Baseball	1989	Sega
Sega Genesis	Tony LaRussa Baseball ’95	1994	Electronic Arts / SSI
Sega Genesis	Triple Play 96	1995	Electronic Arts
Sega Genesis	World Series Baseball	1994	Sega
Sega Genesis	World Series Baseball ‘95	1995	Sega
Sega Genesis	World Series Baseball ‘96	1996	Sega
Sega Genesis	World Series Baseball ‘98	1997	Sega
Sega Master System	American Baseball	1989	Sega
Sega Master System	Great Baseball	1985	Sega
Sega Master System	Reggie Jackson Baseball	1988	Sega
Sega Saturn	All-Star Baseball ’97 Featuring Frank Thomas	1997	Acclaim
Sony Playstation	3D Baseball	1996	Crystal Dynamics
Sony Playstation	Bottom of the 9th	1996	Konami
Sony Playstation	Bottom of the 9th ‘97	1997	Konami
Sony Playstation	Bottom of the 9th ‘99	1998	Konami
Sony Playstation	Grand Slam	1997	Virgin Interactive
Sony Playstation	Hardball 99	1998	Accolade
Sony Playstation	MLB Pennant Race	1996	SCEA
Sony Playstation	MLB 98	1997	SCEA
Sony Playstation	MLB 99	1998	SCEA
Sony Playstation	Triple Play 98	1997	Electronic Arts
Sony Playstation	Triple Play 99	1998	Electronic Arts
Sony Playstation	Triple Play 2000	1999	Electronic Arts
Sony Playstation	VR Baseball 97	1997	Interplay
Sony Playstation	VR Baseball 99	1998	Interplay
TI99/4A	Championship Baseball	1983	Milton Bradley
TRS CoCo	Color Baseball	1982	Radio Shack/Tandy
TurboGrafx-16	World Class Baseball	1989	NEC Interchannel
Windows	Aaron vs. Ruth: Battle of the Big Bats	1997	Mindscape
Windows	APBA Presents Baseball for Windows	1993	Miller Associates
Windows	Backyard Baseball	1997	Humongous Entertainment
Windows	Baseball Edition 2000	1999	Interplay
Windows	Baseball Mogul	1997	Infinite Monkey
Windows	Dynasty League Baseball	1994	Design Depot
Windows	Front Page Sports: Baseball Pro ’96 Season	1996	Sierra On-Line
Windows	Front Page Sports: Baseball Pro ’98	1998	Sierra On-Line
Windows	Hardball 6	1998	Accolade
Windows	Hardball 6 2000 Edition	1999	Accolade
Windows	High Heat Baseball 1999	1998	3DO
Windows	High Heat Baseball 2000	1999	3DO
Windows	Microsoft Baseball 3D	1998	Microsoft Game Studios
Windows	Microsoft Baseball 2000	1999	Microsoft Game Studios
Windows	Triple Play 97	1996	Electronic Arts
Windows	VR Baseball 2000	1998	Interplay

References

Classic Reload – Baseball Games

Kaneko, Gemma. “Here are the best baseball DOS games you can play online” mlb.com, January 22, 2015

List of Baseball Video Games. Wikipedia.