Backyard Baseball 2001
Encyclopedia
Backyard Baseball 2001 is a sports video game released by Humongous Entertainment in 2000. It is the second game in the Backyard Baseball
series and the first to include pro kids, such as Alex Rodriguez
, Mo Vaughn
, Ken Griffey Jr., Jason Giambi
, and many others. The game is targeted at young children. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. was on the cover.
The stats are shown on a scale from 1 to 10, and there are four stats:
different locations to play. Easy mode (Easy Streets), Medium Mode (Mediumville), or Hard Mode (Toughy Town). A location must have a population of at least one coach to play there. When a coach has found a player they wish to challenge, the can call them through the telephone and talk to them through pre-written chat dialogues. If they decide they wish to play with each other, they pick the location, field, team, and players. If a player has a slower network connection then another player, the game speed will be slowed down to match the slowest of the players. Another thing to note is that the location of the game does not only determine the skill of the coaches, but also the rules of the game. Easy Mode: 3 innings, pitch spot on, errors off. Mediumville: 6 innings, errors on, pitch locator on. Toughy Town: 9 innings, errors on, pitch locator on, though if both players agree on turning the pitch locator off, they may do so.
During season play, each Major League player will appear in games on their own team, at their own position, if not already owned by your team.
Pitching Power-ups ("Crazy Pitches") are awarded on a strikeout of an opposing player.
Batting Power-ups are awarded either from getting a hit off of a "crazy pitch" on offense, or by turning a double or triple play on defense.
Backyard Baseball
Backyard Baseball is a series of children's games for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, iOS, and the PC. It is the original game in the Backyard Sports series. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It is one of...
series and the first to include pro kids, such as Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.Rodriguez is considered one of the best...
, Mo Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Maurice Samuel 'Mo' Vaughn , nicknamed "The Hit Dog", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played from 1991 to 2003...
, Ken Griffey Jr., Jason Giambi
Jason Giambi
Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...
, and many others. The game is targeted at young children. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. was on the cover.
Gameplay
The game consists of two types of game modes: The Pickup game, where the player picks the field, the team, and takes turn picking players with the computer. When everything is set, a single match is played. The stats of the players during a single game does not affect their stats for a season. For the season mode, the player picks a team, home field, and all their players and then plays through a 14 game season, complete with a Backyard Playoffs and a Backyard World Series. The game is a single mouse played game that uses a click for swinging, throwing, and pitching. For the virtual players, each player has his own player bio with all of that player's info and personality. The bio also includes that players abilities and stats.The stats are shown on a scale from 1 to 10, and there are four stats:
- Pitching: Shows the players ability with pitching stamina, pitching speed, and control.
- Batting: Shows the players skill with batting contact, and swinging power.
- Defense: Shows the players skill at fielding/catching a ball and their throwing ability.
- Running: Shows the players speed on the base paths and on the field. A players running highly affects the players stamina.
Online Play
A third type of play is also available, the online play. Backyard Baseball 2001 and Backyard Football are the only two games ever released by Humongous Entertainment and Humongous Inc. to offer online play. The online play option is shown in the middle of the treehouse, however is only available for Windows users, at that time Humongous did not support Macintosh Network systems. To create a new coach, a player must register a coach name at the Junior Sports Network Site (www.jrsn.com). However, this site has been discontinued, so as of today new coaches may not be entered. When a coach name has been created, Humongous will send the coach a password through email within 48 hours. Then, the player may access its coach through online play. In online play, the coach has many options and things to do. It may read the Humongous Sports Newspaper for coach rankings, game stats/play by play, and even news about the Jr. Sports Neighborhood. They may also vote in online polls on various subjects. The third thing they may do is find another online player and play them in a single game. There are threedifferent locations to play. Easy mode (Easy Streets), Medium Mode (Mediumville), or Hard Mode (Toughy Town). A location must have a population of at least one coach to play there. When a coach has found a player they wish to challenge, the can call them through the telephone and talk to them through pre-written chat dialogues. If they decide they wish to play with each other, they pick the location, field, team, and players. If a player has a slower network connection then another player, the game speed will be slowed down to match the slowest of the players. Another thing to note is that the location of the game does not only determine the skill of the coaches, but also the rules of the game. Easy Mode: 3 innings, pitch spot on, errors off. Mediumville: 6 innings, errors on, pitch locator on. Toughy Town: 9 innings, errors on, pitch locator on, though if both players agree on turning the pitch locator off, they may do so.
