Season Ticket Baseball

Rating:
Summary: Simply- The Grand Slam!
Review: Don't be fooled by all the Baseball Mogul propoganda- this is simply the finest baseball management sim available. STB does things that Baseball Mogul only dreams about doing- intelligent trade AI, in-depth news, realistic stats, the ability to import historical teams from an Excel database, a player Hall of Fame, customizable stadiums, player editor, actual team coaches, scouts and minor league managers THAT actually affect the development of prospects... and a whole lot more.

This is the GRAND SLAM of baseball management sims- period.

Rating:
Summary: The best Baseball GM Sim I've ever played
Review: First, be aware that this is not a baseball sim like High Heat or MLB 2001. In fact, this game has no graphics, music, or sound whatsoever.

So what is it then? Simply put, this is a no-frills, text-driven, numbers-crunching game that allows you play General Manager: drafting players, signing free agents, and making trades as you attempt to build your team into a contender.

The depth and amount of control you're afforded is outstanding. Thanks to a handy (free) baseball database that you can download from the Internet, you're given access every MLB player and team from 1901 to 2000. Want to manage the 1927 Yankees? A few mouse clicks and you can do just that. Want to see if you can turn around the hapless '62 Mets? Presto. The entire 1962 major league setup is recreated for you, Marv Throneberry and all.

You can choose to sim through whole seasons or play individual games. If you decide to "play" rather than sim, you'll be treated to a text-driven, Strat-o-matic style game with no bells and whistles. Individual box scores of all games (whether played or simmed) can be printed out or exported to HTML.

Want more? In addition to box scores, news articles are auto-generated that can be read and exported to HTML ("Pedro Martinez Throws 2 Hitter" "Sammy Sosa Named Player of the Week"). Additionally, MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year awards are given out after every season. There's even a Hall of Fame!

Seasons can be played in repeat or career mode. In repeat mode, the players always stay the same. In career mode, players age; their abilities fade and they retire. Young players will blossom and develop over time. Best of all, this is the first game I've seen that remembers all statistics for every season you play. Click on a player's stats and you'll see his career numbers broken down season by season, team by team, just like on the back of a baseball card.

The statistical accuracy for this game is the best I've seen since Tony LaRussa Baseball 2. It's not perfect: big name stars sometimes underperform while other lesser known players occasionally overperform. But for the most part the stats are remarkably accurate.

Note that this game, unlike Tony LaRussa 2, does not allow you to edit player names and statistics directly. However, Season Ticket Baseball does ship with a third party (unsupported) player editor that allows you to do just that.

I could go on and on about how great the GM features are. You get to make trades, sign free agents, release players or send them packing to the minors, draft prospects, and even sign coaches. Thanks to the intelligent computer AI, wheeling and dealing is very realistic and often challenging.

So with all that's good, is there anything bad? Well, for one thing, if you buy this game, make sure you download the latest patch. Reportedly, out-of-the-box this game crashes a lot. However, since I installed the patch right away, I've had no problems.

Lastly, (and this is MOST IMPORTANT) the in-game text is often small, faint, and very hard to see. Remember, this game is totally text-driven so there are no graphics to tell you what's going on. If you have eyesight problems you may have difficulties playing this game. Make sure your monitor is at least 17 or 19 inches for the best results.

Overall, however, this is a great baseball simulation and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Best Baseball SIM Ever!
Review: For hardcore simulation fans who also love Americas favorite pastime, Season Ticket Baseball is a must have. The game takes away the arcade game play that other titles bring to the table and replaces it with the day to day realism that a manager faces in the big leagues.

