Inspired by an article by Zach Kram at the Ringer last year, Bobby and Alex take a deep dive into the history of “Backyard Baseball,” the kids-video-game-turned-cult-classic that they grew up with. They bring on Nick Mirkovich, one of the game’s co-creators, to talk about the game’s inception and its evolution through the years, and speculate on why the game remains so firmly embedded in the minds of this generation. They dive into the colorful personalities of each character and reminisce on what made the game so special in the first place. It’s a full-on nostalgia sesh, featuring real gameplay and cameos from Sunny Day, Vinnie the Gooch, and the one and only Pablo Sanchez.

Download Backyard Baseball 1997 here, or Backyard Baseball 2001 here. Double click to open the zip file. It should open a folder called Backyard Baseball. Open ScummVM and click “Add Game.” Navigate to find the Backyard Baseball folder and click “Choose.” 6. You should see a screen like the one below. Sep 10, 2011  A single game of Backyard Baseball 2001. I went for the home team this time, so that meant no bottom of the sixth, thus making this a little shorter than my gameplay for the original game.

Do you want to play the game too and get all the memories rushing back? Here’s how!

On a Mac:

1.Download the video game emulator ScummVM.

2. Open the DMG file and drag ScummVM into your Applications folder.

3. Download Backyard Baseball 2001 here.

4. Once the ZIP file has downloaded, double click to open it. It will reveal an ISO file called Backyard Baseball 2001.

5. Double click to open the ISO file. It should open a drive that looks like this.

6. Create a new folder on your desktop (or wherever you will remember) and call it Backyard Baseball.

7. Select all the contents of the ISO drive and drag them into the folder you just created.

8. Now, open up ScummVM and click “Add Game” on the right hand side. Find the folder you created and click “Choose.”

9. You should see a screen like the one below. Press ok, select the game, and press start!

On a PC:

1.Download the video game emulator ScummVM.

2. Save to your desktop, or wherever is convenient for you.

3. Download Backyard Baseball 1997 here, or Backyard Baseball 2001 here.

Play Backyard Baseball Computer Game

4. Double click to open the zip file. It should open a folder called Backyard Baseball.

5. Open ScummVM and click “Add Game.” Navigate to find the Backyard Baseball folder and click “Choose.”

6. You should see a screen like the one below. Press ok, select the game, and press start!

Enjoy!

All music sound clips, and photos from “Backyard Baseball,” courtesy of Humongous Entertainment/The Evergreen Group.

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Backyard Baseball is a series of children's games for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, iPhone OS, and the PC. It is the original game in the Backyard Sports series. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It is one of six Backyard Sports games.

The original game consisted of 55 neighborhood kids. Over the years, the idea of 'Pro players as kids' became popular, and the original stats and looks of the players changed. Some of the pros available include Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Éric Gagné, Ichiro Suzuki, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Albert Pujols, Nomar Garciaparra, Kenny Lofton, Ken Griffey, Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Curt Schilling, and Barry Bonds. Some unlockable pros include Randy Johnson, Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux and Mike Piazza.

Backyard Baseball Original Characters

Managers cannot create players, but instead choose from a roster of characters to form teams. In the latest version of the game, a player could play an exhibition game or a 16 or 32 game season (previously 14) followed by the 'BBL playoffs,' which contains both the AL and NL divisional series, the AL and NL championship series and finally the 'Backyard Baseball World Series'.The game includes many modes, and they are Single Game, Batting Practice, Spectator, and Season Game.

Backyard Baseball attempts to recreate the experience of playing baseball as children.

Power-Ups[edit | edit source]

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.

• Aluminum Power: is the rarest and most valued of power-ups and can disappear after one or no tries when in use. Players use an aluminum bat to hit a home run it will always be a home run.
• Screaming Line Drive: can last at least 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: can last at least two uses. Players hit a ground ball that goes into the ground, causing the ball to appear in any random area of the field.
• Crazy Bunt: can disappear after one or no tries when in use, although sometimes it will last for up to four uses when used sparingly. The ball hit will roll around the field erratically as fielders just barely miss catching it. It is effective in securing runs, doubles or triples and in exhausting the opposing team.

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.

• 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. Very difficult to anticipate.
• Elevator: the ball is thrown low along the ground and suddenly jumps into the air at the last moment. More difficult to hit if the pitch is aimed low.
• 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. Most players miss due to its odd and very picky timing.
• Spitball: the ball is covered with saliva and jerks in the air. The timing to swing is pickier and harder to hit.
• Fireball: arguably the most powerful pitch, the ball blazes past the batter in a ball of fire at an incredibly high speed. Very difficult to hit, even with experienced players

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.

Installments[edit | edit source]

• 'Backyard Baseball' at MobyGames
• 'Backyard Baseball 2001' at MobyGames
• 'Backyard Baseball 2003' at MobyGames

Backyard Baseball Original Download

References[edit | edit source]

Backyard Baseball Original Download