Bases Loaded FAQ Copyright Jaleco 1988 Written By Brian P. Sulpher E-mail: briansulpher@hotmail.com Version 2.5 Dates Written: June 2nd to June 5th, 2004 I dedicate this to the NES fans out there, as this one is part of the NES FAQ completion Project of 2004, courtesy of the FAQ Contributor Board. We honour the most truly awesome and great system... the Nintendo Entertainment System! Never mind about Atari, Commodore 64, Colecovision, Sega Master System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, or any of the newer systems, we all know that the good old NES is where true gaming is at! Also, for Cougar, Howler, and Koonce. I miss you, and I hope you are living it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always be in my memories, and you will never be forgotten. ----------- Version 1.0 ----------- -Submitted guide on June 5th, 2004 ----------- Version 2.0 ----------- -Submitted guide on March 23rd, 2005 -I added in Honestgamers as a site allowed to use my FAQs -Added in the team "Texas" since I totally spaced and left them out of the original version of this FAQ (thanks to Jeremy Shows for pointing this out) -Added in a pitching tip for one specific pitcher by the name of "Hall" for Jersey (thanks to Eduardo Pena [GameFAQs user KalimbeNaire] for this contribution) ----------- Version 2.1 ----------- -Submitted guide on June 22nd, 2005 -I added in Retronintendo as a site allowed to use my FAQs -Altered the format to make it easier on the eyes of the reader ----------- Version 2.5 ----------- -Submitted guide on October 14th, 2007 -Added in more information on the special pitching trick (thanks to gondee of SSX FAQing fame for the tip) -Also added in a soewhat unorthodox Defensive Strategy (thanks to gondee for the unique method) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------Table Of Contents------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Introduction 2) Terminology 3) Offensive Controls 4) Defensive Controls 5) Teams 6) Offensive Strategies 7) Defensive Strategies 8) Special Pitching Trick 9) Final Word ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------Introduction--------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Here is the first installment in four Baseball games for the NES that were rather popular. Along with the R.B.I. Baseball series and Baseball Stars series, these were the dominant Baseball games for the great Nintendo Entertainment System. This game makes use of a password system, allowing a player to play through the teams to win the pennant, so why not pick a team and get on your way? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------Terminology---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) This section will list all the words and phrases associated with the game of Baseball, allowing for a deeper understanding of the game for the reader. Ball : This occurs when a pitch is thrown outside the strike zone. Bean Ball : This occurs when a pitch ends up making contact with the batter, resulting in First Base being awarded to the batter. Bunt : When a batter holds the bat out and knocks the ball to the ground near Home Plate. Double : When a batter reaches Second Base off of their hit. Error : When a fielder makes a mistake, costing his team in some way. E.R.A. : Standing for Earned Run Average, it represents how many runs a pitcher gives up (on average) per each nine innings pitched. Fast Ball : Ball thrown with lot of velocity, usually 88 Miler per hour or more. Fly Out : A towering hit into the outfield which is caught by a player for an out. Force Out : When a runner has no choice but to go for the next base, the defense can throw the ball to that base to get the out. Foul : A ball that is hit outside the foul lines, resulting in a strike. Hit : A ball is put into play, allowing the batter to reach base. Homerun : When a batter gets to round the bases, which is usually done by hitting the ball over the outfield wall. Line Drive: A ball hit on a low angle through the air, moving at a very fast speed. Out : Whenever the defense gets a strikeout, force out, or tag out, they will add to the out total for the inning. After 3 outs, the two sides switch defense/offense. Pop Out : A fly ball in the infield, usually caught for an out. Single : When a batter reaches First Base off of their hit. Slow Ball : A pitch thrown with very little velocity. Strike : This occurs when a pitch is thrown inside the strike zone or when a batter swings at a pitch and misses. Strike Out: When a batter gets themselves 3 strikes, they will have done this, adding one out to the total. Tag Out : When a runner is touched by the fielder with the ball, resulting in an out. Tag Up : When a fly out occurs, a player can then leave their base and try to advance. Tic : A pitch is hit, but the contact is so minimal that the ball falls straight into foul territory. Triple : When a batter reaches Third Base off of their hit. Walk : When a batter gets themselves 4 balls, they will gain a trip to First Base. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Offensive Controls------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) The following will cover Batting Controls and Base Running Controls. o---------o | Batting | o---------o D-Pad : Imagine the batting box has nine areas. The bat will swing through the following area for each direction pressed (Neutral means that only the A Button is needed): UP-LEFT UP UP-RIGHT __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ |><| | | | |><| | | | |><| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| LEFT NEUTRAL RIGHT __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |><| | | | |><| | | | |><| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| DOWN-LEFT DOWN DOWN-RIGHT __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |><| | | | |><| | | | |><| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| SELECT : No apparent use. START : Calls for time. B Button: No apparent use. A Button: Swings the bat. o-----------------------o | Base Running Controls | o-----------------------o RIGHT : Sends a runner to Second Base (B Button) or back to First Base (A Button). LEFT : Sends a runner to Home Plate (B Button) or back to Third Base (A Button). DOWN : Sends all runners forward one base (B Button) or returns all runners to the previous base (A Button). UP : Sends a runner to Third Bade (B Button) or back to Second Base (A Button). SELECT : No apparent use. START : No apparent use. B Button: Used to send runners forward in conjunction with the directions. A Button: Used to send runners backwards in conjunction with the directions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Defensive Controls------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) This section will look at the Pitching Controls and the Fielding Controls. o-------------------o | Pitching Controls | o-------------------o D-Pad : Imagine the batting box has nine areas. The pitch will fly to the following area when the direction indicated is pressed (Neutral means that only the A Button is needed): UP-LEFT UP