Evolution of Baseball Video Games 1976 - 2021

[@blueshattrick]

Sports games are one genre where "better graphics" doesn't necessarily equate to "more fun".. RBI Baseball (Nintendo) will always be my favorite! :D

[@Paul-uo1vw]

That one was my fav along with World Series Baseball ‘95 for Sega

[@JosiahG17]

Not mlb the show

[@Honoryoursystem]

For me it was MLB Slugfest

[@chadcas]

Yup good ole Stadium Hero will always hold a place in my heart.

[@jkidd7608]

For me as a kid it was little league world series on NES

[@jdailey01230]

MVP 2005 was a masterpiece. Very ahead of its time.

[@jasonhendricks8587]

The greatest baseball game of all time. That year we also got NFL 2k5...

[@Salsa_Shark]

Played a full 162 game season and lost in the World Series. Still one of my favorite accomplishments in gaming.

[@jdailey01230]

@@Salsa_Shark not too shabby. I’ll never forget the one time I got a perfect score on the home run derby on legendary difficulty.

[@jeffreydhill]

It truly was. I feel like modern baseball games can look back at that game as their true ancestor.

[@jeremypr]

For sure, I think 2000 and beyond is when the devs got a good handle on realism of baseball games.

[@mxpwr4003]

Ken Griffey Jr Winning Run (1996) SNES is still the best i've played. The graphics , fun and amount of details they went into for it was astounding. I was not even a baseball fan and got hooked at first sight

[@MrBacchus18]

Good game but the 1st Griffey game was even better

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

Yeah, i had winning run and while it was cool, i played the first one later and it was way better

[@churchvan]

Ken Griffey Jr on SNES is still one of my favorite games of all time.

[@joejam3250]

played sooo smooth n so fun.. That and super tecmo bowl are my 2 fav sports games

[@mindphaserxy]

The 2nd one was the best. KG Jr Winning Run

[@joejam3250]

@@mindphaserxy that's like saying the genesis super tecmo bowl was better than the previous nes version. Slow it down, more sluggish control, give it more realism. Nah it's the speed, fluidity, control and lack of realism that makes it classic. So take ur cherished childhood memories etc etc.. but seriously why slow it down and change the graphics at the expense of the fluid motion of the thing, never a recipe for success.

[@andrewdyke5561]

It' best baseball game ver

[@RapidCycling07]

Agreed! I used to play that game sooooooo much back in the day! 👊😎

[@aaronzalewski7566]

Not gonna lie tho, I think “the show” has rlly nailed it over the years. It’s so detailed and the reactions are like immediate with whatever button you hit, the best baseball series that I’ll buy EVERY year

[@jeffmiller2871]

They're turning into Madden though. Same game in a different skin.

[@coachelly86]

show22 is awesome

[@secretpersond8324]

The last 5 years been the same game tho. Hasn’t improved one bit

[@Cannoncourt]

The show is all canned animations and randomness. Super mega baseball for the win!

[@archdukefranzferdinand2568]

I thought so before I bought The Show 22. Every year, new improvements, I was so excited to see what they would do. It's the same thing. Literally, the same exact thing

[@bparker2227]

Backyard baseball was so good… spent so much time playing that as a kid

[@gbblackknight]

This list should have included the Front Page Sports Baseball series from Sierra. While not great playing games, the on/off field simulation side of things was years ahead of it's time.

[@demonofelru3214]

I had front page sports football. Joe Montana was replaced with Maurice Dakota lol.

[@frofroreacts]

frank thomas big hurt baseball legit taught me how to play baseball when i was 5. thanks for unlocking some good memories

[@jeffreydhill]

Griffey Presents is still my all time favorite baseball game. I still play seasons here and there to this day. Triple Play 98 was good too, and MVP 2005 was outstanding.

[@wilsvgaddiction4456]

The first baseball game I got into was Tommy Lasorda on the Genesis. My old man used to whoop me on it and I would make my best efforts to get good enough to not get blown out. As a teen I spent a great deal of time playing Triple Play 2000 & 2001. I had always liked the PS Trople Play games but those were the first ones I could buy since I joined the workforce; these were the most fun to me and will always have special places in my heart.

