I’ve been a fan of baseball computer simulation games for over thirty years. I’m more into strategy and managing, so I’m drawn to those systems. Today, I’m going to give you an overview of the best I’ve come across, Baseball Mogul.
My favorite has been Old Time Baseball by Stormfront Studio, the same company that developed Tony LaRussa Baseball. Old Time has all the teams from the beginning of baseball history through 1981, and some beautiful renditions of a number of the old ballparks. And you can choose between Mel Allen and Curt Gowdy as your announcer.
Recently, my brother-in-law’s brother (got that?) introduced me to Baseball Mogul. It is a very sophisticated simulation that lets you function as general manager of your team, including drafts, trades, contracts, and other team management tasks. I’m not interested in being a mogul, just a manager, and that’s an option.
Baseball Mogul includes the full rosters of all teams from 1901 to the present. You can pick any of those seasons, select your team, and play through the full 162-game schedule, plus playoffs and World Series. You can play each game in play-by-play mode as manager, or you can have the computer instantly give you the result of as many games as you like. But, since I want to manage each game individually, I’m not prepared to play 162 games that way with one team. What if my team doesn’t make the playoffs? That would be just as frustrating as it has been rooting for the San Francisco Giants this year.
Baseball Mogul by Sports Mogul
A beautiful feature of the game is the League Builder. You can make a league using any of the teams from baseball history. You are allowed up to 30 teams. I picked some of my favorites – the 1962 New York Mets, the 1969 Mets, the 1973 Mets, and the 1986 Mets.
Do you detect a pattern? Yes, I have been a Mets fan since 1962, having seen them play in the Polo Grounds in 1962 and 1963 before they moved to Shea Stadium.
But don’t worry. The other 26 teams are non-Met teams, including the 1924 Washington Senators with Walter Johnson, the Murderers’ Row 1927 Yankees, the Mantle-Maris 1961 Yankees, the 1975 Big Red Machine, the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates with Clemente, and the 1948 Cleveland Indians with Bob Feller and Satchel Paige.
The lineups are not pre-set, so I had to do a little research to find the most common lineup for each team, which you can then save. But you can modify that lineup before the game begins if you want.
One problem presented itself. Since the rosters are those in place on opening day, they do not include players who were traded to the team afterwards. This left a gaping hole in my 1962 New York Mets lineup, as Marv Throneberry, the quintessential original Met, was traded to the Mets from the Orioles on May 9, 1962. How can I have the 1962 Mets without Marvelous Marv?
Never fear. Baseball Mogul has a Facebook group. I shared my dilemma and within an hour heard back from a group member with a solution. You can create Marvelous Marv with a little effort, so I did. Similarly, Tim Foli was not on the opening day roster of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, and Vic Wertz was not on the opening day roster of the 1954 Cleveland Indians, so I created them. How can you not have Wertz on that Indians team when he is the guy who hit the ball over Willie Mays’ head in the World Series that Willie ran down to the amazement of all?
One of my teams is the 1978 San Francisco Giants, about whom I wrote a book titled The God Squad: The Born-Again San Francisco Giants of 1978. I have become good friends with one of those God Squadders, pitcher Bob Knepper. I had Knepper lock horns with Jack Morris of the 1991 Twins. Knepper pitched a complete-game five-hit shutout, beating the Twins 4-0. When I gave him the news, he, like every pitcher, was more concerned about his hitting.
Bob Knepper in 1980 (photo courtesy The Press Democrat)
“Did I get any hits or steal any bases?” he asked. I had to break the news to him that he didn’t. He replied, “Better check the box scores. I’m sure I went 2 for 4! One being a double off the right field fence!”
I just let him know that he pitched another complete game, a 5-2 win over the 1986 New York Mets. Both Mets runs were unearned. Mike Ivie, who was an incredible pinch hitter for the 1978 Giants, delivered a two-run, bases-loaded pinch-hit single in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. Can’t get much more realistic than that.
Sorry, Bob, you went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. But you did draw a walk.
I’ve had some memorable matchups already, Jim Lonborg of the 1967 Boston Red Sox facing Bob Gibson of the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals, just like in the World Series (Gibson won the computer game). Just for fun, I had the 1962 New York Mets go up against Sandy Koufax and the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers. What a joke. The Dodgers won 8-1, Koufax went all the way, and Maury Wills went 5-for-5 with five stolen bases. The Mets made three errors in one inning. As Mets manager Casey Stengel put it, “The Mets have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed,”
I can play a game, in one-pitch mode, in about 15 minutes. I can even manage both teams if I want. The game comes pre-set with the man on second base in extra innings rule, the no-pitch intentional walk, and the requirement that a pitcher face at least three batters.
Still a traditionalist who hates all those rules, I was overjoyed to discover that I can override them. There are ballpark sounds but no announcer, which I can live without.
I can already tell this game is going to afford me hours of fun.
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Baseball Mogul did not compensate the author for writing this article.
What a wonderful review of a game/franchise that is deserving of one…thank you.