UP-RIGHT __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ |><| | | | |><| | | | |><| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| LEFT NEUTRAL RIGHT __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |><| | | | |><| | | | |><| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| DOWN-LEFT DOWN DOWN-RIGHT __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |><| | | | |><| | | | |><| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| SELECT : No apparent use. START : Calls for time. B Button: If a base runner is on, changes to Fielding Controls, allowing for a pick off attempt (see base throwing directions in Fielding Controls for base throwing specifics). A Button: Starts the pitch, strength determined by pressing DOWN during wind-up (Slow), by pressing UP during wind-up (Fast), or by just pressing A (medium). o-------------------o | Fielding Controls | o-------------------o D-Pad : One fielder will be in your control, that one being the one closest to the ball. Move them in the direction corresponding to the position of the ball to grab a hold of it. RIGHT : Throws the ball to First Base in conjunction with the Buttons. LEFT : Throws the ball to Third Base in conjunction with the Buttons. DOWN : Throws the ball to Home Plate in conjunction with the Buttons. UP : Throws the ball to Second Base in conjunction with the Buttons. SELECT : No apparent use. START : No apparent use. B Button: Throws the ball in conjunction with the Direction listed above. Also throws to First Base as default if no direction pressed. A Button: Throws the ball in conjunction with the Direction listed above. Also throws to First Base as default if no direction pressed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------Teams------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) This section will analyze and rate each team for their overall usefulness. o--------o | Boston | o--------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| As you can see, the Boston Pitchers are neither |____________|______| spectacular, nor are they downright awful. They have |Fine | 4.40 | a couple lower E.R.A. pitchers like Birdie or Page, |____________|______| but they manage to keep most of their guys under 4.00 |Gross | 4.22 | E.R.A., which is a crucial thing in this game. |____________|______| |Birdie | 2.66 | |____________|______| Make use of Birdie and Page as your two starters, |Guido | 3.74 | hoping they can carry your team deep into a ball game, |____________|______| where the relievers can come in and provide some |Pacos | 4.35 | adequate pitching while surrendering a few runs (not |____________|______| many though if it is late into the game). |Page | 3.10 | |____________|______| |Creene | 4.40 | |____________|______| |Rosa | 4.22 | |____________|______| |Bopper | 2.66 | |____________|______| |Aaron | 3.74 | |____________|______| |Bakko | 4.35 | |____________|______| |Ballou | 3.10 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| This is where Boston shines through in |____________|_______|_________| spades. Their lowest Batting Average in |Harris | .312 | 5 | the starting line-up is a .288, with only |____________|_______|_________| one other Batting Average below .300. Power |McGraw | .313 | 20 | hitting is not an issue either, as batter 2 |____________|_______|_________| through batter 6 all have double digits in |Freida | .400 | 47 | homeruns. A superbly strong middle portion |____________|_______|_________| of the batting order that can sometimes |Norkus | .331 | 35 | cover up the mediocre pitching staff's |____________|_______|_________| inadequacies, though they are not as |Angel | .322 | 30 | powerful as some other teams. |____________|_______|_________| |Andrew | .298 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Brown | .308 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Tyler | .288 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| This bench has a few good bats on it, |____________|_______|_________| specifically with Tobino and Yorky bringing |Utter | .312 | 5 | their plus .300 and double digit Homerun |____________|_______|_________| totals. In fact, they make excellent |Tobino | .336 | 17 | replacements for the two sub-par batters in |____________|_______|_________| the starting line-up! The rest will make |Yorky | .318 | 10 | good relief for an outgoing pitcher in the |____________|_______|_________| line-up, so appreciate a strong batting |Zach | .298 | 5 | bench. |____________|_______|_________| |Flynn | .285 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Caputo | .268 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Baeb | .257 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Nye | .301 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Corez | .289 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Uma | .310 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| o------o | D.C. | o------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| Although they have quite a few guys in the lower range |____________|______| of the 3.00 range, they actually have a rather porous | David | 4.50 | pitching staff. These guys will give up a lot of runs |____________|______| as the game wears on, so frequent substitutions will |Allan | 3.35 | likely be needed. However, if you have a hot pitcher, |____________|______| ride him until he starts to waver as any extended |Knapp | 3.59 | pitching foray is a blessing from this wishy-washy |____________|______| bullpen. |Sether | 4.58 | |____________|______| Morgan and Allan are both excellent nominations for |Knight | 4.20 | starting pitchers, though almost anyone will work from |____________|______| this mob of undifferentiating underachievers. David is |Morgan | 3.07 | surpisingly good as well, despite his high E.R.A. |____________|______| |Fern | 3.55 | |____________|______| |Finn | 3.73 | |____________|______| |Thomas | 3.37 | |____________|______| |Blue | 3.58 | |____________|______| |Mara | 4.29 | |____________|______| |Cooper | 3.33 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| This team is an offensive juggernaut! With |____________|_______|_________| EVERYONE having at least a .301 batting |Benson | .301 | 10 | average and 10 Homeruns (both lows coming |____________|_______|_________| from the lead off Benson), you have a |Valdoz | .308 | 11 | stacked batting order from top to bottom. |____________|_______|_________| Batter 3 through Batter 6 all have the power |Doreo | .331 | 40 | to go yard every at bat, with the remaining |____________|_______|_________| batters able to knock it out of the park |Fendy | .356 | 50 | frequently as well. |____________|_______|_________| |Kline | .316 | 20 | This is one tough line-up to match for pure |____________|_______|_________| power or hitting ability, which will help |Boro | .336 | 30 | cover the pitching inadequacies that |____________|_______|_________| afflict the pitching staff. |Dear | .314 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Gomez | .303 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Since they have so many