[@VianoMusicAcademy]

I pretty much played the same games. Very nostalgic

[@GeneralBuckNaked]

Same game here. Tommy Lasorda. Me and My Dad used to play each other for a chocolate bar. One night he had to pee so he paused the game, and I threw a strike while he was in the bathroom, and he vowed to never play against me again lmao. Its fuked up cuz I was like 8 or somethin. N he meant it. Never played again

[@ryansinglegaming]

Same 💯💯💯

[@guessundheit6494]

Nintendo's RBI Baseball is one of the greatest. The controls were intuitive and easy to learn, yet the play was realistic. It was fun both for beginners and experienced players.

[@richardstephens7636]

94 Griffey still the best baseball video game

[@jeffreydhill]

Hell yeah

[@Jon_from_LI]

Intellivision MLB was really the first one that featured any real semblance of a baseball game. I definitely played that one.

[@MrJoManFu]

Damn. How I miss World Series baseball on Genesis. So ahead of it’s time with the insane amount of speech in a Genesis. The commentary holds up pretty well. Controlled amazing too.

[@Cline3911]

Baseball Stars for NES will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@Skier10]

Agreed. One hell of an addicting game at the time. Hours and hours put in developing my own team

[@kimhyungju3717]

@@Skier10haha yes, spent days and months on it

[@robloxvids2233]

Baseball for NES was the first game I bought April 30, 1987. Yes, I remember the actual date we got the Nintendo. I'm glad you included Base Wars, which was a really fun game. It combined 2 of my favorite things: baseball........and FIGHTING. You could have included Major League Baseball for NES ca. 1988 and KGJ for N64 circa 1996. "Going.. Gone.."

[@seamussc]

I spent hours on the Sega Genesis game Sports Talk Baseball as a kid. I remember becoming a fan of Julio Franco after seeing how they animated his unusual batting stance in the game and then seeing him actually swinging like that on a televised game. I even adopted his stance for a season or two in little league baseball, all ultimately because of that game. It worked well for me in Coach Pitch, lol. My dad, who had 0 interest in video games, made an exception for that game because he thought it was hilarious when the announcer said "He dropped the ball, I can't believe it!"

[@mr.h1914]

That game was epic

[@MrDef3y3]

Julio Franco and Juan Gonzales!

[@TNTQc]

Nice showcase of the baseball games. The first one I played was Baseball on NES (1986 or 1987). Then, I really enjoyed the first Bases Loaded (1987) also on NES. But I don't know how much hours I played MVP Baseball 2005 on PS2 and Windows. I'm still playing my dynasty mode today on Windows. In that case, MVP Baseball 2005 is my all-time favorite!

[@JT-jn4mf]

Hardball 3 for Sega Genesis was def ahead of it's time. My fav baseball game of all time relative to the year it was made. Al Michaels behind the mic and you could even make your own logo! As much fun as I have had playing the Show over the years, the gameplay hasn't changed all that much in 15 years lol.

[@Kelvin01988]

This is missing Cal Ripken Jr Baseball and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball

[@discobroccolifool968]

Triple Play 98 was my first baseball game on the OG Playstation. The sound of a hit on that game is still my favorite in a baseball game ever.

[@Devilinpolo]

Tommy Lasorda baseball was a great game for Sega. I loved how you could read the ball on home runs.

[@GeneralBuckNaked]

That game lasted super long in my house.. We played it for years and years

[@Skazellino]

All Star Baseball '99 on N64 was my shit back in the day and MVP Baseball 2005 for GameCube was my favorite for a long time. I'll never forget the N64 commercial with Larry Walker "Wrap your Rumble Pak round that". I always thought that was an odd thing to say.

[@Skazellino]

Other good ones I liked were Tecmo Baseball, Tecmo Super Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB, Game Boy Baseball and High Heat 2003 for GBA.

[@Football__Junkie]

I played All Star too. It was like Madden for baseball

[@GurahkWeavile]

Backyard Baseball, a classic that no one hates.

