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:

Here’s a rundown of the requirements:

• Tony La Russa Baseball II – Game Disk
• optional, but recommended: Tony La Russa Baseball II – Season Disk(s)

Tony La Russa Baseball II was developed by Stormfront Studios and published in 1993 by Strategic Simulations Incorporated for the IBM PC personal computer, the second of four titles in the Tony La Russa Baseball series (not including the spin-off Old Time Baseball). An updated version of the game was released in 1994 as the Tony La Russa Baseball II : 1994 Edition. I’m utilizing the 1994 edition in my tutorial but the instructions to create and edit players and teams remain the same in both versions of the game.

View the tutorial video here:

Season Disk Downloads:

coming soon

References:

Tony La Russa Baseball II:

https://archive.org/details/msdos_Tony_La_Russa_Baseball_II_1993

Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony La Russa Baseball II

SABR Stay at Home – Don Daglow

Here’s a rundown of the requirements:

• Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – Game Disk
• optional: Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – Season Disks

Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball was developed by Beyond Software and published by Strategic Simulations Inc. in 1991 for the Commodore 64 and IBM PC personal computers. I’m utilizing the IBM PC edition in my tutorial, however the menu options and key combinations are similar in both versions of the game.

View the tutorial video here:

Season Disk Downloads:

coming soon

References:

Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball:

https://classicreload.com/tony-la-russas-ultimate-baseball.html#

Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball manual (IBM PC version) –https://archive.org/details/tonylarussasultimatebaseball/mode/2up

Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball manual (Commodore 64 version) – http://www.stadium64.com/manuals/tonylarussasultimatebaseball.htm

Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball

SABR Stay at Home – Don Daglow

IBM PC version

Tony La Russa Baseball II

Publisher – Strategic Simulations Inc.

Release Year – 1993

Platforms – IBM PC

Credits

Review

Tony La Russa Baseball II, the second in a series of four titles developed by Stormfront Studios (previously known as Beyond Software), introduced major upgrades over its predecessor. Roster sizes expanded from 30 to 40 players per team, an assortment of stadiums were either included or offered in an expansion disk and Ron Barr voiced the play-by-play commentary. The user now has the ability to view scores of other games in progress along with the option to store box scores and find results that contain special events such as no-hitters and cycles with ease. Managerial profiles enhance the game by allowing you the option to customize the computer manager’s strategic tendencies for each ball club.

Originally released in 1993, an updated version (1.3R) shipped in the “1994 Edition” to accommodate MLB divisional realignment and incorporate several fixes to the original game code.  Since I have both versions I opted to install and review the 1994 Edition. The main menu consists of 5 options: Baseball, Season, Manager, Utilities and Home Plate. Choose the baseball icon and a sub-menu appears. You can play an exhibition game, load a previously saved game, view the credits or general help instructions, or exit from the application. If installed, the Fantasy Draft (initially an expansion pack but later integrated into the ’94 edition) is also accessible from the Baseball menu. Fantasy Draft facilitates the drafting of entirely new leagues from the pool of available players. The inclinations of every General Manager can be tweaked to focus on specific player types or organizational approaches. Your GM can opt to look for power, speed, pitching, defense, a customized ranking among those classifications, or they can simulate La Russa’s team-building preferences. Draft options include the order (cycle, snake or random), salary cap and scale (real world dollars vs. Rotisserie-style) and style (auction vs. draft). The Season menu grants the ability to begin a new season, play a scheduled game or review the calendar for upcoming games that you wish to manage. Game and box scores are available here along with the ability to schedule an All-Star contest and view playoff results.  The Manager menu permits roster, lineup and pitching alterations. You can ask “Tony” for advice regarding your pitching rotation, batting orders and defensive alignment versus left and right-handed hurlers. If you wish to override La Russa’s suggestions, simply click the Restore button to revert the proposed changes. Amendments to the manager profiles can be implemented here as well. Sliding scales enable adjustments for in-game tactics and lineup selection (the computer skipper will inevitably need to substitute for an injured player). League configuration tasks such as editing player statistics, team names and uniform colors are handled via the Utilities menu. You can initiate trades, sort through league leaders in dozens of categories, team totals and individual statistics, assign stadiums to each club, and import stats. The Home Plate icon aids in the viewing and printing of statistics, either to a printer or a file. Context-specific Help can be accessed here. TLBB2 comes with 26 classic teams, 26 “All-Time Teams” (one per franchise) and 2 All-Star teams. Season disks were available for purchase.   

I conducted a draft using a player pool from the classic teams in order to assemble rosters from my Retro World Baseball Classic research (Baseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic), based on the 1961-1980 teams. After the draft ended, I manually entered the statistics for the players who were on the Retro WBC rosters but missing from the Classic Teams in TLBB2. I prepared the lineups, pitching rotations and defensive alignments, assigned a stadium to each team (choosing ballparks in close proximity to their Retro WBC team locations whenever possible) and opted to utilize the default managerial profile for all teams. Once the season commenced, I tasked TLBB2 with the simulation of a week’s worth of games so I could periodically peruse the box scores, leaderboards and check each team for injuries. In the event that an injured player would miss a substantial amount of games (generally 7 or more days unavailable), I intervened to substitute the appropriate bench or reserve player while documenting temporary lineup or rotation changes. The roster automatically expands from 25 to 40 players on September 1. The Retro WBC 1961-1980 Rosters complete with lineups, rotations and schedule are available here for TLBB2 ->

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/w2g51qnn2dm3v/TLBB2

Note:  Download and extract 6180W.zip to your Tony2\Teams subfolder.  Open TLBB2 and select Utilities -> Change Leagues. Select 6180W from the list. Go to Season -> Standings and confirm all teams have a record of 0-0 and the date is April 1.

A quick rundown of the Retro WBC 1961-1990 season is presented below along with standings, league leaders and team totals, followed by the team-by-team batting and pitching breakdowns. For the World Series, I exported the box scores and play-by-play scripts from every contest.