good sticks in the |____________|_______|_________| starting line-up, it is no shock that their |Saint | .335 | 10 | bench is less than perfect. In fact, none |____________|_______|_________| of these guys can be inserted into your |Woods | .301 | 5 | line-up and improve over the starting eight |____________|_______|_________| by any significant degree, so they are |Sher | .286 | 0 | mostly to be used as hitters for your |____________|_______|_________| pitchers, who will frequently need to be |Hesh | .251 | 4 | changed due to their poor arms. |____________|_______|_________| |Dim | .272 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Glass | .301 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Ellis | .298 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Niles | .272 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Rade | .283 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Zunk | .325 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| o--------o | Hawaii | o--------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| By far one of the worst pitching staffs contained within |____________|______| the game (or any other one for that matter), it is |Cuomo | 4.04 | essentially pitch by committee ideals. Basically, any |____________|______| of your deadbeat hurlers can start, relieve, or close |Karr | 3.38 | the game out, but all are suspect and can be lit up by |____________|______| the opposing batters. |Cook | 4.50 | |____________|______| With this crew, you had better pray that your bats are |Betson | 3.49 | booming or that you have a hot pitcher because they are |____________|______| not likely to outwork the opposing team's pitchers in a |Ford | 4.46 | low scoring duel. |____________|______| |Desoto | 3.99 | |____________|______| |Utter | 4.39 | |____________|______| |Vick | 4.70 | |____________|______| |Walz | 3.02 | |____________|______| |Waxman | 3.94 | |____________|______| |York | 4.08 | |____________|______| |Tamino | 3.12 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Another line-up of plus .300 batting average |____________|_______|_________| and two digit Homerun hitters here, so this |Harris | .316 | 16 | will help in making up for the reprehensible |____________|_______|_________| pitching staff. Only Kwaz has disappointing |Gladco | .321 | 12 | numbers, so you may wish to look to the |____________|_______|_________| bench for a good replacement. |Brutus | .337 | 36 | |____________|_______|_________| A good line-up, but not as good as other |Debro | .348 | 40 | teams with power line-ups, like D.C. Still |____________|_______|_________| a rock solid choice if you prefer power |Moon | .326 | 30 | over pitching. |____________|_______|_________| |Gomez | .313 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Ebony | .315 | 22 | |____________|_______|_________| |Kwaz | .286 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| This bench has one main attraction in Kelly, |____________|_______|_________| who should always be subbed in for Kwaz as |Kelly | .336 | 16 | soon as possible. As for helping to relieve |____________|_______|_________| batting pitchers, Ferber and Feuer work well |Ferber | .318 | 8 | enough, but following them is one decent |____________|_______|_________| stick in Carol. After that, it is perhaps |Feuer | .328 | 8 | the worst pinch hitter pool in the game! |____________|_______|_________| |Carol | .298 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Nye | .315 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Bahr | .272 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Yury | .256 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Wells | .281 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Grant | .269 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Kassar | .287 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| o--------o | Jersey | o--------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| Wow... not one but TWO guys ringing in over the 5.00 |____________|______| E.R.A. mark! This does not bode well for a pitching |Valez | 3.37 | staff as those two should never see any game time. So |____________|______| they begin with just 10 viable pitchers and two gascans |Greco | 4.53 | to try and contain the opposition. |____________|______| |Westin | 5.13 | Rose, Hall, and Valez are your best, so they should |____________|______| handle the starts, followed up by Ace, Less, and Pearl |Scott | 4.10 | as the relievers. You can dip into the plus 4.00 |____________|______| E.R.A. guys, but only do so in an emergency or for just |Bondi | 4.04 | a brief stint (say the pitcher is batting next inning |____________|______| and you want a fresh arm to complete the current |Ace | 3.80 | inning). Still, those two downright awful pitchers |____________|______| stretch an otherwise good bullpen into a bad one |Recoon | 5.02 | because of the drop in total pitchers overall. |____________|______| |Less | 3.83 | |____________|______| |Rose | 3.10 | |____________|______| |Pearl | 3.97 | |____________|______| |Enos | 4.50 | |____________|______| |Hall | 3.20 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Much like their pitching staff, they have a |____________|_______|_________| couple players who drag the great ones down. |Ryder | .298 | 4 | Ryder and Warren have stats like poor pinch |____________|_______|_________| hitters, not starters, so they should dummied |Becker | .301 | 10 | out in favour of some stars off the bench. |____________|_______|_________| This line-up is pretty good otherwise, |Paste | .467 | 60 | the godly Paste, who with 60 Homeruns is |____________|_______|_________| good for at least one homer a game (provided |Bay | .331 | 30 | you can get the lumber on the ball). |____________|_______|_________| |Ford | .336 | 34 | A decent line-up that needs some shoring up |____________|_______|_________| from the bench. Definitely needs to produce |James | .318 | 18 | if your gascan pitchers get the ball on the |____________|_______|_________| mound. |Brown | .268 | 16 | |____________|_______|_________| |Warren | .285 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| When it comes to this lot, you will be |____________|_______|_________| Romeo and Berra directly into the game for |Romeo | .321 | 21 | Ryder and Warren respectively, leaving a few |____________|_______|_________| scrappy hitters to replace your outgoing |Yeller | .268 | 0 | pitchers. |____________|_______|_________| |Senz | .301 | 4 | All in all a terrible bench, but there is |____________|_______|_________| enough to replace the starting line-up duds |Gillis | .321 | 0 | with some decent slap hitters to replace |____________|_______|_________| your inept pitchers in the batting box. |Cooper | .268 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Goro | .267 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Berra | .301 | 8 | |____________|_______|_________| |Mandy | .311 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Otiz | .316 | 4 | |____________|_______|_________| |Vogel | .292 