[@animaxima8302]

dude, in 1976 baseball games were like 10 pixels total. That thumbnail LOL

[@riseofthebon3951]

EA’s final entry MVP Baseball 2005 is still the gold standard in terms of player creation, stadiums, flexibility, and fun game modes

[@riseofthebon3951]

@Bread And Circuses more factors than I can list but some are these: dozens of historic ballparks and old hall of famers you can unlock, you could create players with extremely unique pitches and approximate their throwing mechanics like Koufax’s curve ball, fantastic challenging mini-game to unlock content, the game mechanics felt and looked great, used to set up 1 inning games with friends essentially sudden death… unfortunately it was EA’s final entry in MLB games

[@nicholasplante5016]

Disappointed that I didn't see the N64 version of Ken Griffey Jr's Baseball? Now that was a fun game

[@TomStrohOptimalDailyLiving]

Thank you for reminding me of my childhood! Things were so much simpler back then 🙂

[@futuregohan4837]

2:21 Somebody Should've Done An Mecha Albert Pujols Topps Project 70 Card In 2021 When The Project First Started With The 1991 Card Design

[@IceDragon1377]

Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 is still my favorite baseball video game and one of my favorite games of all time.

[@deadslash736]

Baseball Stars was peak 2 player baseball. You could create your own players, and it kept stats! Most importantly, it was fun as hell to play! Me and 2 friends played seasons in it because it actually had schedules and it let you play out of order, so if my friend couldn't come over for 2-3 days, he could just play all of his scheduled games in a clump later. Peak gaming with friends.

[@supernothing77]

We had a league at a shop with league leaders posted on the wall

[@deadslash736]

@@supernothing77 That is awesome, those days will never be replicated!

[@grifftrain]

2012 and later is when the game becomes very realistic

[@robertcatania1120]

Griffey Jr Presents still one of my favorite baseball games ever

[@soggydog1212]

The bigs 2 is still so stupidly fun

[@DannyCosmos]

ya seems entertaning not like just a boring baseball simulator

[@Nac017]

Sports Talk Baseball, came out in 1991 in Japan and 92 in North America, There needs to be an alternative baseball game to The Show like a world league with different countries playing against each other

[@calvinavackers9563]

Or that could just be included in mlb the show

[@nfindc]

I love baseball and as a gamer I was always partial to MLB '10 The Show for the PS3. GREAT graphics and easy game play always made this my go-to game when I needed my baseball fix.

[@mvyper]

I played the heck out of Earl Weaver Baseball on my Amiga until the late 90s. Awesome, awesome game with a lot of customization options.

[@greenpoly7664]

Grew up with Backyard Baseball so they lowkey might be my favorite

[@rockymavia5945]

Super baseball 2020 needs a name change to corona baseball 2020

[@Banjo56]

That POV replay from MLB 2005 is possibly my favorite improvement. Also love that you included wii sports baseball, amazing

[@copenhagenhigh597]

No way backyard baseball was my favorite I remember playing that on an ancient laptop I got from garage sale I was the happiest kid at the time

[@Jeanettesboxingchannel]

I also enjoyed BB.

[@brianstryker4536]

You forgot two HIGHLY underrated games on the wii called MLB Power Pros and Power Pros 08. American releases of at this point japan only series, not counting these two. They were insanely fun to play and had a unique style that really made it a great kids game that fans of baseball could easily get into.

[@literallyunderrated]

I remember those, the players looked kind of like Funko Pops. I still have the games somewhere

[@brianstryker4536]

@@literallyunderrated I still play 2008 all the time. I really wish they would bring the new ones over and include the japanese teams

[@Tufferwear]

Reggie Jackson Baseball (1988) for the Sega Master System was advanced for the time. It included voice call outs for all the key plays like - Playball, Strike, Ball, Out, Safe, and Home run. It also featured sweet picture in picture for the watching first for the steal.

[@-oBg]

How is Tony La Russa baseball not on here? Spent many nights with my buddy on Tony La Russa Baseball 3 '96 edition getting our butts whooped by the computer.