Retro World Baseball Classic: 1961-1980 Regular Season

Ohio (20-7) and California (21-6) sprinted out of the gates while it was evident that Puerto Rico (4-23) and the Mexico / Central America (7-20) squads were going to be in for a long season. Al Oliver (.356 BA) and Carl Yastrzemski (.291/15/30) set the offensive pace through April. On the mound, Tom Seaver posted a 5-0 record with a 1.82 ERA through 6 starts. Knuckleballer Phil Niekro (4-0, 0.86) limited the opposition to 3 earned runs in 39 2/3 innings.

USA Southeast triumphed in 19 contests to claim the top spot in the Eastern Division. The eventual league batting champion Rod Carew (.368) along with runner-up Rico Carty (.335) assumed the top two slots in the rankings as the calendar turned to June. Koji Yamamoto of the Canada-Europe-Japan team tied “Yaz” for the home run lead with 24 apiece. Dean Chance paced all hurlers with an ERA of 1.19. J.R. Richard (82) and Mario Soto (80) battled for the top spot on the strikeout charts.

Pennsylvania pulled into contention with 20 victories in the month of June. Yamamoto blasted 11 round-trippers in June to overtake Yastrzemski. Carew paced the circuit with 111 base hits entering July while Willie “Pops” Stargell rapped a League-leading 29 doubles. The race for the stolen base crown featured Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines (39 each) followed closely by Billy North with 38. USA Southeast lefty Mike Caldwell topped the leaderboards with 13 wins against 1 loss. Tom Seaver (113 strikeouts) was one of four starters to surpass the century mark in whiffs at the halfway point, joined by J.R. Richard (108), Mario Soto (106) and Nolan Ryan (104). Jim Kern (18 saves, 0.28 ERA) and Ron Perranoski (18 saves) ranked tops among closers along with Rich “Goose” Gossage (17 saves). Chance (1.26 ERA) retained a significant advantage in the ERA category over runner-ups Seaver and Gaylord Perry (2.14).

USA South overtook California in the Western Division after averaging 17 wins per month since May 1.  The batting and home run leaders maintained their positions as July came to a close. Yamamoto (41) outpaced Yastrzemski in dingers as Dave Kingman (33), Rico Petrocelli (31) and Mike Schmidt joined the 30-homer club. No less than twelve speedsters pilfered at least 30 bases. Three flamethrowers were tied atop the strikeout charts with 145 – J.R. Richard, Tom Seaver and Mario Soto. Southpaw Dave A. Roberts lowered his ERA to 2.27, nearly a run higher than Dean Chance’s 1.36 mark.

Rickey Henderson aka “The Man of Steal” took a commanding lead with 72 stolen bases, 9 ahead of fellow outfielder Billy North. Mike Caldwell (18-5) maintained the leadership in the wins column over Mike Scott (17-6). Rich Gossage (28) surged into the lead in saves, one ahead of Ron Perranoski. Rosters expanded to 40 per ball club on September 1 and several non-contenders responded by shuffling a few of their battered hurlers into long relief. John Candelaria (56 HR allowed) and Juan Berenguer (52 HR allowed) were among those who found themselves demoted to lesser roles.

Mike Schmidt pulled even with Koji Yamamoto with 50 circuit clouts each as the campaign careened towards its conclusion. Schmidt paced a group of 10 batters with at least 100 RBI. Ohio’s precarious lead in the East stood at two games ahead of USA Southeast while USA South preserved a 3 1/2 game advantage over California on October 1. Rod Carew sustained a 10-point cushion in batting average over Rico Carty.  Texas’ reliever Donnie Moore tied Rich Gossage with 30 saves. Four starting pitchers eclipsed the 20-win plateau – Mike Caldwell, Jim Palmer, Dave A. Roberts and Mike Scott.

Perennial batting champion Rod Carew (Mexico-Central America) secured another title with a .363 BA despite a long-year threat mounted by the “Beeg Boy” Rico Carty (.355). Representing the Dominican Republic squad, Carty outpaced Carew and Koji Yamamoto in on-base percentage, .450 to .421. Yamamoto slugged .662 for the Canada-Europe-Japan club to register the top spot ahead of Ohio third-sacker Mike Schmidt (.630). Carty (216), Carew (207) and California shortstop Alan Trammell (201) surpassed the 200-hit mark. Illinois teammates Wes Parker (45) and Fred Lynn (44) placed one-two on the doubles chart while Carew, Dave Parker (USA South) and Manny Trillo (Carribean-South America) ended in a three-way tie for triples. A late-season injury allowed Schmidt (54) to edge Yamamoto (53) for the home run crown. Jack Clark (Pennsylvania) embodied the “Three True Outcomes” with 37 blasts and a League-best 140 walks while placing runner-up to Texas third baseman Billy Grabarkewitz (155) with 149 strikeouts. Schmidt emerged as the RBI leader, outdistancing George Foster (USA South), 138 to 133. Yutaka Fukumoto (Canada-Europe-Japan) tallied 129 runs, four more than Rickey Henderson (Illinois). However, Henderson aka the “Man of Steal” nabbed another title as his 91 stolen bases firmly trounced the 77 swipes recorded by his principal opponent, Billy North (USA West).

Tony La Russa Baseball II allows the user to store the box scores for all games played by a specific team or all teams on their hard drives. Additionally you can select from twelve “special” box score categories in order to search for highlights, such as hitting for the cycle, no-hitters, etc. Individual single-game feats documented during the regular season included a no-no by Juan Berenguer (Mexico-Central America), seven one-hitters, seven contests in which a slugger belted 3 home runs, and a pair of batters who hit for the cycle.  Twenty players posted 5 or more hits in a game including opponents in the same game (Ron Cey & Davey Lopes, June 24) and teammates in the same game (Larry Hisle & Al Oliver, Sept. 30). Four batters achieved the feat twice: Rod Carew, Ken Griffey, Dave “Cobra” Parker and Willie “Pops” Stargell. Griffey and Parker deserved special mention as Griffey notched 6 safeties on September 26 and Parker racked up 12 RBI with his 5-for-5 performance on July 26!