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| o--------o | Kansas | o--------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| A surprisingly deep and competent pitching staff, no one |____________|______| can be considered a serious liability (though Mills can |Ryan | 3.80 | become a gascan pretty quick). That being said, you |____________|______| have three crazily good pitchers in Platt, Rick, and |Mills | 4.43 | the godly Patson! Definitely a top tier bullpen here! |____________|______| |Black | 3.99 | Try to avoid using Mills and Bears unless it is for a |____________|______| very limited time, as they are your only serious |Sako | 3.65 | liabilities. Otherwise, let Platt and Patson start, |____________|______| bringing in any of the other fine pitchers as relief. |Willis | 3.38 | |____________|______| |Patson | 2.91 | |____________|______| |Carter | 3.51 | |____________|______| |Bear | 4.00 | |____________|______| |Reyes | 3.42 | |____________|______| |Porco | 3.53 | |____________|______| |Rick | 3.12 | |____________|______| |Platt | 3.05 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Here is a line-up that is just spectacular |____________|_______|_________| for the first five batters, but quickly |Lynn | .329 | 27 | descends into mediocrity with poor batting |____________|_______|_________| averages and minimal power hitting. The |Leigh | .318 | 10 | first five are all potential all-stars, but |____________|_______|_________| the last three are sightly below average |Patty | .316 | 41 | players at best. |____________|_______|_________| |Baker | .325 | 40 | This means that you will have to see if your |____________|_______|_________| bench can provide some relief, and it can |Simon | .308 | 20 | not, well, you better hope your first five |____________|_______|_________| can do most of the offensive work. |Qucy | .276 | 11 | |____________|_______|_________| |Boni | .286 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Elkin | .298 | 7 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| In answer to "can you fix up the bottom of |____________|_______|_________| the batting order with the bench?", the |Ramis | .312 | 6 | answer is a resounding no. You can add in |____________|_______|_________| Baum for Boni for a power upgrade, but |Conway | .308 | 5 | otherwise you are not doing anything |____________|_______|_________| significant if you do perform some |Dagget | .300 | 0 | substitutions. They do make for good subs |____________|_______|_________| for a pitcher in a single at bat, but none |Hara | .271 | 5 | really stand out (even Baum has a poor |____________|_______|_________| batting average of just .285). |Baum | .285 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Fixit | .288 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Schick | .258 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Haber | .291 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Donnis | .313 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Jussim | .310 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| o------o | L.A. | o------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| If I thought that Jersey had a bad pitching staff, then |____________|______| L.A. is by far the worst in the game. They have three |Moral | 4.00 | good pitchers in Tucker, Lubow, and Bailey, but then |____________|______| the list bloats in uselessness considerably. These |Meese | 4.51 | three are your starters, and you better hope they can |____________|______| last for as long as possible. |Thomsy | 3.67 | |____________|______| For relieving purposes, Thomsy, Moral, Jonas, and Rose |Smithe | 4.65 | all bring some decent skills for an inning or two, but |____________|______| the remaining six pitchers all well into the gascan |Myers | 4.84 | range. These arsonists should only be used in the |____________|______| direst of circumstances, as they will get your score |Jonas | 4.16 | totals against driven WAY UP in a hurry. |____________|______| |Rose | 4.22 | |____________|______| |Simeon | 4.90 | |____________|______| |Lubow | 3.11 | |____________|______| |Bailey | 3.15 | |____________|______| |Rubble | 4.92 | |____________|______| |Tucker | 2.97 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| A line-up that has perhaps the least amount |____________|_______|_________| of power hitting available, only Wales and |Papas | .308 | 4 | Bacon are a half serious threat to go yard. |____________|_______|_________| However, this team is excellent at playing |Short | .303 | 9 | "slap ball", picking up tons of Singles and |____________|_______|_________| Doubles. As for deadbeats, only Tyson can |Princo | .321 | 8 | be considered expendable for a bench player, |____________|_______|_________| as his batting average is low along with his |Wales | .331 | 16 | homerun power. |____________|_______|_________| |Bacon | .326 | 31 | A team that plays more like a real baseball |____________|_______|_________| team, they offer a lot of hits to pepper the |Tyson | .284 | 2 | opposition with. Just note that if they |____________|_______|_________| stop getting base runners, they will be in |Dawson | .327 | 9 | trouble because of their weak pitching |____________|_______|_________| staff. |Saldo | .313 | 4 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| If you wanted a bench that resembled the |____________|_______|_________| starting line-up... this is not it. Other |Newton | .326 | 7 | than a few decent "slap hitters" and one |____________|_______|_________| decent power hitter in Brent, the line-up |Spitz | .305 | 2 | disappointingly bad (Snazo being the prime |____________|_______|_________| example with his lowly .203 batting |Dunn | .326 | 3 | average). |____________|_______|_________| |Justin | .286 | 6 | Tyson should be replaced with Brent, leaving |____________|_______|_________| the rest to play pinch hitters for pitchers |Perry | .269 | 1 | as they will not be able to improve your |____________|_______|_________| starting line-up by any real degree. |Brent | .316 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Kukla | .291 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Sanzo | .203 | 4 | |____________|_______|_________| |Buster | .256 | 4 | |____________|_______|_________| |Seitz | .316 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| o-------o | Miami | o-------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| Five pitchers in 4.00 or higher E.R.A would make you |____________|______| think that the pitching staff on this team is like so |Bonds | 3.62 | many others; full of guys who are arsonists. However, |____________|______| Miami actually boasts the best pitcher in the game, |Lewis | 3.93 | with Henter's startling 1,85 E.R.A, West's 2.47 E.R.A., |____________|______| and Jarvis' 2.53 E.R.A. as the three starters. |Perry | 4.08 | |____________|______| Following that up in relief are four solid pitchers |West | 2.47 | E.R.A.'s in the 3.00-3.99 range, which means that you |____________|______| will likely not have to dip into your five 4.00 plus |Shard | 3.74 | E.R.A.'ers, but even they