[@diegovesga]

Baseball stars is the best for me. Underrated game.

[@tiger8559]

And to think this is only a fraction of the baseball games that have come out. Covering them all would take hours at this pace.

[@EdsterIII]

Like I mentioned I alone have gotten probably 70+ baseball games. Almost all of the Sega Genesis games, many of the Saturn and Dreamcast versions as well, then the Playstation 1, 2, 3, 4, the PSP, the Vita. The Gameboy, the Nintendos. OMG so much money on the same crap....lol. My game collection was 90% sports/racing, and 10% adventure and fighting. 0% RPG. Except for Knights of the Old Republic. I forgot about the Apple IIe games and the Commodore 64. Again WTH!??

[@briangoodie3420]

Baseball stars and baseball simulator 1000 were probably the best baseball games.

[@t-max7261]

Agreed! Unfortunately, I only got to play Baseball Stars once, but it was a blast (and I’m pretty sure that somebody stole it from the Blockbuster Video that I used to rent from since it was NEVER there and I used to go 4-5 times/week) and I absolutely loved Baseball Simulator 1.000

[@briangoodie3420]

@@t-max7261 me, my brother and one friend rented baseball simulator 1000 from blockbuster and played a 60 game season in like 4 days. We had are own teams so that's like 180 games. Still not sure how we did it.

[@t-max7261]

@@briangoodie3420 For sure! My buddy would invite 5 of us over when we were like 14 or 15 and we would all create our own teams and then stay up all night playing the 5-game, round-robin season against each other. Great fun!

[@tyygtyyh1612]

Its cool how the commentary and voices of the commentators get better as each game is made

[@stackhat8624]

Star League Baseball on the Commodore 64 was awesome. Also played Street Sports Baseball on the C64. The Hardball series starting on the C64 and then moving to Amiga and PC was pretty good.

[@brickmoney4152]

Bases Loaded was one of the best baseball games ever and it was for the regular Nintendo. Tommy Lasorda baseball Sega , Tony LaRusso 92 baseball for Sega(top 3 all time). MLB 98-2000 on PS1, Triple play 98-2001, Mvp 2005. Had ps2 and Xbox but turned to Xbox in 360 days so i didn’t experience all of the MLB the Shows but 21 and 22 is a real as it gets, hands down best sports game on market currently.

[@bencook130]

It's not mentioned often, but for me it was Bases Loaded II. I played that game so much!

[@johnjohn8166]

Out of all the sports games I've played, MLB never fails to impress. I've played NHL over the years and all they do is recycle the graphics but add a few new features, but with MLB, it seems as though they manage to step up the graphics every time a new one is released. I'm impressed to say the least!

[@ConnorMcCrary]

Its because the MLB games aren't being made by EA

[@jmgonzales7701]

Despite that mlb is not as popular as NBA and madden

[@thatguy_2650]

Agreed. I went from 18 the show to 22 and the difference is crazy.

[@DanWick26]

I enjoyed Triple Play 2001. The Extreme Home Run Derby was a lot of fun. Always loved the living room level.

[@RichardSanchez137]

90s were the best era for any sports game.

[@ShutUpBubi]

For Arcade Sports yeah, but the early 2000s blows it outta the water with Console sports games... NFL Blitz, NHL Hitz, MLB Slugfest, MLB Baseball 2005, NBA Street, NFL Street, NBA Ballers, etc etc

[@tommyliangwei3724]

No Video Games in the World before the 1990s.

[@azukisanhonmono]

I saw the thumbnails, but outside of Japan, there existed a game with such amazing graphics in 1976.

[@Mike-ge7pe]

I’ve been trying to remember the name of Base Wars for like 25 years. Thank you!!! Also nice to see Quilvio Veras getting a screen cap in 2022

[@hut0]

My first baseball game was the one on the Odyssey2. We've come a looonnnggg way since then. I also had Earl Weaver Baseball on my Amiga 500 computer in the late 80's. Missing from the list.

