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

—

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s a rundown of the requirements:

• Computer Statis Pro Baseball – Game Disk
• optional – Computer Statis Pro Baseball – Team Disks

Computer Statis Pro Baseball was released in 1983 for the Apple ][ and TRS-80 personal computers. The Commodore 64 edition was released in 1984. I’m utilizing the Commodore 64 version in my tutorial, however the menu options and key combinations are fairly standard across platforms.

View the tutorial video here:

Season Disk Downloads:

coming soon

References:

Statis Pro Baseball (Commodore 64 edition):

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Statis-Pro_Baseball_1986_Avalon_Hill_Disk_1_of_2_Side_A

*NOTE* – I was unable to get past the intro screen on the archive.org link and encountered a similar issue attempting to run this software in the Vice emulator. I edited the “HELLO” file to load the “Master Menu” program instead of the “AH” (Avalon Hill) intro screen. I contacted the Internet Archive to advise them of this workaround. As of 1/23/2025 the fix had not been implemented.

Retro Computer Baseball Game Review – Computer Statis Pro Baseball

Publisher – The Avalon Hill Game Company

Release Year – 1983

Platforms – Apple ][, Commodore 64, TRS-80

Credits

Review

Computer Statis Pro Baseball evolved from a board game created by Jim Barnes in 1970. Statis Pro replaced the use of dice with a deck of Fast Action Cards which dictated the random events in the game (Wikipedia, Statis Pro Baseball). The computer version was published through Microcomputer Games, a division of the Avalon Hill Game Company which was responsible for the distribution of the board game.

I fired up the Commodore 64 edition of Computer Statis Pro Baseball in the VICE emulator. I was greeted with the Master Menu after viewing the introductory screen:

I selected option 1 which greeted me with the message “please wait approximately 2 and ¼ minutes”. The VICE emulator has a feature called Warp Mode which significantly speeds up the virtual floppy drive access times. Now I’m prompted to select the visiting team name. There is no list to select the team from – I need to either know the proper format (which might be indicated in the manual) or perform a listing of the team disk directory prior to loading the game. Using the “Attach Disk Image” option in VICE, I was able to view the contents of the team disk and determine that the teams are stored in the following format: Angels-86, A’s-86, etc.

I played a 3-game series (Red Sox-86 at Angels-86) to refresh my memory as I had not played this game since the mid-Eighties.

Game 1 showcased Boston fire-baller and 1986 AL Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens (24-4, 2.48) against California’s top starter, Mike Witt (18-10, 2.84). The Halos drew first blood in the second frame. Rob Wilfong stroked a base hit with 2 outs. Consecutive errors by Jim Rice and Clemens allowed Dick Schofield and Bob Boone to reach safely. Gary Pettis punched a single to center field, scoring Wilfong. Wally Joyner ended the threat with a ground out to the third baseman, Wade Boggs. The Sox answered in the top of the third inning. Rey Quiñones laced a two-base hit to lead off the frame. Boggs tipped his cap after flailing at Witt’s curveball for strike three. Marty Barrett slashed a double to the opposite field, knotting the score at 1-1. After a Bill Buckner base knock placed runners on the corners with only one out, Jim Rice promptly hammered Witt’s fastball over the left field fence for a 3-run homer. Tony Armas extended Boston’s advantage to 5-1 with a blast to center field to start the sixth inning. Doug Corbett relieved Witt and retired the side. In the bottom of the sixth, I encountered a rare play. Reggie Jackson and Doug DeCinces reached base on successive singles. With Ruppert Jones at the dish, the event text displayed “Checking Quiñones’ range…” Subsequently I learned that the Angels rally had been quashed: “R. Jones line out to shortstop – Triple Play”. Armas struck again, belting a 2-run triple off Corbett with 2 outs in the seventh.  Terry Forster entered the contest with the Angels trailing 7-1 to face Rich Gedman. He retired the backstop on a ground ball to second to close out the frame, but yielded 3 consecutive hits to begin the eighth inning. Rookie left-hander Chuck Finley jogged to the mound to mop up. Buckner lifted a fly ball to left and I received a prompt regarding whether to send the runner on third: “Option Percentage 76% – Input “Y” to advance, “N” to hold runner”. I elected to hold Boggs at third base as the Sox had their cleanup hitter due up with only 1 out. Rice plated Boggs with a single to right field, the sixteenth safety for the Sox. Clemens entered the ninth inning with a 9-1 cushion. “Mr. October” connected on a towering solo shot to left field, padding his Hall of Fame credentials. DeCinces reached on an error and Wilfong walked after Jones whiffed. Jack Howell pinch-hit for Schofield as Clemens hoped to nail down the complete game victory. Another fielding range check resulted in a fly out to right field. Down to their final out, Rick Burleson was sent to the plate to bat for Boone. The “Rooster” bounced a two-hopper to Barrett for the final out.

