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137-397: The company's first offering was a baseball simulation table game using cards to represent each major league player, boards to represent different on-base scenarios (e.g. "Bases Empty", "Runners on First and Third," "Bases Loaded"), and dice to generate random numbers. Seitz's mail-order product derived from the game National Pastime, invented and patented by Clifford Van Beek in 1925,

274-425: A sacrifice fly . In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take , or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike. The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games

411-430: A second baseman to the right of second base, a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are left fielder , center fielder , and right fielder . With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral umpire sets up behind the catcher. Other umpires will be distributed around

548-447: A ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against

685-450: A base at any given time; the same applies for other runners if they are on a base that a teammate is forced to advance to. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they tag up (contact

822-622: A final Super Bowl-style showdown. Almost every detail of a team's franchise can be customized by the owner: team name, nickname, head coach, jersey colors, stadium type (domed or outdoor), and nearest city. The last two options also have a direct influence on weather conditions, temperature, humidity, and precipitation, which in turn affect field conditions and player performance. Rosters and player management featured 47-man teams, complete with injured reserve, free agent pools, drafting, training camp, and trading. Players are rated from 0 to 99 in eight performance classifications. The game did not include

959-525: A following in much of the world was a factor, more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season. MLB initiated the World Baseball Classic , scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic , held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature

1096-416: A football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant. These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or

1233-412: A game that Seitz played in his youth. The game can be played against another person or solitaire. Devoted fans keep track of the results and assess how players' performances compare to their real-life statistics. The game company later produced football , golf , basketball , hockey , bowling , boxing , soccer , and saddle racing games modeled after the baseball game (cards, boards, and dice). In

1370-435: A game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits". Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on

1507-487: A home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees , will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull hitters , who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to

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1644-495: A lead , the pitcher may attempt a pickoff , a quick throw to a fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out. Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a balk against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity. If an attempted stolen base

1781-483: A man who develops his own game, gets too involved with the fictional players and characters he invents, and ultimately loses his mind. Author Soren Narnia makes APBA the center of his 2006 novel "Roll! They Cried;" the chance to right past wrongs leads a ballplayer to attempt redemption through his APBA card. David Duchovny's novel Bucky F*cking Dent references the narrators' father playing APBA Football as an escape. Many sports publications have published accounts of

1918-478: A new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit. The rise of the legendary player Babe Ruth , the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey invested in several minor league clubs and developed

2055-699: A number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament , were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create the current joint governing body for both sports,

2192-408: A park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground. A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make

2329-544: A permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set. In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under

2466-427: A pitcher's park when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out. The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning track at one park, and

2603-565: A player editor however the gaming community had several shareware applications and utilities available for download that allowed players to edit the players themselves, or download unofficial, user-created rosters. In career leagues, potential and actual ratings could be affected by such factors as training, injuries, and aging. This added a depth of realism not seen before. The game recorded more than 300 statistical categories that could be displayed onscreen or printed. Detailed box scores were available during and after games, as well as match-ups from

2740-411: A player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game. If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably

2877-634: A result of the recall." David Grenewetzki - President, Sierra According to Sierra, combined sales of the Front Page Sports series, for all sports, surpassed 500,000 units by the end of March 1996. Although the Front Page Sports Football line died an ugly death, the influence of the series lingered. In addition to the way that it forced EA Sports to adopt management options in the Madden NFL series, it spawned

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3014-480: A run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording outs , which remove opposing players from offensive action until their next turn at bat comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings. The game

3151-400: A runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The initial objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely ; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing

3288-441: A significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played. While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area out-of-bounds on

3425-629: A significant number of MLB participants. The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic. Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock, play is less individual, and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important. The comparison between cricket and baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sports. In clock-limited sports, games often end with

3562-420: A simulated season, league members would send their team files to a designated commissioner to simulate the games. The commissioner would run the simulation and then return updated files to owners (typically via a web page) for the next week of play. Team owners could trade players with each other, make roster moves, and function as if they were real general managers. The third version of the game. The `95 version

3699-409: A skillful contact hitter , the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through. The sacrifice bunt , calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position as the batter