Regular Season – Batting Highlights

Regular Season – Pitching Highlights

Wins by Month

Retro WBC 1961-1980 Regular Season

Final Standings and League Leaders

Rosters

Team-by-Team Statistics

Team Totals

Retro WBC 1961-1980 World Series

I took the managerial reins for the USA South ball club while Tony La Russa strategized for the Ohioans. Dean Chance (14-5, 1.76) and Ron Guidry (13-9, 2.77) faced off in Game 1 at Riverfront Stadium. “Louisiana Lightning” was lit up like a Christmas tree and yanked in the second frame trailing 7-0 after yielding gopher balls to Jimmy Wynn, Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt. USA South scratched a pair of runs across in the fifth on a RBI groundout by Johnny Bench and an infield hit by Ozzie Smith. Frank Linzy allowed two inherited runners to score in the bottom of the fifth and then served up a grand slam to Ohio backstop Thurman Munson. Shortstop Eddie Brinkman belted a two-run shot off Chuck Taylor to extend the lead to 15-2. Bench along with pinch-hitter Rusty Staub delivered RBI singles against reliever Kent Tekulve, but the submariner retired Cleon Jones and “The Wizard of Oz” to wrap up the blowout. Pinch-runner Amos Otis twisted his ankle during a pinch-running appearance in the ninth and the South recalled Lyman Bostock to take his place on the roster.

The USA South squad, still reeling from the beatdown issued by Ohio in the first contest, sent crafty right-hander Don “Black & Decker” Sutton (19-13, 3.84) to the hill. The Buckeyes countered with knuckleballer Phil Niekro (17-9, 3.47). In the bottom of the first, Sal Bando singled to center to knock in Al Oliver with the game’s first tally. Ron Oester, a .242 batter with only one homer in the regular season, connected with a Sutton offering for a solo shot in the bottom of the second. Following a base hit by Eddie Brinkman, left fielder Pete Rose cranked a round-tripper over the right field wall to increase Ohio’s advantage to 4-0. The match swiftly descended into a carbon copy of Game 1. With a depleted bullpen, Sutton remained on the bump as the Ohio lumberjacks took turns pummeling his pitches. The home team opened the inning with four straight safeties and a walk to extend their lead to 6-0. In his second bases loaded situation in as many days, Thurman Munson clubbed a deep fly ball to the opposite field. The dejected hurler could only watch in disbelief as “Tugboat” circled the bases – grand salami! Potential Game 4 starter Doyle Alexander was pressed into a long relief role and struggled initially to stop the bleeding. Rose ripped a run-scoring double to register Ohio’s eleventh run before the inning came to its’ conclusion. Bobby Murcer put the South on the board with an RBI base knock in the top of the fifth and Tommy Harper lofted an opposite-field long ball into the right-field seats in the subsequent frame. Alexander settled in and cruised into the bottom of the sixth when he suddenly signaled the trainer and walked off the mound. Diagnosed as a sore arm, Alexander was forced to miss the rest of the Series. Reliever Ken Tatum twirled an inning and one-third of scoreless ball. Lee Smith entered the contest in the home half of the eighth, looking to get some work in. The move backfired as Smith was torched for 6 runs after allowing 9 opponents to reach base. Niekro struck out 7 in 8.2 innings and Doug Bair retired Lyman Bostock for the final out. Brinkman racked up 5 hits and Ohio outscored the opposition 32-6 as the Series shifted to Houston, Texas.

J.R. Richard (17-5, 2.79) received the starting assignment for Game 3 with his team trailing in the Series, 2 games to none, and staggered by the fireworks generated by their opponent’s lineup. Crafty southpaw Bob Knepper (14-11, 5.47) got the nod for Ohio. Tommy Harper sparked the South when he singled, stole second and came around on a Willie Wilson two-base hit in the bottom of the second. One inning later, Dave “Cobra” Parker uncoiled on a Knepper changeup and blasted a two-run bomb into the second deck in right field. The visitors broke up Richard’s shutout in the fifth when Sal Bando launched a long ball to left-center. Batting from the right side against Knepper in the home half of the sixth inning, Ozzie Smith drilled a shot towards the center field fence. Garry Maddox aka “The Secretary of Defense” drifted back and made a leaping attempt at the wall, but he came down empty handed. The folks in the stands went crazy as the “Wizard” rounded the bases. This was a stunning development as Smith had not left the yard during the regular season! Johnny Bench provided an insurance run with a solo shot in the eighth frame. Jimmy Wynn cranked a four-bagger off the left field foul pole in the ninth, but it was not enough as Richard spun a complete game four-hitter to earn the victory and save his ball club from a 3-0 deficit.

Ron Guidry was seeking redemption for his dreadful effort in the Series opener and he locked horns with Joe Niekro (12-15, 4.10). Both hurlers tossed scoreless ball into the sixth frame, when Niekro got into a bit of trouble. Willie Stargell ripped a line drive that dropped in front of Garry Maddox in center for a base hit. George Foster followed with a nearly identical hot smash, advancing “Pops” to second base. Niekro whiffed Dave Parker for the second out of the inning but Johnny Bench belted a hanging knuckler into the “batter’s eye” in center field for a 3-run dinger. The “Gator” held a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the eighth. After Eddie Brinkman laced a clean single to center, Pete Rose reached base when Stargell booted his grounder to first. However, “Pops” recovered quickly and gunned down a startled Brinkman as he raced for third! Jimmy Wynn went down on strikes for the second out. Mike Schmidt drove a slider from Guidry into the right-field seats for a two-run jack, clipping USA South’s advantage to 3-2. Guidry departed and his replacement, Chuck Taylor, yielded successive singles to Sal Bando and Al Oliver before retiring Thurman Munson to end the threat. Lee Smith rebounded from a horrific outing in Game 2 to pitch a hitless ninth inning as the South knotted the Series at two games apiece.