The second contest pitted Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd (16-10, 3.78) against Kirk McCaskill (17-10, 3.36). Boston continued firing on all cylinders as Jim Rice plated the first run on an RBI ground out to shortstop following a Wade Boggs single and a Marty Barrett double. California tied the score in the bottom of the third. Dick Schofield and Bob Boone slashed successive safeties, placing runners at the corners with no outs. Boyd whiffed Gary Pettis, but Wally Joyner followed with a hard grounder towards first base which skipped off Bill Buckner’s glove, scoring Schofield. Boyd escaped further damage when he struck out Brian Downing and got Reggie Jackson on a line drive to right fielder Dwight Evans. The Halos took the lead in the bottom of the 4^th on a 3-run circuit clout off the bat of second-sacker Bobby Grich. Boyd escaped further damage and remained on the bump into the sixth frame. After a leadoff single by Ruppert Jones and a walk to Grich, Boyd was relieved by Steve Crawford. Pettis delivered a base hit to right, loading the bases after Crawford retired Schofield and Boone. Joyner lined sharply to Barrett to extinguish the threat. Boston loaded the bases in the top of the 7^th, but McCaskill got Ed Romero on a foul pop fly to Boone for the second out of the inning. Boggs scalded a hot grounder to Grich, who gloved it and flipped the ball to Joyner to retire the side. The Red Sox threatened again in the eighth, placing runners on first and second with two outs. Doug Corbett, who had replaced McCaskill to start the frame, elicited a pop-up to Schofield to quell the rally. Joe Sambito came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning. California sent Rick Burleson to the dish to substitute for Jones. Burleson drilled a one-hopper up the middle which deflected off Sambito for an infield hit. George Hendrick, batting for Boone with two down, lined out to Barrett. I was immediately prompted to edit my lineup to assign defensive positions to Burleson (SS) and Hendrick (RF).  Jerry Narron was inserted as the catcher, batting in Schofield’s slot. Donnie Moore nailed down the 4-1 victory. He conceded a single to pinch-hitter Steve Lyons with two outs in the ninth, but got Boggs on a fly ball to Pettis to close out the game.