3836-408: A strategy to get them fixed. Unfortunately, the schedule they outlined didn’t give us a solid chance to have the right game for the intended Football Pro 2000 release, even with an additional seven to eight months of development. Simple patching was not going to do it. Many fundamental changes to the underlying engine were needed and there was significant risk associated with each major change. Given

3973-422: A team that holds the lead killing the clock rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy. Whereas, in the case of multi-day Test and first-class cricket ,

4110-414: Is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding . The game occurs over the course of several plays , with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team , called the pitcher , throws a ball that a player on the batting team , called the batter , tries to hit with a bat . The objective of the offensive team (batting team)

4247-402: Is anticipated, the catcher may call for a pitchout , a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base. Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a shift , with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base,

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4384-441: Is awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.) Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike zone , a conceptual area above home plate extending from

4521-424: Is called a grand slam . A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an error . Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base must attempt to advance if a ball lands in play, as only one runner may occupy

4658-414: Is called. While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the ground out , force out , and tag out . These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or

4795-570: Is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders , popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland . American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in England ; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that

4932-411: Is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a home run : the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This

5069-405: Is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield ; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield . In the middle of

5206-474: Is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play . With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for

5343-403: Is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases , having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called " runs ". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners , and to prevent runners advancing around the bases . A run is scored when

5480-568: The American League , which evolved from the minor Western League , was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then. The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues . The World Series , pitting

5617-489: The Madden NFL franchise had evolved quite a bit and the actual arcade / gameplay aspects of the Front Page Sports series had failed to adapt or upgrade these aspects of their game. In addition, the Madden NFL franchise mode had also evolved, and while it still didn't compete with the Front Page Sports simulation engine as far as statistics, Madden NFL for many had become a superior overall game primarily due to

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5754-496: The National Association of Base Ball Players , was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by African Americans . The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876. Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded. In 1887, softball , under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game. The National League's first successful counterpart,

5891-779: The Pro Football Hall of Fame .) In 2021, Steve Skoff became the first three-time champion, and Brian Wells followed him in 2023. John Duke (wins in 2007 and 2009) is the only other two-time champion. Year - Location - Winner - Team Key: A large part of the APBA world is players competing against one another in a wide variety of draft leagues, where players assemble teams and play against other competitors. Some leagues have lasted over four decades, and FTF (face-to-face) leagues are centered in Philadelphia , Greater New York and Washington, D.C . Baseball Baseball

6028-778: The West League and East League . The World Baseball Classic , organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation , is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated on a one-off basis in 2020. A baseball game is played between two teams, each usually composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in

6165-461: The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Women's baseball is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries. After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games , baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International Olympic Committee meeting . It remained part of the 2008 Games . While the sport's lack of

6302-455: The ball , the bat , and the glove or mitt : Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters. At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher , stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another fielding team player,

6439-408: The catcher , squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement , there is a first baseman positioned several steps to the left of first base,

6576-774: The national sport of the United States , though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports , such as American football . In addition to North America , baseball spread throughout the rest of the Americas and the Asia–Pacific in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is now considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America , the Caribbean , and East Asia , particularly in Japan , South Korea , and Taiwan . In Major League Baseball (MLB),

6713-410: The slider . Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical or horizontal location. If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and taking

6850-423: The wicket for an hour or much more. There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play. Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams, following

6987-446: The (deserved) drubbing we took when we released Football Pro 99 “too early” I decided that I was not going to repeat that mistake with the release of an incomplete “2000” product. Although discontinuing the line today is not a popular decision among Football Pro customers, I am not interested in repeating mistakes of the past. It would be a greater disservice to our customers to compromise the development of Football Pro 2000 and release

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7124-484: The 1920s, it was joined by the Eastern Colored League . Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant. This so-called " dead-ball era " ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with

7261-697: The 1980s and 1990s, computer adaptations of some of these games were produced. APBA enthusiasts have included Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush ; presidential son-in-law David Eisenhower ; New York mayor Ed Koch ; actor Jeff Daniels ; ballplayers Bump Wills , Jim Sundberg and Dave Magadan ; sports agent and Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem ; MLB writer Rick Hummel ; and journalist and memoirist Franz Lidz . For much of its history APBA's main competitor has been Strat-O-Matic . Other rivals include, or have included, Replay Publishing , Statis Pro Baseball , MLB Showdown and, in APBA's early years, Big League Manager. In 2000 APBA redesigned