[@frankv7774]

I just love the fact we had so many more options of baseball games then.There were at least 6 different baseball games for the NES alone. Master system even had 4 different games

[@bencook130]

Glad they mentioned Super Mega Baseball at the end. He's baseball game out there, especially if you're nostalgic for the old ones

[@kidkique]

microsoft baseball looks amazing - graphics, frame rate, presentation. Seems like a huge leap from previous games Altho I grew up on NES RBI baseball, then went to Base Wars, and then recently tried The Show '20. Missed everything in between!

[@america1st721]

it kept an 8 year old version of me occupied for hours in 76' I never thought in my lifetime it would get to this...

[@lubbucs546]

The Show has been the exact same since 2012.

[@salisburythefox8324]

Microsoft Baseball 2000 looks SO SMOOTH! TF?

[@b3stafer4]

He got the drip

[@Gorilla_Jones]

My first baseball game was Baseball for Colecovision, with the special controllers. Great times. WSB 2 on Sega Saturn is one of the best ever. Still fun to this day.

[@Tor109]

Clutch hitter in the arcades was the bomb. Sports talk baseball on the sega genesis I think was the first game to have play by play.

[@christopherrobinmarriott7218]

You missed the best baseball game ever!!! 'Tony Larussa baseball' for sega genesis.. after a close call you could actually argue with the ump and possibly get ejected!!

[@mattholt9065]

hell yea

[@Football__Junkie]

Played some Bases Loaded II. Hated it. Then Ken Griffey Jr Baseball came out. One of my favorite games of all time.

[@10DollarProductions]

I love how Super baseball 2020 had robots and all sorts of futuristic tech but in reality 2020 baseball was cardboard cutouts of fans in the stands instead.

[@henny6566]

Bases Loaded was the most fun to play as a kid. MLB the Show 2006 was the best as an adult.

[@ab-zh5ml]

bases loaded was good. i had a lot more fun games with RBI though.

[@slicknick7999]

MLB the show series didn’t start until 06

[@henny6566]

@@slicknick7999 Oh shit, you're right. Where the hell did I get 04 from? Couldn't have been a typo. Not sure why I was thinking 04. It was actually 07 or it could have been 06. It was the one with David Ortiz on the cover. I would play it everywhere on my PSP. My bad, I'll fix it.

[@ZimCrusher]

Still love the Intelivision Baseball game. Homerun 1978 Hours and Hours of fun. My Brother and I (I was 6 and my brother was 7 years old) had stats and roles for each player, even though the game didn't have that detail. So after each play, we would be marking down what happened, so after the game we would rework each player's stats. We had baseball cards for each player. If you didn't have that player's card, he couldn't be on the team. Still remember Darryl Strawberry having more stolen bases than any player on his team combined. Darryl Strawberry ... the bane of my existence......

[@chiefjoes.wiggumindonutswe5662]

@3:09 1994 World Series Baseball (Sega Genesis) AI play by play man still CRACKS me up to this day. 🤣 ROFL

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti6854]

At least there is some kind of existence of a 1994 World Series...😒

[@chiefjoes.wiggumindonutswe5662]

@@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti6854 EH AGAIN?

[@jBurNaa]

Super baseball 2020, ken griffey, big hurt baseball and mlb 2k5 brought back memories I forgot I had!

[@shysenpai7947]

This is top tier content 😍

[@gamesgeekmak889]

Great video. Amazing that you can play almost all of these games on your phone now. I’ve even been playing Super Mega Baseball 3 on my phone to get my hit when I’m out and about (and even posted a recent video of the touchscreen controls). Amazing that you can play Super Mega Baseball 3 on your phone nowadays. I love technology

[@monkeyluffy4485]

You forgot the best baseball video game of all time! Sports Talk Baseball 91. Great video!