Southpaw Bruce Hurst (13-8, 2.99) opposed veteran right-hander Don Sutton (15-11, 3.74) in the third match. Hurst wriggled in and out of trouble in the opening frame. With two outs, California loaded the bases on 3 consecutive base knocks by Brian Downing, Doug DeCinces and George Hendrick. Marty Barrett snared a line shot by Bobby Grich to help Hurst out of the jam. Jim Rice launched an opposite-field blast to put the Red Sox on the board in the top of the second inning. The apparently not-so-rare “Line out to shortstop – Triple Play!” allowed Sutton to escape the third frame unscathed following back-to-back base hits by Steve Lyons and Wade Boggs. The wily veteran pulled another Houdini act in the sixth. Boggs and Barrett delivered successive singles, and then moved up 90 feet on a Bill Buckner ground out. The Angels elected to walk Rice intentionally. With the bases juiced, Don “Groove” Baylor lifted a harmless fly to left. Gary Lucas and Doug Corbett survived the eighth inning despite permitting another bases loaded situation. In the bottom half with Hurst and the Sox clinging to a 1-0 lead, speed demon Gary Pettis led off with a clean single to center field, stole second and advanced to third on a slow grounder by Rick Burleson. Hurst struck out Wally Joyner for the second out. Downing coaxed a walk to set up runners on first and third for the cleanup hitter, DeCinces. Bob Stanley entered the contest and got DeCinces on a line drive to Buckner. Terry Forster held the Sox scoreless in the visitor’s half of the ninth. After pinch-running for Hendrick earlier in the contest, Ruppert Jones stepped to the plate for his first at-bat to commence the bottom of the 9^th. Jones crushed Stanley’s first offering over the center field fence, tying the score at 1-1! Grich drew a walk, but Dick Schofield popped out to Buckner on a sacrifice bunt attempt for the first out. Bob Boone got the bunt down but Rich Gedman pounced on it and pegged a bullet to second base to get the lead runner. Pettis lofted a fly ball to Dwight Evans, sending the game into extra innings. Donnie Moore relieved Forster to start the 10^th. Buckner doubled up the right-field gap with one away and the Angels decided to walk Rice intentionally. Baylor slashed a worm-killer towards Grich, and the slick-fielding Halos turned the 4-6-3 double play. Boston inserted Calvin Schraldi to open the bottom of the 10^th and he responded with a clean inning including back-to-back punch outs of Burleson and Joyner. Evans and Gedman produced consecutive singles and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Ed Romero. Tony Armas drove in the go-ahead run with an opposite-field bloop single that landed in-between Joyner, Grich and a hard-charging Jones. Chuck Finley replaced Moore on the bump to face Boggs. California minimized the damage when Boggs lined out to DeCinces and Barrett slapped a hard grounder back to the box. Schraldi returned to the hill to face the Angels 4-5-6 hitters. DeCinces and Jones went down swinging, giving Grich the final chance to extend the match. Grich hit a slow dribbler in front of home plate. Gedman corralled it and threw to Buckner as the Red Sox triumphed 2-1 in 11 innings.

Ratings

Graphics – [1] The layout is comparable to SSI Computer Baseball, but in some ways more limited than its predecessor. The line score is presented at the top with the current inning and number of outs shown directly below the scoreboard. Players are not depicted at all – the infield is a green diamond with the pitcher’s name and ratings centered over the mound. The batter’s name is displayed below home plate along with handedness, batting average, slugging percentage and 3 ratings: base running, sacrifice and hit & run ability. When a base is occupied, the corresponding base runner is denoted.  The play-by-play account appears in a 2-line box at the bottom of the screen.

Sound – [2] The Commodore 64 version produced distinctive sound effects depending on the type of hit. Outs were denoted with a quick horn blast while strikeouts are marked with a protracted buzzer effect. Walks and successful stolen base attempts elicited the first few bars of “Charge!” while errors provoke a mocking refrain. A siren resonates for every home run. The ballpark organ belts “One, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game” upon the conclusion of each contest.

Strategy – [2] Prior to every at-bat, the manager is presented with a single Input Option prompt (you don’t receive separate prompts for offense and defense). Pressing “M” during the game brings up the Menu screen, which lists the assorted in-game options. It is not possible to warm up a pitcher – you simply substitute them as needed. Defensively, the user is limited to two choices: infield in/out and intentional walk. There are a handful of offensive decisions available to the manager:  steal, hit & run, sacrifice bunt, bunt for hit and squeeze bunt.

Artificial Intelligence – [1] There is no artificial intelligence as the game does not include an option to play against the computer. You can either manage the visiting and home squads or a battle against a real-life opponent.