Bob Veale (4-2, 2.87) was activated off the USA South reserve roster to replace Doyle Alexander and he was pressed into a starting assignment as Vida Blue (injured list) and Don Sutton were unavailable. Ohio returned to the top of their rotation with Dean Chance making his second appearance in the Series. Veale loaded the bases in the top of the first and yielded a pair of runs on an RBI single off the bat of Thurman Munson and a walk to Garry Maddox. Veale’s control issues continued in the second inning as he issued free passes to Pete Rose and Jimmy Wynn. He managed to strike out Mike Schmidt but got behind in the count to Sal Bando. The designated hitter crushed a fastball over the right-center field wall to stake the Buckeyes to a 5-0 lead. Chuck Taylor trotted out of the bullpen as Veale headed to the showers. Taylor held Ohio scoreless for 2 1/3 innings and his mates tallied twice in the bottom of the fifth on a Bill Madlock RBI double and a fielder’s choice groundout by Willie Wilson to cut the gap to 5-2. Schmidt demolished a Cecil Upshaw change-of-pace in the sixth and Wynn went yard after Frank Linzy plunked Rose with two outs in the top of the seventh. USA South answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Dave Parker and Lyman Bostock reached on consecutive singles. Parker scored on a double by Ozzie Smith and Bostock crossed the dish on a slow roller by Wilson. Following a scoreless inning from the reliable arm of Ken Tatum and with the South behind by 4 runs entering the ninth, Lee Smith strolled in from the ‘pen. In a performance reminiscent of his Game 2 outing, Smith poured gasoline on the fire as the Ohioans erupted for 4 runs. Pete Rose laced a hard single to right and Wynn coaxed a walk. The “Toy Cannon” rolled his ankle but safely slid into second on a fielder’s choice by Schmidt. Bando’s sharp grounder skipped through the infield and into left, scoring “Charlie Hustle” and moving pinch-runner Larry Hisle to third. Al Oliver connected on a 3-run circuit clout to center and Smith kicked the dirt in the front of the mound, wishing he had that pitch back. In the home ninth, Lou Brock and Bostock delivered back-to-back two-base hits to chase Chance from the contest. Al Oliver fractured his fibula as he fielded a bounding ball off the bat of Rusty Staub. Doug Bair whiffed the next two batters to send the Series back to Ohio with his club ahead, 3 games to 2.

The crowd buzzed with anticipation as they filtered into Riverfront Stadium. The hometown team took the field and veteran right-hander Phil Niekro strolled to the mound to take his warmup tosses. After a rousing rendition of the National Anthem, the home plate umpire cried “Play Ball!” and the match got underway. “Knucksie” yielded a one-out single to Bobby Murcer and a walk to Willie Stargell, but he escaped unharmed when George Foster and Dave Parker flailed helplessly at his flutterball. Vida Blue sauntered out to the hill in the bottom of the opening frame, taking the ball for the first time in a month after recovering from a hamstring injury. “True Blue” coasted through the first 3 innings as he traded goose-eggs with Niekro. Ohio third baseman Mike Schmidt launched a long ball in the bottom of the fourth to put his ball club on the scoreboard. Blue faltered in the sixth as he yielded back-to-back gopher balls to Jimmy Wynn and Sal Bando. The southpaw was beginning to show signs of fatigue following the extended layoff due to injury. Though Blue struck out 11 through 6 frames, his manager relieved him of his responsibilities as Cecil Upshaw came in to pitch in the seventh inning. “Schmitty” clubbed a one-out four-bagger into the left field seats extending the Buckeyes’ lead to 4-0. Niekro was cruising along with a shutout into the eighth when he stumbled a bit. Murcer delivered a base hit and the speedy Lou Brock entered the contest as a pinch-runner. One out later, Foster coaxed a base on balls which prompted the Ohio skipper to emerge from the dugout. After a brief conference with Niekro and Thurman Munson, Doug Bair was summoned from the bullpen. Dave Parker had an opportunity to drive in Brock at the very least, or if he could get a hold of one, make it a 1-run game. Instead he hit a worm-burner to Ron Oester for the third out. Tommy Harper blasted a big fly to left-center in the top of the ninth off Bair, but Rollie Fingers quashed the South’s comeback attempt as Willie Wilson grounded out to Eddie Brinkman to end the Series as Ohio claimed the trophy with their fourth victory!

Several candidates emerged for World Series MVP honors. Eddie Brinkman compiled a .542 BA (13 hits in 24 at-bats). Thurman Munson supplied a pair of grand slams and drove in 10 runs. Mike Schmidt bashed 5 round-trippers and knocked in 9 baserunners. Dean Chance and Phil Niekro (1.10 ERA) both pitched 16 1/3 innings and won both of their starts. In a close call, “Schmitty” seized the award with a .345 BA (10-for-29) to supplement his home run exploits.

Retro WBC 1961-1980 World Series Boxscores

Ratings

Graphics – [5] – The batter / pitcher matchups are rendered from a behind home plate perspective. The offensive and defensive strategy menus are briefly displayed along the first and third base lines, then the hurler delivers the pitch. You can toggle the scrolling option such that the camera pans according to the path of the ball if scrolling is enabled, otherwise the view cuts to the location where the ball is destined to land. The fly ball cursor helps track balls in flight (especially useful in arcade-style play). Portraits, last names, and the historical ERA or BA of the current pitcher and batter are presented in the bottom left and right-hand corners of the screen. The scoreboard resides between the portraits, detailing the current score and inning along with the ball-strike count and the number of outs.  The player graphics incorporate diving stops and leaping grabs while umpires are added to the mix, making animated safe or out calls. Canned replay video is shown on the Jumbotron monitor if this option is enabled, or you can press the ‘R’ (replay) button to review the actual play.

Sound – [2] – The organ belts out the last few bars of the “Star-Spangled Banner”. The announcer, Ron Barr, identifies himself and welcomes the listener to the specific ballpark where today’s game is being played. Authentic sounds include the crack of the bat and the ball meeting the glove. “Charge!” is played by stadium’s organist at the appropriate times. The crowd remains silent when an opponent launches a long ball. Barr provides scoring updates, lineup announcements by fielding position (“Now batting, the center fielder”) and some play-by-play commentary (“High fly ball.. up the alley to left.. it’s a home run!) The game still suffers from a lack of ambient crowd noise and minimal cheering as with the case with Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball.

