During season mode, you can go into a new feature called “Play by play” mode and can actually control what each player does on the field. You can click a button to bunt, or to swing away, or to ground to the right side to the move the runner over, and as a pitcher you can click what pitch to throw and where to throw it, but I found this to be boring and tedious. I’d rather just simulate the game and have the computer do the calls for me. There is a new screen that sits atop the play by play mode where you can see players on a baseball diamond. There are animations for both the pitcher when he throws the ball and the batter when he swings. Sometimes my players hit what looked to be moon shot home runs, and they ended up just flying out, and other times there were fly balls that looked to be outs, that went over the wall for home runs. There were times where a player would hit a rocket line drive down the first base line where they would be out, and other times the exact same animation would go for a triple. This is frustrating because there is nothing to determine what has actually happened until you read the text that tells you what happened.
The player ratings are also laughable, as Curt Schilling is a 74, Josh Beckett is an 81, and Matt Clement is ranked higher then Schilling at 75. Clement missed 90 percent of the year last year! It’s unreal that Clement is ranked higher then Schilling and Beckett is ranked so low as well. Manny Ramirez is a slower runner then Big Papi, and Coco Crisp is a slower runner then J.D. Drew…Contract or trade negotiations are also painful, as the computer will offer you a trade almost every day, for one of your good players, for six or seven of their below average players. It’s like listening to sports talk radio, when one guy wants to trade a player hitting .200 and a pitcher with an E.R.A. of over 6 for a guy like Derek Lee. It’s just not going to happen. Yet when you present a trade that benefits both sides, the computer balks….
The only saving grace is that you can play multiple seasons, to try to build up your dynasty and be the ultimate Mogul, but with all these glaring flaws, who would want too? Stay away from this game if you’re new to the series, and try to find yourself a copy of Front Page Sports Baseball or even High Heat Baseball. I would recommend High Heat Baseball 2002 for your PC baseball simulation needs. Not only was the simulation aspect remarkable, but you could actually play the game as well. You have the best of both worlds. Baseball Mogul has all the tools to be great, but every year gets buried farther and farther in the minors. - Andrew Arvedon