The game career mode is an endless amount of fun as you start your franchise by first picking a city, then using your yearly payroll to first hire your staff. Including a hitting coach, pitching coach and manager. But your staff also doesn't stop there. The minors are also a big part of your organization so you will also have to hire managers for your AAA, AA and A teams as well as a head scout. What's so great about the game is you just can't pick a manager. You have to actually offer a contract based on a yearly salary and length of service of your choice. You must choose wisely because other teams can be making offers to the same guys. The list of people to choose from is endless, each with their own characteristics that will effect your franchise and amount of success. Once you have your staff in place its time to draft your team for its first year of establishment. (If you don't want to draft you can use a default team or let the computer draft for you.) Players will have a starting salary and a contract length that you will have to agree too if you sign them. Once your team is ready it's time to start the season. As the manager you will sit on the bench and get to see what it's like to be a big league manager. Your decisions besides making the starting lineup and pitching rotation, will be positioning the defense as well as deciding when to steal, bunt, hit and run or even weather you want you pitcher to go right at a guy or pitch around him. Bottom line is you're in control for the complete game. (You may also simulate the game if you don't have the patience to micro manage it.)

What makes the game even better is once the day is over, you go from the bench to the office running the day to day operations as the GM. You'll have to deal with contract negotiations, trades and even the financials by setting ticket prices.

Bottom line is I can sit here and talk about it forever, which is actually what my buddies and me find us doing. The only aspect that might turn a couple of people off is the fact that real player's names are not used. However, I find this a plus because it gives it a lasting appeal.

Rating:
Summary: Better than APBA or Baseball Mogul
Review: good text driven game. solid computer intelligence. Career stats, drafts, free agents. The whole speal. Worth the $... I understand 2003 is coming soon. Not sure what the enhancements are except for a block trading feature.

Rating:
Summary: Are you happy now?
Review: I'm addicted. My marriage is in shambles. My kids hate me. I don't think my dog's been outside for a week. But I can put together four #1 starters, an airtight 'pen, a god closer, a lineup full of all-stars, 105+ wins a season, perennial world champions, a payroll under 60 mil, and a large profit to blow on next year's free agents. So there.