Strategy – [4] – The defensive team has a selection of three standard pitches (fastball, curve, changeup) along with one that is contingent upon the current hurler’s specialty (slider, knuckleball, screwball, etc.) The skipper can elect to hold a runner on first base or play off the bag, pitch around the batter, attempt to catch a baserunner with a pitchout, or deliver an intentional walk. The playing depth and alignment can be adjusted on a per-batter basis. Offensive options include the hit & run, steal or double steal, or the coach can advise the batter to take a pitch with runners on base. Before each at-bat you can guide your batsmen to try to hit for power, choke up and hit for contact, or direct them to execute a bunt. One or two relievers can be called upon to warm up in the bullpen, but take care not to allow them to remain active in the bullpen indefinitely or they will become fatigued. Normal substitutions are permitted along with the double switch. When facing a computer manager, you will receive notifications when your opponent has pitcher(s) warming in the ‘pen and when they substitute players during the game.

Artificial Intelligence – [4] – Customized manager profiles enable the granular configuration of each team’s skipper with regard to lineup selection and game-level strategy. “Tony” effectively handles the in-game decisions with enhanced algorithms, giving the illusion that you’re facing a human opponent.

Box Score – [3] – Upon completing of a contest (or if you’ve opted to save box scores during League Play) you can sift among four screens worth of data. The visitor and home batting screens include the player’s names with fielding positions in parentheses listed in descending order based on their slot in the batting order. Substitutes are indented to clearly denote them as such. Pitching results are also separated into home and away teams, with the top half enumerating the participants in their order of appearance. The bottom section of the pitching display contains the line score while the mid-section reports the hurlers credited with a win, loss and save along with the time, attendance and location. Twelve categories are tabulated for batters and eleven are recorded for pitchers. If the number of participants exceeded 18 batters or 9 pitchers in a given match, which is possible when rosters expand to 40 in September, you can click on MORE to view the additional contributors.

Rosters – [4] – The 25-man active rosters are comprised of 15 position players and 10 pitchers. Reserves have expanded to 15 players (9 batters and 6 pitchers). The computer General Manager will make suitable substitutions during league play for injured players but you may override those selections. The Fantasy Draft add-on utility aids in the formation of new leagues with an abundance of choices, such as draft order and type, salary cap, player pools, etc.   

Statistics – [5] – Historical and simulated statistics along with team totals can be viewed throughout the season via the Utilities – Statistical Leaders option. You may sort on any of the available categories and filter by best/worst, leagues (both, AL or NL-only), all players/one team/by position, and vs. RHP/vs. LHP or total stats. Editing individual players allows the user to select a player portrait, change their historical statistics and edit totals or split stats. Offensive ratings such as speed, power, bunt, hit and run, clutch and pitching grades including control, velocity, endurance, pickoff, release and quality and enhanced with the esoteric assessments:  morale, leadership, streak and day/night.

Usage/Injuries/Ejections – [5] – If you choose to play with Injuries enabled, any player can be knocked out of commission for up to 30 games. Fatigue is a factor for pitchers, denoted by a number and an “R” listed in the Days Unavailable column. Injured players are not permitted to participate in league games until they fully recover from their ailments. Fatigued hurlers can be used at the risk of pitching poorly along with an increased likelihood of injury. Ejections do not exist in TLBB2. 

Ballparks / Park Factors – [4] – TLBB2 comes with 11 classic ballparks – Baker Bowl, Connie Mack Stadium, L.A. Coliseum, Old Comiskey Park, Crosley Field, etc. Additional stadium disks (AL, NL and expansion parks) could be purchased, increasing the number of available ballparks up to 39. Park effects are factored into each stadium, comprised of altitude, wind speed and direction, average humidity and temperature.

Commentary – [2] – Ron Barr of Sports Byline USA fame lends his voice to the play-by-play. The dialogue is limited and repetitive, as Barr does not announce the players by name:  “Now batting, the catcher.. Hot grounder to short.. He throws to first. One away.” Given the physical media limitations of the day (’93 and ’94 editions were issued on multiple 3.5” floppy disks instead of CD-ROM, hard drive capacity on most home PC’s was minimal), I recognize the constraints and welcome the added flavor.

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

Total Score: 38 out of 50

Enhancements and Features

Observations

Tony La Russa Baseball 2 leapt to the forefront of graphical baseball simulations in 1993. A combination of major enhancements (beautifully illustrated stadiums, voice commentary and myriad tweaks to the original version) in conjunction with the demise of the Earl Weaver Baseball series and the stagnation of MicroLeague allowed the La Russa Baseball series to position itself as the leader in the genre. Sadly the MLB players strike in 1994 coupled with the subsequent cancellation of the World Series and lockout in ’95 Spring Training greatly affected sales of the follow-up TLBB3 product and ultimately knocked Stormfront Studios out of the baseball business after the release of TLBB4 in 1997. Circling back to “Tony2”, I had a blast with this game and urge you to track it down and try it out!

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

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

Download Derek’s Retro WBC Rosters for Tony La Russa Baseball II – https://www.mediafire.com/folder/w2g51qnn2dm3v/TLBB2

Play Tony La Russa Baseball II in your browser -> https://archive.org/details/msdos_Tony_La_Russa_Baseball_II_1993

Playthrough – HardballRetro

SABR Stay at Home – Don Daglow

Poulter, Wallace. “Tony La Russa 2 Earns Some ‘A’s’”. Computer Gaming World. June 1993. p24,26. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_107.pdf

Wilson, Johnny L. “Another At Bat For Tony La Russa”. Computer Gaming World. April 1993. p8-10. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_105.pdf

https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/tony-la-russa-baseball-ii

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV223Hl7BIg Tony La Russa Baseball II, 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)

Publisher – Strategic Simulations Inc.

Release Year – 1991

Platforms –Commodore 64, IBM PC

Credits

Review

Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball (aka TLUB) offers the authentic outcomes of a dice or text-based hardball simulation combined with meticulously drawn player and stadium graphics. The TLUB series offers an arcade mode as well but I will concentrate my appraisal on the management and stat-keeping aspects of the game. TLUB spawned four sequels (Tony LaRussa Baseball 2, 3 and 4 along with Old Time Baseball) in a 6 year period! Available in IBM PC and Commodore 64 flavors, I based this analysis on the IBM version.

