May 19, 2000 After that, Randy Johnson appears and pitches the ball at the screen, and the Backyard Baseball 2001 logo appears. The real baseball cards for these players are from the 2000 season. Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds Juan Gonzalez, Detroit Tigers (Texas Rangers on real baseball card) Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs.

Backyard Baseball 2001 is part of the long running Backyard Baseball series, but this one could be one of the very best. This is one of the most charming arcade-style baseball games you will ever play. Even though it is what could be referred to as “retro” this is still a fun time if you like old school arcade baseball games.

That Classic Style

The first thing I have to mention is the presentation. I am a big fan of the way the whole Backyard series of games looks and this one is no different. They do all share a similar art style, but I feel that Backyard Baseball 2001 has more chunky and well defined kids and characters and it gives the game a lot more personality.Also while this is a game about kids playing baseball, it does actually have the MLB license so that is really cool and makes the game even more fun. They have the likenesses of many players, but it in kid form so that is awesome.

Plenty To Do

The game modes are exactly what you would expect from a game in the Backyard Sports series. Backyard Baseball allows you to play a single game. This mode lets you change the difficulty level from tee-ball all the way to hard. You can change innings, errors pick your stadium and so on. It is a great way to learn the basics of the game.You also have Season Play which is Backyard Baseball 2001’s main game mode. Here you will take your ragtag group of kids on a quest to win different championships. This is way more fun than it should be. If you do well here your players can be in the Hall of Fame. Speaking of players there is a trading card book where you can learn more about the different players.Backyard Baseball 2001 also had an online mode and I am sure there is someone out there who has a server that allows you to play this online. In multiplayer I would bet that this game is an absolute blast! The core gameplay no matter if it is pitching, fielding or batting is very simple and it plays like a 90s arcade-style baseball game. It is just all about having fun and fun is the best way to describe it.

Like A Cartoon

The art style of Backyard Baseball 2001 is great. It really does look like something that would have been on Nickelodeon in the 90s, probably in between Rugrats and Rocko’s Modern Life! It has a very charming and wholesome look to it and the way the different “stadiums” look is very well done too.

Backyard Baseball 2001 is a game I had a lot of fun with. Is this the definitive Backyard Baseball game? I actually think that I would say that this is where the series peaked. Even though games would be released for the next decade on different systems. It is Backyard Baseball 2001 that people seem to most fondly remember. If you are bored of games like MLB The Show and want a fun baseball game, you do not get much more fun than this.

8/10

Pros:

• Has a charming Nickelodeon like art style
• Makes great use of the MLB license
• Gameplay is fast and fun
• It is easy to learn the basics
• Classic arcade style baseball

Cons:

• Season mode is not as in-depth as a modern game
• Online mode can be hard to get working these days

Best MLB players in Backyard Baseball 2001

In the previous post I showed you the rosters and set it up: Backyard kids vs. pros

Now here is the decision about the pro team… we have 31 potential players (more than an active roster) so let’s start with the easy cuts and an explanation:

Alex Gonzales: I feel bad doing this just the day before his birthday! With a 5 batting ranking and a 6 fielding ranking we have much better options. He does bring some speed but that isn’t redeeming enough.

Carlos Beltran: Hey, he’s still playing and collecting money! His batting stat of 5 isn’t high enough. He’s well-rounded but in this case we need specialists

Jeromy Burnitz and Marty Cardova: They were in this game! I had no idea… anyway they won’t be in this game.

Now we need to think about pitching.

Backyard Baseball 2001 Players

It really comes down to three people: Curt Shilling, Randy Johnson and … SURPRISE Frank Thomas!

Each one has a 10 rating in pitching. For a game like this you want at least two pitchers so Frank Thomas makes the roster with his 7 batting and since Curt has a 8 fielding, 6 running and 5 batting (compared to Randy’s 3, 5, 5) we will keep Curt and cut the Big Unit.

On the team: Curt Shilling, Frank Thomas

I want our pitchers to be our worst hitters so anybody with a batting rating of 7 or lower is out: Barry Larkin, Ivan Rodriguez (NO, not Pudge!), Jason Giambi, Jason Kendall, Jeff Bagwell, and Kenny Lofton (A surprise considering I normally had him on my team)

That leaves 18 players left for 7 spots. We need to start making big cuts, so anybody with a fielding ranking of less than 5 has got to go: Jose Canseco and Shawn Green… wait that can’t be right! You mean that Mark McGuire and Mo Vaughn were good fielders? Nope, they are cut. I’m also cutting Valdimir Guerrerro since he was with the Expos.

13 players for 7 slots!

Since we have been focusing on hitting let’s take everyone with a 10 batting ranking: Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa.

Hmm: You mean Barry Bonds didn’t get a 10? Must have calculated these things before the ‘roids but he and Ken Griffey Jr. should be in

Since we now have a surplus of outfielders let’s cut a bunch from the list: Juan Gonzales, Larry Walker, Raul Monesi and Tony Gwynn (underrated in this game)

3 slots for 5 players and it comes down to the infield. I’ll eliminate Alex Rodriguez since he only has a 7 batting rating (9 fielding but we have some guys with 10 fielding). I’ll eliminate Chipper Jones since I want a strong infield in fielding and he is an 8 (others are 10s).

So the list of players:
Frank Thomas
Curt Shilling
Mark McGuire
Sammy Sosa.
Barry Bonds
Ken Griffey Jr.
Cal Ripken Jr.
Derek Jeter
Nomar Garciapparra

So let’s deal with positions: I’m going to have Shilling start on the mound since his in-game experience should help him last awhile (Frank Thomas can come in for relief and we would move Curt to the outfield). I want Big Mac at first (position he has experience with) and Griffey at center (best fielding OF we have). I’ll put Bonds in Left and Sosa in right.

Backyard Baseball Roster 2001 Game

We have a big problem at catcher… since we cut Pudge (NO! Why did we do that?) we don’t have a good catcher. Luckily since we are playing with Backyard baseball rules we don’t have to worry much about catching so we will put Frank Thomas behind the plate.

For the infield: I always worry about Nomar’s arm so he will be at second, Cal played a lot of third so he will go there and Jeter will be at short.

Batting order:

Barry Bonds LF: with a 10 running rating he is our best option to lead off
Derek Jeter SS: 9 running and 8 batting with experience hitting out of the two hole
Sammy Sosa RF: Bringing the power
Mark McGuire 1B: Bringing the pain
Frank Thomas C: This is the slow part of the lineup, I don’t want really fast people to be hampered by the Big Hurt and Big Mac
Curt Shilling P: I don’t always think it’s a good idea to bat the pitcher 9, I would rather have guys on base for the top of the order
Ken Griffey Jr. CF: This is almost like a second lead-off spot and I trust that Ken can handle this
Nomar Garciapparra 2B: I think hitting behind Ken will be good and Nomah will be able to move him over
Cal Ripken Jr. (3B): I don’t think Cal will be disappointed with this ranking, he might have the smallest ego on this team and so he’ll bat last

Backyard Baseball Roster 2001 2

Here is the post about the Backyard team