are good in small doses. A |____________|______| very good pitching staff overall, despite a few guys |Henter | 1.85 | who can be had for a run or two. |____________|______| |Jowel | 4.00 | |____________|______| |Irving | 3.01 | |____________|______| |Jarvis | 2.53 | |____________|______| |Hahn | 4.85 | |____________|______| |Nudor | 4.75 | |____________|______| |Olson | 4.71 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Here is the price of having such a nice pen |____________|_______|_________| of pitchers to call upon; you have two or |Brettis | .310 | 8 | three big bats combined with five average |____________|_______|_________| hitters. You get a below average line-up in |Lloyd | .287 | 9 | power, meaning you will get less homeruns, |____________|_______|_________| which will cut down on your big scoring |Moyer | .318 | 6 | chunks. |____________|_______|_________| |Warner | .336 | 32 | However, if you are skilled at the plate, |____________|_______|_________| can nickel and dime it with the less |Adams | .321 | 17 | powerful hitters, setting up the big guys to |____________|_______|_________| aim for the cheap seats in the outfield |Centro | .301 | 22 | bleachers. |____________|_______|_________| |Turo | .321 | 7 | |____________|_______|_________| |Bench | .279 | 6 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Nothing outstanding to be found here, so you |____________|_______|_________| not be able to spiff up the starting |Tossi | .316 | 3 | line-up at all. They are competent enough, |____________|_______|_________| but their quality drops off as the game |Wooley | .256 | 2 | goes on. Useful for pitcher replacement at |____________|_______|_________| the dish and nothing else. |Russ | .287 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Dias | .267 | 7 | |____________|_______|_________| |Dick | .318 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Janson | .298 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Teddy | .290 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Ohara | .281 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Burney | .267 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Shill | .301 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| o------o | N.Y. | o------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| Though Miami has an impressive trio, New York boasts |____________|______| an amazing sextet in Carter, Cora, Errica, Fiore, |Carter | 2.08 | Hodges, and Howe, all of which can start. With this |____________|______| many quality pitchers to call upon, you have two sets |Hodges | 3.04 | of three pitchers to cover three innings a piece every |____________|______| second game! |Snydor | 4.50 | |____________|______| That being said, you still have two more decent pitchers |Fillo | 3.78 | in King and Fillo, bringing your pool of good pitchers |____________|______| up to 8. the remaining four would likely never have |King | 3.60 | to pitch, but they are good to keep in mind if you have |____________|______| a short stint all ready to go. |Darcy | 4.40 | |____________|______| |Shots | 4.20 | |____________|______| |Cora | 2.74 | |____________|______| |Coles | 3.77 | |____________|______| |Errico | 2.83 | |____________|______| |Fiore | 3.01 | |____________|______| |Howe | 2.68 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| You would think with such a great pitching |____________|_______|_________| staff that the hitting would be less than |Perez | .325 | 21 | stellar, but you would be WRONG. This is a |____________|_______|_________| superbly strong line-up from top to bottom, |Finich | .312 | 10 | with weak point being a .302 average with |____________|_______|_________| NINE homeruns. That is one seriously strong |Ames | .321 | 25 | set, though they do not have a super power |____________|_______|_________| hitter (Star being the possible exception). |Star | .335 | 40 | |____________|_______|_________| You will score a lot of runs, so no worries |Dupris | .302 | 24 | there. You may need to bring in someone for |____________|_______|_________| the 8th spot, but other than that they are |Eagle | .315 | 12 | the best natural order in the game. |____________|_______|_________| |Beck | .321 | 20 | |____________|_______|_________| |Jersey | .302 | 9 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| The weak point of this crazily good team, |____________|_______|_________| the bench still boasts a few sticks in |Vanni | .278 | 5 | Walkor, Flood, and Elias, all of which are |____________|_______|_________| good replacements for Jersey as well as |Walkor | .336 | 20 | nice hitters for pitchers. |____________|_______|_________| |Tucker | .316 | 2 | Since your pitching is so good, you will |____________|_______|_________| likely never need to dip into your other |Abner | .283 | 5 | pinch hitters, with those first three |____________|_______|_________| taking the lion's share of plate |Fink | .298 | 5 | appearances. |____________|_______|_________| |Elias | .301 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Flood | .291 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Panka | .283 | 6 | |____________|_______|_________| |Mussio | .285 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Meryl | .300 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| o-------o | Omaha | o-------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| An average pitching staff at best, you will have to |____________|______| rely on your pen to pull together for you in those |Anders | 4.74 | close games. With two decent pitchers in Rennor and |____________|______| Waters, you have two qualified starters who are sadly |Tate | 4.39 | not backed up by a whole lot. |____________|______| |Hunt | 3.99 | You will likely need some healthy run support every |____________|______| game or you will not be competitive with this motley |Watts | 4.38 | crew. |____________|______| |Gibbs | 4.13 | |____________|______| |Miles | 3.78 | |____________|______| |Foot | 3.89 | |____________|______| |Waters | 3.07 | |____________|______| |Hallas | 4.05 | |____________|______| |Nimi | 3.59 | |____________|______| |Olga | 4.23 | |____________|______| |Rennor | 2.39 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| The line-up begins with some ho hum, run of |____________|_______|_________| the mill batters, but quickly enters into |Winton | .311 | 2 | some higher tier sluggers before descending |____________|_______|_________| back into the mediocrity in Harms. An |Camel | .321 | 3 | above average power line-up, you will get to |____________|_______|_________| do a few Homerun trots with this ball club. |Beale | .326 | 19 | |____________|_______|_________| You might want to look to your bench to |Lyonse | .332 | 25 | replace the first two batters, maybe even |____________|_______|_________| replacing the eighth batter as well. |Ocy | .318 | 15 | The line-up will still be a solid one even |____________|_______|_________| with those three in there however. |Carus | .356 | 25 | |____________|_______|_________| |Dulsey | .301 | 13 | |____________|_______|_________| |Harms | .291 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| This set of hitters are not going to wow |____________|_______|_________| you with a lot of slapper hits (singles and |Kraft | .286 | 19 | doubles), but they do have three solid power |____________|_______|_________| players in Kraft, Gariri, and Reiner, all |Gariri | .301 | 10 | of which boast double digit Homerun totals. |____________|_______|_________| |Spear | .307 | 5 | So, you have three replacements for the |____________|_______|_________| lower guys in the starting line-up, but you |Effer | .268 | 0 | will have to decide if you want the extra |____________|_______|_________| power at the expense of some batting |Reiner | .281 | 11 | average. |____________|_______|_________| |Vandor | .268 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Young | .287 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Brady | .261 | 4 | |____________|_______|_________| |Crubb | .287 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Orca | .252 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| o--------o | Philly | o--------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| New York boasted quite a few good pitchers, but they |____________|______| look like crap compared to this set! Their highest |Fox | 2.78 | E.R.A. is a rather low 3.95 from Lawson, and they range |____________|______| downwards into the 2.00's (7 of the pitchers here!). |Lawson | 3.95 | Anyone can start, anyone can come on in relief, and all |____________|______| of them can stand on their own with their own skills. |Gantos | 2.29 | |____________|______| These are the best of the best, so take this team if |Morris | 3.32 | you are a pitching fiend! |____________|______| |Car | 2.32 | |____________|______| |Namco | 2.76 | |____________|______| |Stone | 3.89 | |____________|______| |Rush | 2.32 | |____________|______| |Ellis | 2.69 | |____________|______| |Fink | 3.59 | |____________|______| |Gore | 2.80 | |____________|______| |Harris | 3.86 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| An average line-up here, they have some |____________|_______|_________| power with some hitting, but they also have |Jones | .308 | 3 | two hitters that are below average. The |____________|_______|_________| overall feel of the line-up is one of |Didich | .338 | 8 | competency, which is not a bad thing, but |____________|_______|_________| at times getting base runners is a tough |Evans | .332 | 30 | thing to do. |____________|_______|_________| |Oko | .360 | 40 | Good is not so good really, so he should be |____________|_______|_________| removed at your earliest convenience. |Rubin | .318 | 40 | Jones is not a sparkling gem of greatness |____________|_______|_________| either, though he is a reasonable enough |Smith | .331 | 20 | guy to keep around due to his ability to |____________|_______|_________| get Singles and Doubles. |Hanson | .285 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Good | .252 | 8 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Here is your typical fare in pinch hitting |____________|_______|_________| terms, meaning that you get three solid |Sykes | .286 | 1 | hitters in Itman, Filo, and Fine, as well |____________|_______|_________| as the usual so-so talent that remains. |Verona | .256 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| You should stick your best three pinch |Singer | .290 | 2 | hitters into the line-up for Jones, Didich, |____________|_______|_________| and Good, creating a superbly strong |Adair | .291 | 5 | batting line. The remaining fellows will |____________|_______|_________| ply their trade as pitcher batting |Irvine | .256 | 2 | replacements, garnering a few hits for you |____________|_______|_________| in this role. |Filo | .301 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Itman | .315 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Rivi | .285 | 6 | |____________|_______|_________| |Easton | .276 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Fine | .327 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| o-------o | Texas | o-------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| This group is not overly spectacular, but they are by no |____________|______| means a powerhouse of pitching finnesse either. Perez or |Kramer | 4.55 | Unel will get most of your starts, though Ott or Newton |____________|______| will also work as well. |Perez | 3.29 | |____________|______| Provided you keep Polen's sorry ass off the mound, you |Unel | 3.38 | should do all right this group. However, don't expect a |____________|______| lot of great performances to cover for any offensive |Walls | 5.88 | inadequacies you may come up with. |____________|______| |Major | 3.42 | |____________|______| |Tutor | 4.95 | |____________|______| |Cilson | 4.67 | |____________|______| |Newton | 3.79 | |____________|______| |Ott | 3.25 | |____________|______| |Reilly | 4.50 | |____________|______| |Polen | 5.26 | |____________|______| |Sax | 4.32 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| This line-up has a very solid set of on base |____________|_______|_________| hitters, meaning getting base runners should |Malvoe | .316 | 5 | never be a prolonged problem. However, where |____________|_______|_________| this line-up falters in consistent power |Laino | .298 | 6 | hitting, meaning that a big inning will not |____________|_______|_________| be just one long ball swing away at any time |McFee | .326 | 20 | (though it does happen on occasion). Much |____________|_______|_________| like their pitching, their is room for |Marcus | .338 | 25 | improvement, but they are by no means |____________|_______|_________| completely useless at what they do. |Fallon | .312 | 19 | |____________|_______|_________| |Grogan | .301 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Forge | .308 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Foster | .332 | 8 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Two names stand out on this rather thin |____________|_______|_________| bench, those two being Carlos and Banks. |Munoz | .301 | 2 | Webb might be the third one of any value in |____________|_______|_________| this situation, but the rest are really not |Ballez | .308 | 3 | any better than the kick to the shins. |____________|_______|_________| |Banks | .325 | 21 | |____________|_______|_________| |Emilio | .287 | 7 | |____________|_______|_________| |Carlos | .321 | 19 | |____________|_______|_________| |Webb | .321 | 5 | |____________|_______|_________| |Ollie | .281 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Flair | .267 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| |Madden | .273 | 2 | |____________|_______|_________| |Baron | .268 | 1 | |____________|_______|_________| o------o | Utah | o------o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Pitchers ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ ______ | Name |E.R.A.