I selected the League Play option and opted to simulate an entire 162-game season using the Franchise Greats rosters that are included with the game.  The process displays the standings screen that is updated as each day’s schedule is completed. You have the ability to play to a specific game/date as well as straight through to the end of the regular season. The simulated regular season completed in 20 minutes with the computer AI handling all of the minutiae such as replacing injured players in each team’s lineup and pitching staff. As I scrutinized the individual and team statistics upon the conclusion of the regular season, I was impressed with the game engine’s accuracy and sense of realism. I reached out to the game’s designer, Don Daglow, to discuss the artificial intelligence and philosophy behind the creation of this innovative series:

DB: Among the games I have reviewed to date, TLUB’s ability to manage injuries, days off and roster shuffling is top-notch.

DD: Thanks! We tuned the heck out of the AI to reach that level. Toughest problem I remember was that we kept under or over-using relievers, so starters kept having too few or too many innings/decisions and it took forever to find the center. Looking back I think that in part reflected the tendency of managers in the 90’s to leave starters in too long, and Tony’s strong focus on not doing so when the machine was simulating him.

I was determined to avoid the “1981 Rick Monday” problem where a user could play a part-time player with stronger stats in place of a starter who was weaker and “game the season.” I played solitaire Cadaco All Star Baseball board games for a 96-game season of 16 teams when I was about 15 (part of over 2,500 games where I saved all the stats and box scores), so I’d thought a lot about season play! My 1971 mainframe game was the first to replicate a full season… though it took close to an hour!

DB: Did you and your team make a conscious effort to differentiate the product from Earl Weaver Baseball? For example, TLUB omits the stadium announcements and the ballpark construction features but counters with the standard/featured game for user-friendly league play along with the in-progress scoring updates. I realize ballpark construction with such detailed graphics for stadium modeling would have been a major undertaking!

DD: My big thing regarding Weaver and my friendship with Eddie (Dombrower) was that I didn’t work on a baseball game for 2 years after I left Electronic Arts. That way I would not be turning around and competing with him immediately. After the two years I felt I’d honored the friendship and could pursue a category I loved again.

As I recall, stadium construction was an expensive wish-list item that never made it into an annual update budget, let alone the original. The 1994 strike also killed the baseball market, and though I tried to fight it for a couple of years the changes in the industry and the slow recovery of baseball led us to end the series. We added several announcers and enhanced the commentary as we could afford to do so in the subsequent editions.

—

Returning the discussion to my simulated season – After leading the Majors with 111 victories, the White Sox snatched the American League pennant by defeating the Yankees 4 games to 1. In the National League, the Giants overcame a 3-0 deficit in the Championship Series to oust the Cubs in 7 games. I chose to take over the managerial reins for San Fran.

The Southsiders journeyed to the City by the Bay for Game 1 of the World Series. Eddie Cicotte accepted the starting assignment against Giants’ ace “Iron Man” Joe McGinnity. Willie Mays lined a single to center field leading off the bottom of the second. He was promptly erased on a stolen base attempt when Ray Schalk delivered a perfect throw to shortstop Luke Appling. Successive hits by Mel Ott and Frankie Frisch placed runners at the corners. “Knuckles” escaped the threat as Travis Jackson tapped a harmless grounder to Eddie Collins at second base. McGinnity drew a base on balls to start the home half of the third. Roger Bresnahan squared around to bunt and pushed the ball towards first. Cicotte pounced on it, whirled and fired to second, but McGinnity snuck in under the throw. Bill Terry dribbled a slow roller to Collins, who raced in and fired to first for one out. Willie McCovey hit a one-hopper to first baseman Zeke Bonura who tagged the bag. However, McGinnity scrambled home as the Giants took the lead. Mays beat out an infield hit, scoring Bresnahan. Collins’ acrobatic diving stop on Ott’s sizzling grounder up the middle prevented further damage. In the fifth, Cicotte had no play when Bresnahan tapped a ball 20 feet up the third base line. Carl Reynolds made a valiant attempt to catch a vicious drive of the bat of “Smiling” Bill Terry but came up short. The Giants’ first sacker coasted into second while Bresnahan raced around the bases. McGinnity began to tire in the eighth. Bonura doubled into the right-field corner to plate 2 runs for the Pale Hose. Collins reached on an error when Travis Jackson uncorked a wild throw over Terry’s head. I signaled to the ‘pen and brought in my closer, Frank Linzy. The move paid off as Carl Reynolds popped one up into foul territory where Bresnahan settled underneath it for the last out of the eighth. Linzy retired the Sox in order to clinch a 3-2 victory for Frisco in the initial match.

“Big” Ed Walsh squared off with Carl “Meal Ticket” Hubbell in the second matchup at Candlestick Park. After Zeke Bonura singled with two outs in the opening frame, Willie Mays sprinted into right-center field and lunged at the last moment to flag down a Minnie Minoso drive. Bonura opened the fourth with a ringing two-bagger into the left field corner. Johnny Mostil delivered a one-out base knock to left but Willie McCovey’s throw nailed Bonura at the dish. McCovey ripped a one hopper off the chain link fence in right field for a two-base hit to commence the bottom of the fourth.  Mays walked and Ott flew out to the warning track in left. Walsh induced Freddie Lindstrom to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. “Stretch” lined a base hit up the middle to plate Roger Bresnahan with the first run of the contest in the home half of the sixth. Bill Melton doubled to left in the top of the eighth. Pinch-runner Harry Lord advanced to third on a fielder’s choice but the White Sox failed to capitalize. Carl Reynolds ill-advised squeeze bunt with two outs was fielded cleanly by Hubbell and the throw to first arrived in plenty of time. McCovey coaxed a base on balls with two down in the bottom of the eighth. The “Say Hey Kid” launched a long fly off reliever Bob Locker into the left field corner, barely clearing the wall for a 2-run jack to extend San Fran’s lead to 3-0. Travis Jackson made a leaping grab of a Minoso liner with one out in the ninth and Bonura on first. Frankie Frisch camped under Mostil’s pop fly to secure the shutout for Hubbell and both teams headed to Chi-Town with the Giants holding a 2-game advantage.