Box Score – [2] The program asks the user to assign the winning, losing and saving pitchers before asking if you want to view the box score, print a copy and/or assign a date. The results are output to the screen in the same manner as if they were sent to your printer. The lines will eventually scroll (there is no pause between showing the visitor or home box score). Extra base hits, strikeouts, walks, hit batsmen, stolen bases, and errors along with the winning, losing and saving pitchers are all itemized at the bottom of the box score. One quirk that I observed – while the lineup is presented correctly in order from the first to the ninth batter, the pinch hitters are listed at the bottom, making it difficult to discern who they replaced. Also, the triple plays were absent from the box score. I was prompted with the option to save the results to disk. I am uncertain as to whether this game offered the option to compile stats. Regrettably I was unable to locate the manual.

Rosters – [1] Each team consists of a 25-man roster (15 batters and 10 pitchers). There are no expanded rosters. My version included 2 disks. One contained all teams from the 1986 season while the other (Famous Teams #1) included 18 teams from past seasons along with 2 “Hall of Fame” teams (American and National).

Statistics – [2] Choosing option 2 (Create/Revise Team File) from the main menu allows the user to edit the data from an existing team. Batter and pitcher statistics include the standard counting numbers. Ratings consist of Range, Arm, Base Running, Stolen Base and Clutch Hitting for batters while pitchers are limited to Control and Range. You also have the ability to look at a batter or pitcher’s “string” which contains calculated grades that the user is unable to modify, such as Injury (batters) along with Stamina and Relief Stamina (pitchers).

Usage/Injuries/Ejections – [1] No injuries occurred during the 3-game exhibition series that I played. Batters have an injury rating and pitchers have 2 stamina grades which gave me the impression that injuries are possible although I could not locate any reference to injuries or ejections when I reviewed the listing from the “GAME.PRG” file. You need to manually track player usage and statistics if you’re planning to replay a series or a season’s worth of games.  I did not find an option to compile stats.

Ballparks / Park Factors – [1] The simulation does not appear to account for any park factors.

Commentary – [2] Two lines of text are presented at the bottom of the screen. The outcomes of each at-bat are posted with the player’s name along with a concise description of the result (“D. Evans hard ground out to second base”). Home runs are preceded by a broadcaster’s lead-in such as “It’s a long fly ball to center field.” After a momentary pause, the conclusion is revealed: “Armas home run over the center field fence.”

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

Total Score: 15 out of 50

Observations

My enthusiasm for Computer Statis Pro Baseball was mitigated by the dearth of options, absence of a computer opponent and inability to compile statistics. The suspension of disbelief came sharply into focus when the second triple play occurred within the span of 3 games. Retrosheet.org keeps a log of all triple plays on their Noteworthy Events page. Since 1900 only 576 triple plays have been recorded (less than 5 per year), so observing 2 in a 3-game series strains credibility. Recommended for completists and those seeking a quick rush of nostalgia for the golden era of micro computing…

Please add a comment below if you spent a significant amount of time and/or have any recollections of Computer Statis Pro 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 Computer Statis Pro Baseball in your browser! –

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Statis-Pro_Baseball_1986_Avalon_Hill_Disk_1_of_2_Side_A

*NOTE* – I was unable to get past the intro screen on the archive.org link and encountered a similar issue attempting to run this software in the Vice emulator. I edited the “HELLO” file to load the “Master Menu” program instead of the “AH” (Avalon Hill) intro screen. I contacted the Internet Archive to advise them of this workaround. As of 8/27/2019 the fix had not been implemented.

Playthrough – HardballRetro

Peschel, William. “View From The Dugout – Major League Baseball on the Computer.” Computer Gaming World, May 1986, Volume 28. pgs 19-20, 45. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_28.pdf

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

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

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

Retrosheet – Triple Plays – https://www.retrosheet.org/TriplePlays.htm

Statis Pro Baseball Online – https://www.statisprobaseballonline.com

Statis Pro Baseball – Wikipedia entry – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statis_Pro_Baseball

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. 

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.