| Well, a bullpen that contrasts heavily from talent to |____________|______| talent as you have some great 2.00's E.R.A. (Lep, |Lep | 2.73 | Stava, and Quinta), but you also have some serious |____________|______| arsonists at 5.00's or higher (Cobra, Piero, and Mann). |Stava | 2.83 | The first three will be your starting pitchers with |____________|______| the last three listed holding towels and refilling the |Tillis | 4.22 | water bottles. |____________|______| |Bella | 3.81 | The remaining six are good enough to pitch an inning or |____________|______| two at best, as they are not consistent enough to |Kling | 4.52 | warrant any longer on the mound. That being said, ride |____________|______| them till they finally run out of steam, as an extended |Cobra | 5.20 | trip out of them is a blessing to the overworked |____________|______| starters. |Murray | 4.16 | |____________|______| |Lund | 3.88 | |____________|______| |Mann | 6.47 | |____________|______| |Miller | 3.98 | |____________|______| |Piero | 5.55 | |____________|______| |Quinta | 2.63 | |____________|______| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Players ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| Utah boasts a consistent batting average |____________|_______|_________| team (good at getting slapper hits) as well |Croix | .312 | 8 | as overall power hitting from all players. |____________|_______|_________| There are no real weaknesses here, it is |Bellow | .326 | 12 | just there luck to be the third best |____________|_______|_________| line-up to be found in the game, despite |Moran | .328 | 19 | their decently good strength. |____________|_______|_________| |Agua | .346 | 42 | |____________|_______|_________| |Marks | .302 | 11 | |____________|_______|_________| |Cuppa | .308 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Lemmon | .312 | 18 | |____________|_______|_________| |Stage | .302 | 6 | |____________|_______|_________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~Pinch Hitters~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____________ _______ _________ | Name |Average|Home Runs| A few powerful players reside on this bench, |____________|_______|_________| specifically Harlan and Garret. Harlan is a |Carcn | .312 | 1 | must to get into the game (no idea why he |____________|_______|_________| would be on the bench and not the field), so |Faust | .301 | 0 | sub him in for Croix (he is more likely to |____________|_______|_________| get more at bats in that position). You may |Pason | .288 | 5 | want to throw Garret or Zwang into the mix |____________|_______|_________| for Stage, but that upgrade is tenuous at |Sambor | .277 | 6 | best. Still, you have a fairly deep bench, |____________|_______|_________| so subbing for your pitchers at bat will |Harlan | .336 | 33 | always have a good stick at the dish for |____________|_______|_________| your team. |Plumb | .265 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| |Zwang | .301 | 10 | |____________|_______|_________| |Marsh | .262 | 0 | |____________|_______|_________| |Garret | .281 | 15 | |____________|_______|_________| |Kasmir | .269 | 3 | |____________|_______|_________| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Offensive Strategies---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) This section will look at some strategies to help score some runs. i) Try to let pitches that appear to be sliding away from the Plate go, as getting a couple Balls counting against the opposition will force them to give you better pitches to swing at, increasing the likelihood of getting a hit. ii) Try to swing at balls that are on the far side of the plate or down the middle area. Inside pitches are the toughest to make good contact on, so you will see a lot of them. Try to out wait the pitcher and start cracking on those juicy pitches. iii) Although it may be tempting, stealing bases are a very hard thing to do in this game. It is an activity that should only be tried every now and then, trying to anticipate when a slower pitch will be thrown by the hurler, allowing for some extra time to reach the next base. Stealing Home Plate is nearly impossible (far below 1%) unless you are pulling a double steal to confuse the opposition. iv) When a ball is hit high into the air and it appears as if a fielder can make a play for the ball, try to hold the runners between their current base and the next one by alternating between the DOWN + A Button to the DOWN + B Button. If the ball is caught, use DOWN + A Button to return all runners to base, but if it drops in, use DOWN + B Button to get them all started toward their next base. v) Sometimes you will have a runner on Second or Third Base with no one behind you on the previous base, sometimes it is best to hold your position as opposed to advancing. This holds especially true for a ground ball (if it is on the left side of the field, definitely hold) as your player could get caught in a rundown if you are careless on the base path. Wait and see if the fielder is going to pay any attention to your runner before taking flight. vi) When you see a deep outfield fly ball, have your runners on Second and Third stay on the Base. As soon as the ball is caught, send them running for the next Base on the tag up. Just be ready to turn them around and send them back if the throw looks like it will beat them to their destination. vii) Always be on the look out for where the throw from the outfield is going to which base. If it is not the one that a runner can advance to, take off running as the time it takes to reach the intended target will likely allow the runner to reach that extra base, increasing the chance of their scoring. Just be wary of a player who can cut the ball off from it's target, as these can really mess up your plans. viii) Sometimes sacrifice is the best way to get runners into scoring position. This is especially useful for when your bottom of the order is batting (they hit poorly for the most part) and you have at least one runner in scoring position with one or none out. Perform a half swing to get the bat over the plate, and then move it to the position that the pitch is headed, knocking the ball into play. If done properly, the advancing runner(s) will be too far into their strides (send them on stealing a base to help their chances while you are bunting), leaving the opposition no choice but to throw to first for the force out, allowing the runners to enter into scoring position. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Defensive Strategies---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) This section will teach how to field to keep the opposition off the scoreboard. i) When it comes to pitching, try to keep the ball on the corners of Home Plate. This will not only make your opponent think on if the pitch will be called a strike or not, but it will also make it more likely that an opponent will end up ticking the ball or popping out due to poor connection on the ball. ii) Try to get ahead in the count when pitching. This will make for less care at the plate by the batter, making them more likely to chase a ball that is out of the strike zone. iii) If an opponent rockets a ball high into the air, you will need to figure out which fielder you want to play the ball as soon as possible, which will allow you to start moving in the direction that fielder will need to move to make the catch. Even though you will not be able to get control of them immediately (closest fielder is in your control), by moving that fielder out of range will allow you to gain control sooner, allowing for some extra time to get underneath the ball. Keep in mind this is best suited to high, fly balls, reaching the outfield. iv) When your Second or Third Baseman fields a ground ball and a runner is approaching their base, let them run to tag the runner out or step on the bag. This will keep the runners as far from home as possible, minimizing their scoring opportunities. v) Sometimes you can fake out an opponent by pretending to miss the ball, which will get them to try and get an extra base. If done properly, you might catch them being greedy and off-guard, allowing for an out where one did not exist. However, jus be sure that you will hold them to where they are if the out is not attainable, as losing a base to them is not what you want to be doing. vi) As stated in iv), whenever possible, get the lead runner out. This is especially true for when a force out is to be had at a base across the diamond, so go for it, remembering that a fast runner will sometimes make the force out impossible, thus demanding you get the force out elsewhere. vii) While on the topic of force outs, if you have two out already, any out will do, so get the easiest possible out you can. This means you must be aware of the out totals at all times, but it is not that tough of a thing to be doing after all! viii) If you can keep the batters from hitting the ball consistently, you are more likely to pick up the W (ie win). Another way to help out your chances of victory are to keep the balls rolling on the ground, so keeping your pitches low and inside on the batter will help with this, though nothing is guaranteed. ix) An incredibly unorthodox way of helping out your defensive stance, but this is a surefire way to remove a clean-up from the opposition! After the opposition has batted through thr order once, attempt to bean their clean-up pitcher during his second at bat (hold UP and towards the batter to try and hit them). If the bean ball occurs, the batter rushes the mound, pounds on your pitcher, and is thrown out of the game! However, I have been informed that Bacon in L.A. (who bats fifth as opposed to fourth) is the one who charges the mound, but he will not be expelled from the game for his actions (likely due to the fact that he is not in the 4th position in the batting order and it is a programming oversight... the game scans for replacing the fourth batter, but due to the fact Bacon is the fifth batter, the game determines that the fourth batter does not meet the requirements for being forced to leave the game, and thus Bacon gets away with his brutal disregard for pitcher's health. This means that bacon is able to do this as many times as he gets beaned, making him one bad dude to throw at! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------Special Pitching Trick--------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) This section will list a special method for some pitchers to throw an odd pitch, which will be unhittable for the opposition! So, to perform this screwball, do the following actions (thanks to KalimbeNaire and gondee for the contributions on this topic). o---------o | Step #1 | o---------o Select a starting pitcher who can perofmr this trick (which requires some research to find one that can). o---------o | Step #2 | o---------o From the 1st through 4th innings you want to throw this pitch only: Prior to pressing the A Button, hold the d-pad diagonally up and to the right (diagonally up and to the left for right-handed pitchers), then press the A Button to release the ball. Immediately after pressing the A Button, on the D-Pad press diagonally down and to the left. This performs a pitch called the "backdoor slider" and is a pretty decent pitch to use, but for the special pitchers, it is unhittable! It will be a called strike ALL the time, if the batter swings, he will always miss it. You will know you are throwing the pitch right when: -It travels between 73-76MPH in the first couple of innings. -It actually goes over the plate. If you are messing up any of the controls, the pitch will go nowhere near the plate. o---------o | Step #3 | o---------o The pitcher will get tired somewhere in the 5th inning, I have found it is usually after recording ONE out in the 5th. After this if you throw his "backdoor slider" you will notice it won't bend at all and will only travel around the high 60MPH range. THIS PITCH IS HITTABLE! If you throw one like this, it is time for plan B. Plan B won't work until the pitcher is tired. o---------o | Step #4 | o---------o Plan B. DON'T TAKE THE PITCHER OUT OF THE GAME! Instead, the really complicated stuff comes in. For his next super pitch that is a called strike and is absolutely unhittable you need to: -Press the A Button. Don't hold it down, don't touch the D-Pad, just tap the A Button once. -Nothing else to do but watch the pitcher make guys look like fools at the plate as they take strikes or whiff trying to hit the mighty knuckleball. That's the trick. Not much to it, eh? Once you win your game by shutting out the other team, get your password, reset the game, go to the pennant mode and enter in your password and then you can play your very next game with Hall available as a starting pitcher again. Do the very same things you did in your last game when he pitched. You should go undefeated and you will never have a run scored against you. Getting the "feel" for when the pitcher gets tired might take some time. I have noticed that on some games he tires out at exactly when the 5th inning starts, other times it isn't until 2 outs in the 5th, but most of the time it is after he gets one out in the 5th inning. The following pitchers are known to be able to perofmr this trick: Hall (Jersey) DeSoto (Hawaii) Utter (Hawaii) Sako (Kansas) Note that there are tons mroe to find, so experiment with your favourite teams and see if you can find a pitcher that has the skills to pull it off! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------Final Word---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P. Sulpher, 2004. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, www.retronintendo.com, and www.honestgamers.com. You must ask for permission before posting this, as doing so without consent is a violation of international copyright law. If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at briansulpher@hotmail.com. You can also contact me through MSN messenger through the same E-mail address. A rather fun ball game for your NES, why not give it a play or two. This holds especially true if you find a friend to go head to head with, as the multiplayer aspect of it creates the most unpredictable and highly enjoyable experiences the game can offer!