MicroLeague Baseball

Overview

The original MicroLeague Baseball came out in 1984. It was a great game for those of us that wanted to manage the games, rather than "play" them in action mode status. It spawned several sequels through the early 1990's but disappeared from the scene by mid-decade.

Teams

The original MicroLeague Baseball shipped with 25 usable teams, listed below. The selection of teams spanned baseball history, although with an emphasis on what at the time was more recent history. Most of the teams were either league winners, or hypothetical "greats" teams compiling the best years of superstars. Whimsically, the last-place 1955 Washington Senators (53 wins vs. 101 losses) were also included. This squad is perhaps most notable for the presence of future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. Killebrew, who was only 19 years old at the time, played poorly in his brief 38-game stint.

Gameplay

As mentioned, MicroLeague Baseball was a statistical simulation, rather than an arcade-style game. To begin, the user would choose the starting pitchers and lineup for each team. At any point during the game, the user could return to these screens to "warm up" pitchers in the bullpen, or to make substitutions.

During a plate appearance managing the offense, users would have the option to swing away or to attempt to bunt for a hit. If there were runners on base, there would be the option to attempt a hit-and-run play, a stolen base, or a sacrifice bunt. If swinging away with runners on base, users could specify whether they wanted the baserunners to be cautious or aggressive.

During a plate appearance managing the defense, users could call for their pitcher to throw a fastball, curveball, slider, or changeup. They could also play the "corners in"; play the entire infield in; or intentionally walk the batter. If a stolen base attempt was suspected, they could call for a pitchout to increase the chance of catching the runner.

At random intervals, players could incur injuries. Similarly, players -- or even managers -- could be ejected after arguing with umpires. Games could also be delayed due to rain or power outages (the user would have to press a key to continue).

Add-Ons

MicroLeague Baseball sold several additions to the core game.

Season-by-Season Disks

These disks included 25-man rosters for every Major League Baseball team in the most recent season.

Franchise History Disks

These disks included 10 rosters from the history of a specific franchise.

World Series Disks

These disks included rosters for all teams that participated in the World Series in a given decade.

All-Star Rosters

This disk included a selection of All-Star Team rosters throughout baseball history.

Box Score/Stat Compiler Disk

Although the core game would display a boxscore at the end of each game, it would not save this information. This disk allowed owners to save and compile statistics across multiple games or seasons.

General Manager/Owner Disk

This disk allowed users to trade players between existing teams, or to input and play with their own teams and players.

Team Roster/Security Disk

Due to the limitations of computers at the time, this disk was necessary for users to make backup copies of teams that they had created with the General Manager/Owner Disk.