Chemistry
The players also can have what is called "good days and bad days." The player will lose some of their skill points on their bio when having a bad day, and gain points when having a good day. During gameplay, the pitcher or the batter will have his/her bio on the screen, and the color of their background will indicate the type of day they are having (e.g. blue for bad, green for average, orange for good). Players can have good days based on their teammates, the field they are playing on, their uniform number/color, and if it is their birthday. The greatest known chemistry effect on a player due to their uniform color is Maria Luna with a pink uniform. When she is given a pink uniform, her stats are improved immensely.Major League players
Backyard Baseball 2001 was the first installment of the Backyard Baseball series to include real major league players in the game. The major league players are depicted as kids, of a similar age to the other backyard kids. There are 31 major league players, one from each team and two from the Cincinnati Reds. The following major league players are included in the game:- Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr., 3B
- Boston Red Sox: Nomar GarciaparraNomar GarciaparraAnthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...
, SS - New York Yankees: Derek JeterDerek JeterDerek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
, SS - Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Jose CansecoJosé CansecoJosé Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...
, DH - Toronto Blue Jays: Raul MondesiRaúl MondesíRaúl Ramón Mondesí Avelino is a former Major League Baseball player and the current mayor of San Cristóbal Province in the Dominican Republic. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1994 as a right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers...
, OF
- Chicago White Sox: Frank Thomas, 1B
- Cleveland Indians: Kenny LoftonKenny LoftonKenneth Lofton is a former Major League Baseball outfielder known for his great speed on the base paths as well as in the field, award-winning defensive play , timely hitting, and playful spirit. He batted and threw left-handed...
, OF - Detroit Tigers: Juan Gonzalez, OF
- Kansas City Royals: Carlos BeltranCarlos BeltránCarlos Iván Beltrán is a Major League Baseball outfielder.-Early life:In his youth, Beltrán excelled in many sports, with volleyball and baseball being his favorites. At his father's urging, he gave up volleyball to concentrate on baseball when he was seventeen...
, OF - Minnesota Twins: Marty CordovaMarty CordovaMartin Keevin "Marty" Cordova [cor-DOH-vuh] , is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. He played for the Minnesota Twins , Toronto Blue Jays , Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles...
, OF
- Anaheim Angels: Mo VaughnMo VaughnMaurice Samuel 'Mo' Vaughn , nicknamed "The Hit Dog", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played from 1991 to 2003...
, 1B - Oakland Athletics: Jason GiambiJason GiambiJason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...
, 1B - Texas Rangers: Ivan RodriguezIván RodríguezIván Rodríguez Torres , nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Major League Baseball catcher...
, C - Seattle Mariners: Alex RodriguezAlex RodriguezAlexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.Rodriguez is considered one of the best...
, SS
- Atlanta Braves: Chipper JonesChipper JonesLarry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. is a Major League baseball player for the National League's Atlanta Braves. Although initially a shortstop, he has spent most of his career as the starting third baseman for the Braves...
, 3B - Florida Marlins: Alex Gonzalez, SS
- Montreal Expos: Vladimir GuerreroVladimir GuerreroVladimir Alvino Guerrero is a free agent Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter.In , he was voted the American League MVP...
, OF - New York Mets: Mike PiazzaMike PiazzaMichael Joseph "Mike" Piazza ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics....