7398-415: The APBA software. In August 2012, APBA released an updated version of Baseball for Windows 5.5, called APBA Computer Baseball version 5.75. The game came with 3 complete major league seasons(1921, 1961, and 2011). This release was updated again in 2015 with the seasons included changed to 1957, 1976, and 2014. Game players can order additional disks individually for all major league seasons from 1901 through

7535-448: The DH rule, including MLB, Japan's Pacific League , and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations. The Central League in Japan does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH. In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including

7672-684: The DH), five starting pitchers, seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players. The manager , or head coach, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more coaches ; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on

7809-514: The Dodgers. Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso , became the first Hispanic All-Stars . Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster. In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when

7946-729: The Gotham Club. While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey : the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings. With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over

8083-633: The United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912. Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938). The Japanese major leagues have long been considered

8220-930: The United States. While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country, the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League. In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa , Veracruz . The first formal baseball league outside of

8357-485: The action and coaching duties. The game supported keyboard, mouse, and dual joysticks. Your view of the action could be changed to one of nine fixed camera positions. These views, as well as a free-floating camera, also contribute to the game's extraordinary instant-replay system. Using standard VCR-style controls, you can easily view, edit, and save pivotal plays as a highlight film. Computer Gaming World wrote that "a better debut" by Dynamix "would be hard to imagine ...

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8494-571: The actions we took were to help us focus our resources on key products, the decision that affected the future of Football Pro was significantly different. When I authorized the recall of the Football Pro 99 product in January, the information at hand led me to believe that the product had been released too early and that a few more months in development would give us a game we could be proud of. Based on that, we made some positive changes to

8631-486: The average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960. By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters). In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal

8768-534: The award for the best football game on the market in the first attempt ... One of the top product releases of 1992". The magazine called the graphics and rotoscoped animation "very impressive", and liked the league mode and play editor. It named Front Page Sports: Football the 1993 Sports Game of the Year. The second version of the game. Front Page Sports: Football Pro was the first PC football game that allowed gamers to join an online league to compete. Each week during

8905-474: The ball out of the batter's reach . Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called " out " can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by using the ball to get batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes , while fielders can get

9042-440: The base they occupied when the play began, as or after the ball is caught). Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate; a successful effort is a stolen base . A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out . A batter against whom four balls are recorded

9179-413: The baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected. Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball , the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls —the curveball and

9316-429: The batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning . A game is usually composed of nine innings, and

9453-454: The batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the batting order . The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions . Once

9590-450: The bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points ( runs ) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond . A player bats at home plate and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, counterclockwise , from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score

9727-413: The bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy

9864-524: The company acquired Random House's software division in 1989, and the original game developers, Miller Associates, took over publishing and sales in 1990. In 1993, Miller and APBA announced a version of the game for the Windows platform, and it came out that summer. It received a perfect 10 out of 10 score from Electronic Entertainment . Titled APBA Presents Baseball for Windows (with the first two words in small print), Miller continued to update and publish

10001-702: The convention is a tournament played by the attendees. APBA conventions go back as far as June 1973, when more than 300 fans got together at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia for a convention sponsored by the game's independent publication, the APBA Journal. David Eisenhower was among the attendees. The convention tournament was won by Robert Weeks. A record 650 got together in New York City in June 1975, with Barry Koopersmith

10138-473: The difference between a double and a triple or inside-the-park home run . The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare. Some fields—including several in MLB—use artificial turf . Surface variations can have

10275-453: The earlier editions' Ernie Harwell . Complications in game development, as well as errors in the code that had gone long unrepaired, delayed the release. As of November 2011, the current release schedule has not been announced. The current version of the game runs on Windows 7 in 32-bit mode. For 64 bit versions of Windows 7, it requires Virtual Mode software. Some APBA players maintain computers with older versions of Windows solely for running