Christy Mathewson delivered his warm-up tosses in the pen as Wilbur Wood strode to the mound for the Pale Hose. Bill Terry ripped a double into the right-field corner and Willie McCovey walked after Frankie Frisch smashed a loud out to right fielder Carl Reynolds. “Wilbah” provoked Willie Mays to offer at his knuckleball, and Luke Appling started a 6-4-3 twin-killing to extinguish the rally. Frisco assumed the lead when Travis Jackson led off the third with an opposite-field double and came around on a long single to right by “Stretch”. Orlando Cepeda belted a 2-run blast into the right-center field bleachers in the top of the sixth, extending Frisco’s advantage to 3-0. “Matty” encountered some trouble in the bottom of the eighth, but Zeke Bonura grounded into a double play and Eddie Collins followed with a two-hopper to Jackson.  Roger Bresnahan legged out a three-base hit to begin the visitor’s ninth and Jackson blooped a base knock into short left field to provide an insurance run. Minnie Minoso slashed a liner towards Mel Ott, who snared the ball with a magnificent diving grab in right-center field. Appling bounced to Frisch for the final out as “Big Six” completed a 7-hit shutout. The White Sox faced a possible sweep at Comiskey Park in less than 24 hours.

The ChiSox nominated Red Faber for the task of staving off elimination while San Fran’s skipper countered with Juan Marichal. With two on and two out in the bottom of the first, Travis Jackson made a valiant attempt to corral Minnie Minoso’s blooper into short left field, but the ball avoided his outstretched glove for a single. Eddie Collins trotted home and Carl Reynolds raced to third. Minoso was promptly cut down attempting to swipe second. Ray Schalk launched a 2-run moon-shot into the left field corner in the second frame to increase the White Sox lead to 3-0. Harry Lord delivered a base hit and Zeke Bonura belted an opposite-field two-bagger beyond Mel Ott’s reach, plating the fourth run for the Sox. Johnny Antonelli began warming up in the bullpen but Marichal escaped the inning when Collins popped up to first base. The Giants got on the board in the top of the third. Roger Bresnahan remained on fire as he lashed a double that bounced on the warning track and ricocheted off the left field wall. Bill Terry dribbled a worm-burner through the right side and Bresnahan dashed homeward. The floodgates opened in the home half of the inning. Bonura tripled with the sacks full, sending the “Dominican Dandy” to an early exit. Southpaw Mike F. McCormick replaced Marichal and yielded a long single as the Pale Hose reached double-digits. Orlando Cepeda swatted a big-fly into the center field bleachers in the fourth off Faber but Frisco trailed 10-2. Luke Appling and Bibb Falk ripped back-to-back run-scoring doubles in the fourth. Chicago reestablished their double-digit advantage and “Toothpick” Sam Jones entered the match. The diamond carousel continued as the Southsiders peppered the ball all over the field. When the dust settled, the scoreboard operator posted a 7-spot and Giants began to empty their bench. The Sox tacked on a run in the fifth when Bobby Thomson booted an easy grounder to third. Marquard served up a gopher ball to Reynolds with a runner on first and the Chicago faithful rejoiced as the “20” registered in the home team’s run column. San Francisco rallied against Faber to start the visitor’s eighth, loading the bases then tallying a pair of runs on consecutive hits by Frankie Frisch and Jackson. Faber forced home another run when he issued a base on balls to Ross Youngs. Despite the commanding 15-run cushion, the Sox skipper summoned Terry Forster from the bullpen. The inning concluded swiftly when Chicago turned a picturesque 3-2-3 double play. The Giants placed runners on the corners with 2 down in the ninth, but Jim Ray Hart was injured on his route to third. Forster got Bobby Thomson on a grounder to Appling and the White Sox lived to play another day as they defeated the Giants in convincing fashion, 20-5.

The fifth bout featured a rematch between Joe McGinnity and Eddie Cicotte. “Laughing” Larry Doyle clubbed a deep drive into the lower deck in right field to put San Francisco ahead 1-0 in the third. Bibb Falk and Ray Schalk helped the ChiSox assume a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly. Willie Mays scooted home when third baseman Harry Lord fired wide of second base while attempting to start a double play, then Doyle hit into a fielder’s choice to knock in another run as the Giants reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth. Minnie Minoso demolished an “Iron Man” offering into the second deck in left-center field to knot the score at 3-all in the home half of the fourth. Frisco answered in the top of the fifth as Willie McCovey mashed a two-base hit high off the top of the fence near the right field corner and Roger Bresnahan scored all the way from first. The Pale Hose tallied a run in the bottom of the seventh when Johnny Mostil tripled into the left field corner and raced home on a slow roller to shortstop off the bat of Luke Appling. Bob James relieved Cicotte to start the ninth for the ChiSox. He allowed a two-out walk to Doyle but whiffed Frankie Frisch. Frank Linzy replaced McGinnity in the home ninth. After issuing a pair of walks with two outs, he recovered to set Appling down on a called third strike, sending the contest into extra innings. Bill Terry drilled a one-out double and scooted to third on a high chopper by McCovey. Mays lofted a 2-1 heater from James towards the right field stands. Striking just a few inches from the top of the wall, the ball dropped on to the warning track as Terry bolted home with the go-ahead run. Mel Ott followed with an opposite-field safety and the “Say Hey Kid” scurried across the dish for an insurance run. Orlando Cepeda popped up to second-sacker Eddie Collins for the final out. The Southsiders were three outs from elimination. Portsider Johnny Antonelli entered the game to face fellow lefty Bibb Falk. The left fielder lifted an easy pop fly to Bill Terry for the first out. The Sox backstop, Ray Schalk, coaxed a base on balls. The Giants’ skipper allowed Antonelli to stay in the match to pitch to Lord. Four straight pitches off the plate and the Sox were not only alive, they were threatening to send the series back to the West Coast. Antonelli exited in favor of right-hander “Toothpick” Sam Jones. With a 1-1 count, Jones caught Schalk napping and picked him off second base! Zeke Bonura still represented the tying run in the batters’ box and Lord stretched his lead off first. Jones delivered a curveball and Bonura tapped it to Frisch at shortstop who flipped the ball to Terry for the last out. The Giants congregated near the pitcher’s mound and celebrated their World Series victory!

