Backyard Baseball

Backyard Baseball is a series of baseball video games for children which was developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It was first released in October 1997 for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. Later games were featured on Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and iOS. It is part of the Backyard Sports series. There have been eleven different versions of the game since 1997. Some of the game titles that were created include Backyard Baseball, Backyard Baseball 2001-2010, and Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers.

Backyard Baseball
The current Backyard Baseball logo.
Genre(s)Sports
Developer(s)Humongous Entertainment
Publisher(s)Humongous Entertainment
Infogrames
Atari
The Evergreen Group
Platform(s)Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Macintosh
First releaseBackyard Baseball
October 10, 1997
Latest releaseBackyard Sports: Baseball
2015

The original game consisted of 30 neighborhood kids from which the gamer could choose to play.[1] Over the years, the idea of "Pro players as kids" became popular, and the original statistics and looks of the players changed. Some of the professional players that were available included Chipper Jones, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Albert Pujols, Nomar Garciaparra, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds. As the game progresses, there are some professionals that become available or "unlockable" including Randy Johnson, Derek Jeter, and Mike Piazza.

In Backyard Baseball, players take a managerial role by creating a team of different players to compete against opponents. In the different installments, a player could play an exhibition game or a 14, 16 or 32 game season (different versions vary) followed by the "Backyard Baseball League" playoffs, which contains the American League and National League divisional series, the AL and NL championship series and finally the "Backyard Baseball World Series". Series games will vary per game.

This game has various playable modes, they include: Single Game, Batting Practice, Spectator, and Season Game.

In 2013, The Evergreen Group acquired the intellectual property from Atari.

Legacy

Pablo Sanchez, one of the fictional playable characters in the game, has been regarded as the strongest character in video game history.[2][3][4]

The game has also been noted for its diversity (gender, race) of characters, both in ratio of white to non-white and male to female, as well as skill level and the distribution of the best characters.[5]

Players

In Backyard Baseball 2001, the Backyard kids are joined by 31 MLB pro players, many of which were all-stars during the 1999 Major League Baseball All Star Game. Eventual Hall of Fame players featured include Barry Larkin, Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Ivan Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson, who are all playable characters to choose from.

Several of these players would be featured in multiple releases including Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez.

Power-Ups

Sometimes accompanying the four standard batting modes (Power, Line Drive, Grounder and Bunt), some beneficial power-ups appear. In the original Backyard Baseball, these batting power-ups appeared when the player got a hit when the computer used a "crazy pitch" (see below). Starting from Backyard Baseball 2001, the power ups were awarded after a hit off a "crazy pitch" and when the player turned a double play or triple play on defense. In addition to these batting power-ups, pitching power-ups, or "crazy pitches," also progressively appear, though they are much more frequent and in number, occurring whenever the player strikes an opponent out. These pitches consume much more energy and causes the strike zone to expand, so most of the pitches given are never used consecutively. In addition to the "crazy pitches," a strikeout may also award the player "More Juice," a full energy recharge for the pitcher that can be used when the player sees fit to use it.

Backyard Baseball 2001

Batting Power-Ups

  • Aluminum Power: This power-up is the most valued and can disappear after one or no tries when in use. Players use an aluminum bat to increase the chances to hit a home run.
  • Screaming Line Drive: The power-up last about two uses and appears more frequently. Players hit a fast line drive to the wall and allows the batter to run more or all bases.
  • Under Grounder: This move lasts at least two uses. Players hit a ground ball that goes into the ground, causing the ball to reappear in any random area of the outfield.
  • Crazy Bunt: The move disappears after one or no tries when in use, but if the power-up is used sparingly, the move can last up to four uses. When the ball is hit, the ball rolls around the field erratically as fielders just barely miss catching it.