10412-626: The early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America. The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario , Canada, on June 4, 1838. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright , a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club , led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker Rules , which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by William R. Wheaton of

10549-418: The effect of shortening 2023 regular season games by 24 minutes on average. Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player. In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in

10686-431: The field as well. Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two batter's boxes next to home plate, holding a bat. The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball with the bat. The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to

10823-476: The field to confer with players during a game. Any baseball game involves one or more umpires , who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In MLB, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In

10960-467: The field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches assist in the direction of baserunners, when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners, during pauses in play. In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform to be allowed on

11097-480: The field, by each team constitutes an inning . A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college, Minor League Baseball and, since the 2020 season , Major League Baseball ; and six innings at the Little League level). One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in

11234-410: The field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat as every half-inning begins with the bases empty. An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits

11371-709: The first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain . The 2020 National Champions were the London Mets . Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league , is the Italian league , founded in 1948. In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games . The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes

11508-629: The first modern farm system . A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League . The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania. Many minor league teams disbanded when World War II led to a player shortage. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led

11645-604: The formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help keep the game in the public eye. The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal . In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with

11782-632: The game company. The limits on team winning percentages were dropped after 2002. The 2013 convention was held near the new corporate offices in Georgia; it was unique in that it produced the first back-to-back tournament winner (Steve Skoff). In addition, Brian Wells, a two-time winner himself, was inducted into the APBA Hall of Fame along with his father, Greg Wells (who won the 2013 APBA Football championship, defeating Greg Barath in Canton, Ohio, home of

11919-553: The game software; their final version, 5.5, came out in the summer of 1999. Late in 2000, APBA announced that it had agreed to take over sales and service for the game; Miller Associates disbanded. In February 2007 the APBA Game Company announced that they had acquired the rights to the Baseball for Windows code, and planned an upgrade to be released in the fall of 2008, featuring the voice of Pete Van Wieren , replacing

12056-428: The game was pulled from the shelves. Lingering attachment to the series caused a few hard-core fans to attempt to fix the game on their own, but many turned their attention back to the 95 or 96 games. This version of the game was cancelled following the recall of NFL Football Pro '99 . The announcement was made via a post on the Football Pro '99 user forum at Sierra's web site, where president Dave Grenewetzki explained

12193-609: The game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball". The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book , by John Newbery . Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey , and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants. By

12330-484: The game. This version was the first to feature a new high-resolution graphics engine. The '96 version crashed to the desktop and required a patch during the first release following its release. The simulation engine started to get bogged down and took much longer to simulate games than prior years. The game received a positive review from Computer Game Review . The magazine noted that "it's difficult to conceive how this game could be made better." The fifth version of

12467-504: The gameplay aspects of its franchise. The Front Page Sports series in fact were still using primarily the same graphics and player animations as in the past two releases. The seventh and final version of the Front Page Sports Football franchise was rebranded and rebuilt to compete with the likes of the Madden NFL series that had won over so many football fans. The graphics were completely re-tooled and supported

12604-471: The games' appeal. In December, 1980, Franz Lidz wrote an excellent piece in Sports Illustrated called "APBA IS THE NAME, BASEBALL IS THE GAME, AND OBSESSION IS THE RESULT," which highlighted the devotion felt towards the game by fans and ballplayers alike. APBA continues to have a devoted following, with conventions now held every year under the game company's sponsorship. The highlight of

12741-430: The graphics and audio aspects of the game were inferior to the Madden NFL franchise. To further compound the problems, NFL Football Pro '99 was rushed to release to meet the 1998 holiday rush in a completely unplayable state. Sierra briefly considered patching the game but then decided to abandon the series entirely in January 1999. A recall notice was issued for the game by Sierra Entertainment on January 21, 1999, and

12878-497: The height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park , in use since 1912: the Green Monster is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall. Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in

13015-634: The highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series . The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between

13152-844: The highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States. After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955). Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League , Mexican Pacific League , Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League , and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League . In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues. The English football club, Aston Villa , were

13289-425: The infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well. There are three basic tools of baseball:

13426-410: The infielders may play in , moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ground ball , though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield. Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed, with