Ratings

Graphics – [5] The center of the screen features a close-up of the batter-pitcher matchup. After the pitch is delivered, the close-up view disappears and the infield shot is revealed. The play rewinds to one second prior (presumably done to assist with fielding in arcade mode) then the camera follows the path of the ball if it travels into the outfield or beyond. A shadow (circular cursor) appears when a fly ball is hit to help the player track the flight path. The bottom third of the screen is split into 3 sections: left – the count, inning and number of outs; center – baserunners; right – the score, current batter and pitcher. The player animation is fluid and represents the progression from character-based graphics of SSI Computer Baseball to the lifelike batter-pitcher confrontations in Earl Weaver Baseball.

Sound – [2] Sound effects are fairly sparse in this edition. The bat/ball and ball/glove sound effects are credible and the umpire’s calls are a welcome addition especially on close plays. The crowd roars when a home run is hit, but the sound abruptly stops before the batter reaches second base. The lack of music and ambient crowd noise left me with the impression that we were playing baseball in an empty stadium.

Strategy – [4] The manager can call for a specific pitch with the standard choices of fastball, curve and changeup. Depending on the current hurler’s repertoire, the fourth pitch may be a slider, knuckleball, splitter, screwball, etc.  Defense options include holding the baserunner(s) or playing off the bag, charging the bunt, calling for a pitchout or intentional walk. You may adjust the alignment and depth of your defenders.  Each batter has the ability to swing normally, aggressively (power) or controlled (contact) as well as bunt. Play-calling with runners on base include the straight steal, double steal, squeeze, and the hit & run. You can warm up one or two pitchers at a time. Relievers will become tired if left unattended while throwing in the pen.  The usual substitutions are allowed and managers are prompted when defensive adjustments are required. When facing the computer manager, you will receive a brief on-screen prompt advising which pitchers are warming up for the opposition.

Artificial Intelligence – [4] The silicon skipper handled substitutions appropriately, getting his relievers ready at the right times and employing the correct mix of strategy.

Box Score – [2] A spreadsheet with the participants’ names along with 12 batting categories appears upon the conclusion of each contest. The batters are arranged in defensive order (not their actual lineup order) and their positions are not listed, creating further confusion when substitutes are used. The pitching screen depicts the names of each hurler (in order of appearance) with 7 counting stats. Winning and losing pitchers are denoted in the lower half of the display. If a reliever earned a save, it’s logged here along with the time, attendance and location.

Rosters – [4] – The 25-man active rosters consist of 15 position players and 10 pitchers while the 5 reserves must include 3 batsmen and 2 hurlers. In reviewing the results from the simulated season, the computer General Manager made judicious use of the entire squad for each team based on injuries and other factors. The Fantasy Manager add-on disk permitted the configuration of various league / division structures, stadium assignments and facilitated drafting players onto those teams. Manager profiles can be customized for each ball club and salaries can be assigned to individuals.

Statistics – [5] – Team names, player ratings and statistics can be edited through the Utilities menu in the main program. League leaders can be sorted on the best/worst in each category with the ability to incorporate players from both leagues or limit to a specific league. You can view leaders for a single team and look at team totals. Additionally you can view splits (vs. RHP or LHP) as well as historical vs. simulated statistics. Player ratings encompass speed, power, bunt, hit & run, range, arm, clutch, streak and injury. You can designated the “fourth” pitch for every pitcher (all are capable of throwing fastballs, curveballs and changeups). The optional “Great Teams 1901-1968” disk features 26 of the finest squads from that era.

Usage/Injuries/Ejections – [4] – Players can be injured during the course of the game (based on their injury rating) and fatigue is also a factor for pitchers. The “Days Unavailable” column tracks the number of days remaining until the player is healed or fully rested. An “R” next to the number indicates that the player is fatigued and needs to rest. You are permitted to use a pitcher with the “R” designation but it comes with an increased risk of injury and/or diminished performance. To my knowledge players cannot be ejected from the game. Part-time players are subject to increased injury probability due to overuse.

Ballparks / Park Factors – [3] – The add-on AL and NL stadium disks offer accurate depictions of the ballparks that were in use during the late 80’s while the Classic Stadium package features old-time cathedrals such as Ebbets Field, Polo Grounds, Forbes Field, Shibe Park, Old Yankee Stadium, etc. Park factors are not specifically mentioned in the manual.

Commentary – [1] – Commentary is limited to the umpire’s calls such as “Out!”, “Strike Three”, “Foul Ball” and “Ball Four – take your base”.

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

Total Score: 34 out of 50

Observations

A rock-solid addition to the computer baseball lineage employing a game engine refined over 3 decades by Don Daglow, Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball establishes a strong foundation for the sequels that followed throughout the next half-decade. Several innovations including the fly ball cursor, flexible stat package and the ability to simulate an entire season in ten minutes boost the overall score and advance the genre into the Nineties.

Please add a comment below if you spent a significant amount of time and/or have any recollections of Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate 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 Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball in your browser! –

https://classicreload.com/tony-la-russas-ultimate-baseball.html#

Playthrough – HardballRetro

SABR Stay at Home – Don Daglow

Murray, Rink. “386 Down the Power Alleys: Baseball Simulations Emerge From Spring Training.” PC Magazine. April 28, 1992, p493. https://books.google.com/books?id=HERlo0BgpGYC&pg=PT475&dq=pc+magazine+386+apba+baseball+simulation&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZipuBgZjoAhUCc98KHcOkDqoQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=pc%20magazine%20386%20apba%20baseball%20simulation&f=false

Rogers, Win. “Great A’s Baseball: SSI’s Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball.” Computer Gaming World. Volume 88, November 1991, p104, 106. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_88.pdf

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. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_97.pdf

Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball manual (IBM PC version) –  https://archive.org/details/tonylarussasultimatebaseball/mode/2up

Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball manual (Commodore 64 version) –  http://www.stadium64.com/manuals/tonylarussasultimatebaseball.htm

https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/tony-la-russas-ultimate-baseball

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNjXgoVRtyU Tony LaRussa’s Ultimate Baseball, 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. 

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