Rating:
Summary: Best baseball sim in a long time
Review: If you love baseball stats, and taking a managerial/owner viewpoint to the game, pick this up. You are the owner of a team, you set ticket prices, you design your stadium (or pick from the real ones), draft players, hire coaches and go. You can start from scratch or pick up a default team and go. Also, their is a feature that will allow you to download (for free!!!) all the teams from 1901 to 2000! Want to replay the 1973 season? Just download it and go! The league structure is customizeable, you can get rid of the DH, have one, two, or three divisions, and adjust the playoff format to your taste. Your team is the major league club along with AAA, AA, A players. Players can be injured, traded, signed as free agents, and released. You negotiate contracts with players and coaches as well as trades with your opponents. Career stats for each player are tracked and as they retire draft young stars! On the field play is not for the casual fan who wants to swing the bat, here you're managing the game, calling pitchouts, sending the runners, positioning the fielders, etc. Some might be disappointed with the game graphics but they should realize this is more a strategy game than one for the eye. But if indepth strategy is what you're looking for Season Ticket Baseball delivers!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of wonkish fun!
Review: If you're a stats junkie--a "wonk", so to speak--then you want this game. Forget arcade-like baseball games and their cartoonish home runs and ridiculous "extras", like taunting batters, strutting after scoring a run, etc., Season Ticket is just plain baseball. Controlling the financial end of a team is loads of fun, as is trying to arrange trades with the surprisingly astute computer-controlled teams. Just like real baseball, your team will have streaks and slumps, your players will outperform their estimated abilities or fail to meet their potentials, errors will be made on the field and in the front office, and careers will be made and ended.
The only drawbacks are these: 1. The play-by-play is not exactly fresh and stimulating. 2. There are some grammatical errors and misspellings in the text-based play-by-play, which annoys people who are picky about that stuff(like me). 3. If you don't like the way the computer plays, you can take over other teams (i.e., cheat) and make them do what you want (e.g., arrange a trade the computer wouldn't approve, etc.). 4. There is some kind of glitch that leads to uncanny coincidences sometimes. For instance, I lost a game because the opposing (computer) team hit 9 consecutive doubles off my pitchers. I have never heard of or seen this happening in 22 years of watching "real" baseball. Other "coincidental" misfortunes can get to be irksome, too, like a string of injuries to your best players, etc. 5. Not being able to aim the pitches or swing the bats yourself, like you would in an arcade game, can get frustrating. Your team will lose 8 or 9 games in a row, and there's nothing you can do but grin and bear it. You can't snap the team out of a slump. Of course, that's just like a real general manager.
The fun of running a team, either to the top or into the ground, more than balances out the drawbacks in Season Ticket Baseball. Furthermore, having a sense of playing the game within the larger context of a long-term, true-to-life league is far more fulfilling than the artificiality of any arcade title. There are no 10 homer games, no 200 RBI seasons. Players will be re-signed or traded based on their long-term, accurate stats, which mirror those a real player might be expected to put up. They'll retire and maybe make the Hall of Fame. Then, it's time to scout the new rookies...
All in all, it's a great game to buy, and more than a little fun to play.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of wonkish fun!
Review: If you're a stats junkie--a "wonk", so to speak--then you want this game. Forget arcade-like baseball games and their cartoonish home runs and ridiculous "extras", like taunting batters, strutting after scoring a run, etc., Season Ticket is just plain baseball. Controlling the financial end of a team is loads of fun, as is trying to arrange trades with the surprisingly astute computer-controlled teams. Just like real baseball, your team will have streaks and slumps, your players will outperform their estimated abilities or fail to meet their potentials, errors will be made on the field and in the front office, and careers will be made and ended.
The only drawbacks are these: 1. The play-by-play is not exactly fresh and stimulating. 2. There are some grammatical errors and misspellings in the text-based play-by-play, which annoys people who are picky about that stuff(like me). 3. If you don't like the way the computer plays, you can take over other teams (i.e., cheat) and make them do what you want (e.g., arrange a trade the computer wouldn't approve, etc.). 4. There is some kind of glitch that leads to uncanny coincidences sometimes. For instance, I lost a game because the opposing (computer) team hit 9 consecutive doubles off my pitchers. I have never heard of or seen this happening in 22 years of watching "real" baseball. Other "coincidental" misfortunes can get to be irksome, too, like a string of injuries to your best players, etc. 5. Not being able to aim the pitches or swing the bats yourself, like you would in an arcade game, can get frustrating. Your team will lose 8 or 9 games in a row, and there's nothing you can do but grin and bear it. You can't snap the team out of a slump. Of course, that's just like a real general manager.
The fun of running a team, either to the top or into the ground, more than balances out the drawbacks in Season Ticket Baseball. Furthermore, having a sense of playing the game within the larger context of a long-term, true-to-life league is far more fulfilling than the artificiality of any arcade title. There are no 10 homer games, no 200 RBI seasons. Players will be re-signed or traded based on their long-term, accurate stats, which mirror those a real player might be expected to put up. They'll retire and maybe make the Hall of Fame. Then, it's time to scout the new rookies...
All in all, it's a great game to buy, and more than a little fun to play.

Rating:
Summary: A Mostly Failed Attempt To Copy Baseball Mogul
Review: The cover of this box looks like you are buying the sequel Baseball Mogul -- a game originally published by WizardWorks over three years ago. Don't be fooled because this is an entirely different game. Baseball Mogul is an accurate baseball simulation with all the real players and very smart computer AI. By contrast, Season Ticket Baseball is a buggier version of the same concept.

The HTML output is a nice feature if you want to run leagues but it too can be tricky to get it working right. And the engine for generating new minor leaguers each year clearly needs much more work. If you are really interested in league play you should visit baseballmogul.com and play head-to-head against other real human players.

Its really nice to see people copying Baseball Mogul and since I don't know how to program I must say this is a good effort. But if you have a choice buy Baseball Mogul instead.

Rating:
Summary: Game kicks (...)!
Review: The previous reviews say it all really, but it is nice to see a game that relies on depth and gameplay instead of graphics.