13563-413: The management and composition of the team and set them off on a path to create a series of patches to the ’99 product during development of a plan for a full release of Football Pro 2000 later in the year. Late last week, I met with the team leader and the general manager of the division to go over the status of the product. They had done a great job of identifying the issues within the game and outlining

13700-439: The manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder (known as a defensive substitution ). The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection. By gripping and then releasing

13837-566: The mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed . Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression , have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as

13974-407: The midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee. Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception generally occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike

14111-514: The next half-century. The game then went on to spread throughout the Pacific Rim and the Americas, with Americans backing the sport as a way to spread American values. In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area , and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game". A year later, the sport's first governing body,

14248-463: The now-standard 3D look of most other computer games. A stadium announcer was added and the game's interface had a new updated look. The gameplay had been much improved, especially the control of the on-field action. In the past, the control had issues with responsiveness to the point that many had opted to simply call plays and allowed the computer to control the action on the field. Despite the efforts of Sierra Entertainment to improve upon these areas,

14385-459: The number of statistics it offered. The first game did not have a license from the NFL or its players association, meaning that all teams and players offered were fictional, but subsequent versions starting with Front Page Sports Football Pro '95 in 1995 included real NFL players and teams. New versions of the game were introduced each year, with the final one coming out in 1999, however, the 1999 version

14522-550: The other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is Coors Field , home of the Colorado Rockies . Its high altitude—5,282 feet (1,610 m) above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure. Wrigley Field , home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition:

14659-401: The packaging of its baseball game and for a brief time expanded its marketing approach to include hobby shops and sport card dealers, with limited success. In 1984, the game company authorized a computer version of an advanced "master" version of their baseball game. It was published by Random House in 1985, first for PC computers and later for Apple. McGraw-Hill became the publisher after

14796-406: The park. Front Page Sports Football#Front Page Sports Football Pro (1993) Front Page Sports Football (or FPS Football ), first released in 1992, was the first in a series of American football simulations released by Sierra Online . The Front Page Sports series was notable for being one of the first football simulations to include a career mode where players aged and retired, and for

14933-441: The pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner ). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being put out is said to be safe and is on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far

15070-461: The pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players. The number of players on a baseball roster, or squad , varies by league and by the level of organized play. A Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players: Most baseball leagues worldwide have

15207-424: The player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit . A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a single . If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a double ; third base, a triple . If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there

15344-447: The playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines. Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers. A manager with several left-handed batters in

15481-404: The possibility of a draw (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally did not exist ) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss. While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of

15618-462: The preceding decade's average of 3:18. In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014. In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a pitch clock rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches; this had

15755-461: The present, with other special disks also available. Computer Gaming World in 1992 criticized aspects of version 1.5's interface, but praised the sophistication of the MicroManager module's BaseballTalk language for creating custom managers for simulated games. The magazine called APBA "a work in progress, an impressive baseball park under construction ... but for what it delivers today, at

15892-494: The previous week. League leader stats compare all teams and players in the league in a wide range of categories. The game also featured a playbook editor. More than 200 stock plays were included with the game and were divided among standard offensive and defensive formations. Utilizing a point-and-click drawing interface, you can easily alter any of these pre-designed plays or create your own. The on-field/arcade play featured three skill levels that offered full or partial control of

16029-433: The price asked, APBA Baseball would not be my first choice". Computer Gaming World in 1993 approved of the "gorgeous" ballparks, sophisticated drafting and statistical options, and "easy-to-use interface" of APBA Presents: Baseball for Windows . The magazine concluded that the developers should "be congratulated for making a true Windows product", with "realistic representation of baseball". APBA Baseball for Windows

16166-535: The reasoning behind the decision to cancel the title: "On February 22, 1999, Sierra announced a reorganization of its development divisions to more keenly focus on its key products. Four development studios were closed and many development teams will be relocated to Sierra's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. The consolidation included Synergistic, the Renton, WA based developer of Football Pro. Although most of

16303-463: The regular lineup, who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher, may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions. The manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups and

16440-533: The reserve clause was effectively struck down , leading to the free agency system . Significant work stoppages occurred in 1981 and 1994 , the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance. After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became

