Backyard Baseball facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Backyard Baseball
The current Backyard Baseball logo.
Genres	Sports
Developers	Humongous Entertainment
Publishers	Humongous Entertainment Infogrames Atari The Evergreen Group
Platforms	Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Macintosh
First release	Backyard Baseball October 10, 1997
Latest release	Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015

Backyard Baseball is a fun series of baseball video games made for kids! It was created by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. The very first game came out in October 1997 for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows computers.

Over the years, Backyard Baseball games have also been released on many other game systems. These include the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and iOS devices. It's part of a bigger group of games called the Backyard Sports series. Since 1997, there have been eleven different Backyard Baseball games! Some popular titles are Backyard Baseball, Backyard Baseball 2001-2010, and Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers.

Playing Backyard Baseball

In Backyard Baseball, you get to be the team manager! You pick players to create your own baseball team. Then, you play against other teams.

The first game let you choose from 30 different neighborhood kids. Later, the games became super popular because they added "Pro players as kids." This meant you could play with famous real-life baseball stars, but they looked like kids in the game! Their skills and looks changed over time too.

Some of the professional players you could find in the game included Chipper Jones, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Albert Pujols, Nomar Garciaparra, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds. As you played more, you could even unlock other famous players like Randy Johnson, Derek Jeter, and Mike Piazza.

Game Modes

You can play Backyard Baseball in different ways. You might play a single game just for fun, or practice your hitting in Batting Practice. You could also watch a game in Spectator mode. Many games let you play a full season with 14, 16, or even 32 games. After the season, you'd enter the "Backyard Baseball League" playoffs. This is just like real baseball playoffs, leading up to the "Backyard Baseball World Series"!

Famous Players in the Game

In Backyard Baseball 2001, 31 real-life Major League Baseball (MLB) pro players joined the Backyard kids. Many of these were All-Stars in 1999. Some of the amazing Hall of Fame players you could choose were Barry Larkin, Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Ivan Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson. Many of these players, like Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez, appeared in several Backyard Baseball games.

Awesome Power-Ups

Backyard Baseball games have cool special moves called "power-ups." These can help you hit better or pitch better!

In the first Backyard Baseball game, you got batting power-ups when you hit a ball that the computer pitched using a "crazy pitch." Starting with Backyard Baseball 2001, you also got power-ups for hitting off a "crazy pitch" or for making a double play or triple play on defense.

Pitching power-ups, also called "crazy pitches," appear often when you strike out an opponent. These special pitches use a lot of your pitcher's energy. Sometimes, striking out a batter also gives you "More Juice," which fully recharges your pitcher's energy!

Backyard Baseball 2001 Power-Ups

Batting Power-Ups

• Aluminum Power: This is a super valuable power-up! You use an aluminum bat to hit the ball. This makes it much easier to hit a home run.
• Screaming Line Drive: Your batter hits a super fast line drive that zooms to the wall. This lets you run more bases, or even all of them!
• Under Grounder: You hit a ground ball that goes into the ground! It then pops up somewhere else in the outfield, making it hard for fielders to catch.
• Crazy Bunt: When you use this, the ball rolls around the field in a crazy, unpredictable way. Fielders will have a tough time trying to grab it!

Pitching Power-Ups

• Big Freeze: The ball is thrown normally, but then it suddenly stops right before it reaches the strike zone. This often tricks the batter into swinging too early!
• Elevator: The ball is thrown low, close to the ground. Then, at the last second, it suddenly jumps high into the air!
• Crazyball: This ball "laughs" as it's thrown and moves in random directions in the air.
• Corkscrew: The ball spins in a spiral motion as it flies through the air.
• Zigzag: The ball moves in a zig-zag pattern as it travels to the plate.
• Slomo: This pitch moves very slowly through the air. You need perfect timing to hit it!
• Spitball: The ball is covered with saliva and jerks around in the air.
• Fireball: One of the strongest pitches! The ball blazes past the batter in a ball of fire at super high speed. It uses a lot of your pitcher's energy.

Backyard Baseball 2005 Power-Ups

Batting Power-Ups

• Sonic Boom: Your hit creates a super-powerful shockwave that knocks down opposing fielders!
• Rubber Bat: Your batter hits a grounder that bounces really high into the air. This gives you time to reach a base before anyone can catch it.
• Butter Fingers: You splatter the opposing fielders with butter! They'll have a slippery, hard time trying to field your hit.
• Jumping Bean Bunt: This tricky power-up makes the ball jump all over the place after you bunt it!
• Lightning Bat: When you connect with the ball, you produce amazing power!
• Geyser Hit: The batter makes the ball burrow deep underground. Then, it suddenly pops up somewhere in the outfield!
• Piñata Bat: When you hit the ball, it multiplies into dozens of bouncing baseballs! This drives fielders crazy.
• Aluminum Bat: This power-up gives you automatic home runs that fly incredibly far!

Pitching Power-Ups

• The Fang: The Fang looks like a normal curve-ball, but it suddenly drops hard into the dirt at the last second.
• Freezer: The Freezer stops just before reaching the strike zone, pauses, and then continues.
• Slomo: This ball starts moving at super slow speed just before it reaches the strike zone.
• Juice Box: The Juice Box refills your pitcher's Pitch Juice Box, giving them more energy.
• Rainbow Pop-up: When this pitch is hit, the ball goes straight up into the air for an easy out.
• Crazy Pitch: The Crazy Pitch is so wild that even the pitcher doesn't know where it will go!
• Splitball: This pitch splits into two separate curve-balls. One is a fake, unhittable baseball!
• Fireball: The Fireball is so fast it can burn a hole in your catcher's glove!

Game Versions Over Time

Here's a look at the different Backyard Baseball games that have been released:

Who Owns the Game Now?

In 2013, a company called The Evergreen Group bought the rights to Backyard Baseball from Atari.

Game's Impact

One of the most famous characters from the game is Pablo Sanchez. He's a fictional kid player and many fans think he's one of the strongest video game characters ever! The game is also known for having a good mix of different characters, including boys and girls, and kids from different backgrounds.