, C - Philadelphia Phillies: Curt SchillingCurt SchillingCurtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
, P
- Chicago Cubs: Sammy SosaSammy SosaSamuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
, OF - Cincinnati Reds: Ken Griffey Jr., OF; Barry LarkinBarry LarkinBarry Louis Larkin is a retired Major League Baseball player. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team...
, SS - Houston Astros: Jeff BagwellJeff BagwellJeffrey Robert Bagwell , is a former American professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire fifteen-year Major League Baseball career as a first baseman for the Houston Astros and was a four-time All-Star...
, 1B - Milwaukee Brewers: Jeromy BurnitzJeromy BurnitzJeromy Neal Burnitz is a former baseball player who was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the New York Mets , Cleveland Indians , Milwaukee Brewers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Colorado Rockies , Chicago Cubs , and Pittsburgh Pirates .Burnitz played his...
, OF - Pittsburgh Pirates: Jason KendallJason KendallJason Daniel Kendall is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He is the son of former catcher Fred Kendall, who played in the majors from 1969–1980.-High school:...
, C - St. Louis Cardinals: Mark McGwireMark McGwireMark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
, 1B
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Randy JohnsonRandy JohnsonRandall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....
, SP - Colorado Rockies: Larry WalkerLarry WalkerLarry Kenneth Robert Walker is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 2005, Walker played for the Montreal Expos , Colorado Rockies , and St. Louis Cardinals...
, OF - Los Angeles Dodgers: Shawn GreenShawn GreenShawn David Green is a former Major League Baseball player.Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star...
, OF - San Diego Padres: Tony GwynnTony GwynnAnthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
, OF - San Francisco Giants: Barry BondsBarry BondsBarry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
, OF
During season play, each Major League player will appear in games on their own team, at their own position, if not already owned by your team.
Power-Ups
The following are power-ups used throughout the game.Pitching Power-ups ("Crazy Pitches") are awarded on a strikeout of an opposing player.
- Big Freeze: Ball is thrown normally but suddenly "freezes" just before getting to the plate
- Corkscrew: Ball moves in a spiral motion through the air
- Crazyball: Ball "laughs" and moves around randomly in mid air
- Elevator: Ball is thrown down along the ground, and suddenly pops up to the throwing target
- Fireball: Ball zooms past the batter, flaming along the way. Arguably the most powerful pitch, as it is nearly impossible to react to and hit
- Slo-mo: Ball appears to be a normal Slowball pitch, but slows down tremendously when nearing the plate
- SpitballSpitballA spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of saliva, petroleum jelly, or some other foreign substance....
: Ball drips with saliva and moves around slightly in the air - Zigzag: Ball moves in a horizontal zigzag motion through the air
- More Juice: When activated, completely fills the current pitchers "Juice" meter, restoring them to full pitching power
Batting Power-ups are awarded either from getting a hit off of a "crazy pitch" on offense, or by turning a double or triple play on defense.
- Crazy Bunt: Allows the player using it to bunt; When the ball is actually bunted, it goes in an unpredictable direction, sometimes resulting in a foul ball. (When a foul ball occurs, the power-up usually stays in effect)
- Under Grounder: When the player hits the ball, it quickly goes under ground, stays there for a short while, and then pops right back up in a different spot on the field. Can easily result in a ground rule double on fields with short outfield fences.
- "Screamin'" Line Drive: When the batter hits the ball, the ball tends to "scream", hence the title. It goes exceedingly fast, and, at times, will go over the wall for a home run.
- Aluminum Power: When the batter hits the ball, it makes a sound as if it were screaming with a muffled effect to it. This is considered the "ultimate" power-up in batting. A home run is guaranteed when the batter makes contact with the ball. Also, the batter will easily know that the Aluminum Power power-up because the bat will change from pine to gray. (Backyard Baseball players use only wooden bats; An aluminum bat tends to go farther, that's why the power-up, "Aluminum Power" is the home run hitter.)