16577-413: The rubric of MLB. In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for

16714-630: The rules of MLB and Minor League Baseball , is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to center. Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park , which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate. There are no rules at all that address

16851-449: The runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a double play . Three outs in one play, a triple play , is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave

16988-412: The series was the first for Windows 95 . The sixth version of the game also showed many of the same issues as the '97 version that seemed to indicate a rushed release or poor quality control. Several of the new issues in the '98 version included a mix-up in the second-half kickoff if the coin-toss winner chose to kick; the game crashing when switching to certain camera angles; and erroneous features like

17125-459: The team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by

17262-650: The tournament winner. The third and final APBA Journal convention was held in June 1976 in Philadelphia, with Richard Beggs winning the tournament. The tournament structure for those conventions allowed participants to construct a team from all the cards they owned. (The Journal continued to be published under different management until 2002, but never held another convention.) Conventions resumed in Lancaster in July 1995 under game company sponsorship. The tournament

17399-599: The two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall. The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball . The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis , was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League ; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of

17536-516: The use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004. In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron , as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs. Despite having been called "America's national pastime", baseball is well-established in several other countries. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association , featured teams from both Canada and

17673-562: The wrong game twice. Additional announcements will be made for resolving outstanding return and reparation issues for members of the Football Pro Home Team by Thursday, March 4. Football Pro 99 was recalled on January 21, 1999, and the Home Team was established for customers that chose to keep their version of the product. All Home Team members will be given an opportunity to receive the refunds and reparations offered as

17810-423: The wrong type of turf in some of the stadiums. Moreover, Sierra Entertainment failed to include a player-ratings editor within the initial release. Three major patches were released during the first month of the game. The '98 version did have a completely revamped user interface that was a significant improvement over prior years. Actual NFL player photos were introduced in the '98 version. In addition, arcade play

17947-572: Was a finalist for Computer Gaming World ' s Sports Game of the Year award, losing to Front Page Sports Football Pro . The editors wrote that despite new graphics "it is still the statistical model and replay accuracy of this new game, like its venerable ancestor, that command's everyone's attention". References to APBA have appeared in many novels and videos. Many APBA fans see similarity in Robert Coover's novel The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. , which follows

18084-529: Was an average game of 2:45. By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete. The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play, with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently. Other leagues have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from

18221-500: Was available in both diskette and CD-ROM , however, there was a difference in the two versions. The diskette version includes 3,000 stock plays while the CD-ROM version comes with 10,000. There was also a diskette upgrade over the 1993 version of the game, as well as the full version. New and updated features included: In 1996, Computer Gaming World magazine named it the 11th best computer game of all-time. The fourth version of

18358-559: Was limited to stock teams that finished with percentages between .480 and .515. Chris Dineen's 1982 Expos prevailed. The June 1998 tournament, held in nearby Millersville , was limited to teams with percentages below .550. Ten-year-old Devin Flawd won, using the 1995 Mariners. Conventions have been held annually beginning in 2001 (aside from 2020, due to restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic). All except 2003 were sponsored by

18495-525: Was now available to play via multiplayer over the Internet. Audio play-by-play was also added, although it was considered lackluster. Non- NFL stadiums and cities were now available as well and a more precise weather system was also included in the new release. Teams could also create and customize their own schedules. The '98 version also had significant improvements in Internet multiplayer play in regards to stability and matchmaking. Despite these additions,

18632-464: Was recalled. A 2000 version was also planned, however it was cancelled shortly after the 1999 version recall. In October 2009 Cyanide , the French studio behind such games as the sport management sim Pro Cycling Manager and the adaptation of Blood Bowl , announced a closed beta of a new online version of Front Page Sports Football. The first version of the game, titled Front Page Sports Football ,

18769-618: Was released in 1992 for DOS on the personal computer . This was game publisher Dynamix 's first sports simulation game. The game divides itself into three separate, but directly connected, sections: on-field action, coaching playbook, and team management. The game allows players to compete against the computer or head to head against another player and features exhibition, single season, or career/league play. Seasons can be designed in one of five league sizes divided into one or two conferences with up to three divisions each. Seasons culminate with divisional championships, postseason playoffs, and

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