Pitching Power-Ups

  • Big Freeze: The ball is thrown like normal but suddenly stops just before it enters the strike zone, often faking the hitter into swinging at the pitch.
  • Elevator: The ball is thrown low along the ground and then the ball suddenly jumps into the air at the last moment.
  • Crazyball: the ball "laughs" when thrown, and it moves in random directions in the air. Easier to hit if swingspot is enabled
  • Corkskrew: The ball makes a spiral motion through the air. Easier to hit if swingspot is enabled
  • Zigzag: The ball makes a zig-zag motion through the air. Easier to hit if swingspot is enabled
  • Slomo: The ball travels very slowly through the air, requiring precise timing to be hit.
  • Spitball: The ball is covered with saliva and jerks in the air.
  • Fireball: One of the most powerful pitches, the ball blazes past the batter in a ball of fire at an incredibly high speed. When used by a player, this pitch is the most draining of the pitcher's stamina.

Backyard Baseball 2005

Batting Power-Ups

  • Sonic Boom: The player knocks down opposing fielders with a super-powerful shockwave.
  • Rubber Bat: The batter bounce a grounder really high into the air — the player will have a chance to reach base before any fielder catches the ball.
  • Butter Fingers: The player will splatter the opposing fielders with butter. They'll have a slippery time trying to field your hit.
  • Jumping Bean Bunt: This tricky power-up makes the ball jump all over the place!
  • Lightning Bat: Produce tremendous power when you connect with the ball.
  • Geyser Hit: The batter makes the ball burrow deep underground before it suddenly surfaces somewhere in the outfield.
  • Piñata Bat: The batter drives fielders crazy when the ball is hit, the ball multiplies into dozens of bouncing baseballs.
  • Aluminum Bat: Automatic home runs of insane distance.

Pitching Power-Ups

  • The Fang: The Fang looks like a normal curve-ball, but it bites hard at the last second and goes straight into the dirt.
  • Freezer: The Freezer stops just before reaching the strike zone, pauses briefly, and then continues.
  • Slomo: This ball starts moving at ultra-slow speed just before reaching the strike zone.
  • Juice Box: The Juice Box will refill your pitcher's Pitch Juice Box.
  • Rainbow Pop-up: When it's hit, the ball goes straight into the air for an easy out.
  • Crazy Pitch: The Crazy Pitch is so wild that even the pitcher doesn't know where it will go.
  • Splitball: This pitch splits into two separate curve-balls, one of which is a fake, unhittable baseball.
  • Fireball: The Fireball is so fast it can burn a hole in your catcher's glove.

Installments
Title Year Platforms Cover Athlete
Backyard BaseballOctober 24, 1997Macintosh, Microsoft WindowsOriginal Characters
Backyard Baseball 2001May 19, 2000Macintosh, Microsoft WindowsCal Ripken Jr.
Backyard Baseball2002Game Boy AdvanceMike Piazza
Backyard Baseball 20032002Macintosh, Microsoft Windows
Backyard Baseball2003Nintendo GameCubeAlex Rodriguez
Backyard Baseball2004PlayStation 2
Backyard Baseball 20052004Microsoft Windows
Backyard Baseball 20062005Game Boy Advance
Backyard Sports: Baseball 20072006Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Microsoft WindowsAlbert Pujols
Backyard Baseball 092008Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2, WindowsDavid Ortiz
Backyard Baseball 10 2009Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2
Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers2010Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Microsoft WindowsOriginal Characters
Backyard Sports: Baseball 20152015iOS, Android published by Fingerprint Network

References
  1. Kram, Zach (2017-10-10). "How 'Backyard Baseball' Became a Cult Classic". The Ringer. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  2. "Pablo Sanchez: The Origin Of A Video Game Legend". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  3. "The 25 Best Virtual Athletes In Video Games". Complex. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  4. Carson, Dan. "The 15 Most Unfair and Terrifying Video Game Athletes to Play Against". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  5. Delayo, Mike. "The Inclusive Legacy of Backyard Baseball". Fangraphs.
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