[@SalNiner]

Probably the biggest leap and the most fun baseball game was SNK baseball stars. When that game came out we stayed up for days playing it

[@allbrosdjay]

Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. was the best baseball game in the 90s

[@johnpatterson4809]

watching this I feel triple play was when the experience became more immersive

[@stevonyl]

MLB Slugfest was the funniest and most enjoyable. The animations were hilarious especially when you bean a batter and the pitcher gets thrashed by the enraged batter 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ChairmanMeow1]

Super Baseball 2020 , ken griffey jr presents mlb, and mlb '05 are my all time favs

[@blitzwarzone342]

Base Wars and Ken Griffy Jr were the games I played the most as a kid

[@erics8192]

I remember playing the 162 game regular season and the playoffs in KGJ baseball. They had some really fun baseball games back in the 8/16 bit days. Now they're too focused on realism.

[@Salsa_Shark]

Haha, I did that on MVP 2005 for the PS. God, I'd love to have that kind of time again...

[@paj2507]

Triple play baseball brought to you by lobster cola!

[@geggy310]

there needs to be more modern day baseball games. the only ones i know of that aren't discontinued that follow the mlb are the show and out of the park, the show isn't even on steam :(

[@edx21x]

I think all the players in the 1976 game were on juice. It was ahead of its time

[@chriskelly509]

All Star Baseball '99 was one of my favorites growing up

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

Baseball (1983) for NES is an awesome multiplayer game! I played a bunch with a friend of mine, back then and like ten years ago as well.

[@ryanhack5]

Good list, but missed a lot of good ones back in the SNES and Sega days

[@Chekmate99]

Earl Weaver Baseball was the best - especially with the Commissioner’s Disk and Players Disks - back in the late 80’s nothing came close. wish it was ported to the iphone

[@elbolsillo]

I think Ken Griffey Jr in 94 was the last video game I ever bought or received. Got it for my 12th birthday

[@leeswift7883]

Just that little bit of sight and sound from Base Wars brings up all of the nostalgia. Wish someone would remake it for either PS5 or Series X

[@MetalHeadHank]

Bad News Baseball was such a fun one, played that game for hours

[@gaipontiff2]

Did I miss Sports Talk Baseball for Sega Genesis?

[@mrmojorisin8752]

I’ve played most of these. Ken Griffey for SNES was great fun. World Series Baseball for Sega Saturn, too.

[@demetriusdarius463]

Hardball 3 for PC wasn’t very statistically accurate, but I had fun creating my own teams, leagues and players

[@brianhahne1399]

I was excited to watch this and relive the old games.... til I noticed that almost none of the ones I played are on here. So SSI Computer Baseball is missing. That was a big one.. Then MicroLeage Baseball, and MicroLeage Baseball II. From 1986-1990 we had fantasy leagues where we input the weekly stats and played our teams against each other... we used these 3 games over those 4 years.... loved that. Later on there was Hardball, Hardball 2. From 1989 or so, through college I was big into Tony Larussa Baseball (all of them) and Old Time Baseball was a favorite too.

[@McNRockets11]

All Star Baseball ‘99 was my first baseball game on Nintendo 64! Awesome memories!

[@cstaser5]

RBI was really fun, but Baseball Stars was the best. Way before its time. Custom player names and ability to upgrade players on your team. Best of all was ability to play a season with stats being tracked. I believe that was a first. Awesome graphics are nice but if those animations get in the way of the player moving naturally where you want them it is sort of useless. Super intuitive as well to dive, climb wall to rob a HR or make a super hard throw from 3rd to 1st. Only downside was the dreaded blinking red light on start up and losing hours of work to get your team good

[@Skier10]

Nailed it. Baseball Stars was an amazing addicting game for its time

[@redeadhead4]

MLB Slugfest will forever be the pinnacle of baseball gaming

[@sawmill035]

8:11 Are we going to just ignore the fact that Ben Revere hit a 442 ft. Home run to dead center field?

[@kylefarr3655]

Thought that was Ryan Howard lol

[@ChrisBrown-pz2gu]

@@kylefarr3655 he said home run, not strike out

[@brendanraimondo7897]

I scrolled through the comments just to see if anyone else caught this! He’s hit 7 homers his entire 8 year career!

[@italiangypsy79]

man...me and my boys played RBI baseball religiously back in the day.