21 years ago, the original Backyard Baseball game was released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh. The game was wildly popular and probably delivers nostalgia for a lot of people that played it a couple decades ago—you might remember popping in the CD-ROM to play. In honor of the 21-year anniversary, these are my picks for the best ten players in the original Backyard Baseball.
Honorable Mention
Ricky Johnson, Dimitri Petrovich
For Backyard Baseball '09 on the Wii, a GameFAQs message board topic titled 'Best Lineup'. Get the latest Backyard Baseball 2001 cheats, codes, unlockables, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tips, tricks, hacks, downloads, achievements, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for PC (PC). The (Real) Best Team. This is legit. And click on pick-up or exhibition button. Then choose your field to be Ekman Acres. On the team select.
10. Angela Delvecchio
Strictly a pitcher that could swing the bat, Angela “Sugar Pop” Delvecchio couldn’t run and couldn’t field. But when she was on her game with enough juice in her juice box on the mound, there might not have been a pitcher more frustrating to hit against. Delvecchio didn’t blow hitters away with gas, but she used her pitchers and hit her spots.
9. Vicki Kawaguchi
Vicki Kawaguchi couldn’t hit, but she’s good at everything else. She isn’t quite the pitcher her brother Kenny is, but she’s well above average there. In the field, Vicki could cover a ton of ground and make plays like a vacuum in the outfield or at one of the two middle infield spots. And while she wasn’t going to threaten for a home run, “Swan” could get on base with bunt attempts.
8. Ernie Steele
The baseball card for Ernie Steele (A.K.A. “Funnybones”) says “everyone loves Ernie because he is so silly.” You don’t want a bunch of jokers on your team, but a well-liked player like Ernie could help bring a group together. Steele is just adequate at hitting and running, but he’s an elite fielder that can step in and do a good job on the mound as a reliever.
7. Mikey Thomas
Mikey Thomas was extremely slow—perhaps the slowest in the game—which made him a potential liability on defense. Ideally, you would hide him at right field and hope not many balls head in that direction—he does have a great arm, so he could throw people out on the basepaths, and a good centerfielder could track down balls in the gap that Mikey can’t get to in time. As a hitter is where Thomas shines, as he could hit moon shots without needing an aluminum bat.
6. Achmed Khan
Achmed Khan wore headphones and listened to music while he played, but it didn’t matter—he arguably had the biggest power swing of any Backyard Baseball character. “Axeman” would just go to work when it was his turn to bat, and the nickname indicates he preferred a down-on-the-baseball approach instead of using a launch angle to hit his bombs.
5. Jocinda Smith
If you have the nickname “MVP”, you better be good at sports—and Jocinda Smith is certainly good at baseball. Smith is said to have the “best swing in town,” but she didn’t seem to have as much pop as some of the other maxed-out hitters in the neighborhood. Basically, Smith was a technically-sound, all-around player that’ll do her job.
4. Kiesha Phillips
Kiesha Phillips is described as “the neighborhood clown,” which probably leads to more swing-and-misses than you’d like to see from someone with so much skill. However, Phillips has a ton of power—only matched by only a few other players—and her ability to cover ground in the outfield (she’s nicknamed “Flash”) makes her one of the best players to build a lineup card around.
3. Kenny Kawaguchi
Do not overlook Kenny Kawaguchi just because he’s in a wheelchair. “K-Man” is an all-around baseball player and probably the best pitcher of anyone, as the nickname indicates. Kawaguchi might not have as much pop at the plate as others, but he is a very good option in the bottom half of batting lineups.
Best Backyard Baseball Lineup 2016
2. Pete Wheeler
Nicknamed “Wheelie”, the name fits for Pete Wheeler, who is a little slow in the mind but not slow in athletic ability. Wheeler’s Backyard Baseball card calls his swing “legendary” if he makes contact, as his power rivals anyone in the game. The fastest of the characters probably has the most natural ability of anyone; he’s not in love with baseball like the top player on the list, but he makes amazing things happen for his team without even realizing it.
1. Pablo Sanchez
Pablo Sanchez doesn’t speak a lick of English, but that doesn’t affect his ability on the diamond. He’s an elite five-tool player that’s arguably the best contact hitter, power hitter, fielder, and baserunner of all the kids. In a pinch, the “Secret Weapon” can get on the bump and dominate there, too. The multi-sport athlete has small shoulders, but he can legit carry his team to victory, and his legendary presence makes his squad the favorite no matter who the other eight players are. His theme song is even the best. Pablo Sanchez is the greatest sports video game character of all-time.
Bonus: The best team names in Backyard Baseball
1. Melonheads (Mighty Melonheads is the classic)
2. Bombers
3. Socks
4. Rockets
5. Giants
6. All Stars
7. Monsters
8. Hornets
9. Wombats
10. Fishes
Best MLB players in Backyard Baseball 2001
In the previous post I showed you the rosters and set it up: Backyard kids vs. pros
Now here is the decision about the pro team… we have 31 potential players (more than an active roster) so let’s start with the easy cuts and an explanation:
Alex Gonzales: I feel bad doing this just the day before his birthday! With a 5 batting ranking and a 6 fielding ranking we have much better options. He does bring some speed but that isn’t redeeming enough.
Carlos Beltran: Hey, he’s still playing and collecting money! His batting stat of 5 isn’t high enough. He’s well-rounded but in this case we need specialists
Backyard Baseball Download
Jeromy Burnitz and Marty Cardova: They were in this game! I had no idea… anyway they won’t be in this game.
Best Backyard Baseball 2001 Lineup
Best Backyard Baseball Lineup Ideas
Now we need to think about pitching.
Backyard Baseball Game
It really comes down to three people: Curt Shilling, Randy Johnson and … SURPRISE Frank Thomas!
Each one has a 10 rating in pitching. For a game like this you want at least two pitchers so Frank Thomas makes the roster with his 7 batting and since Curt has a 8 fielding, 6 running and 5 batting (compared to Randy’s 3, 5, 5) we will keep Curt and cut the Big Unit.
On the team: Curt Shilling, Frank Thomas
I want our pitchers to be our worst hitters so anybody with a batting rating of 7 or lower is out: Barry Larkin, Ivan Rodriguez (NO, not Pudge!), Jason Giambi, Jason Kendall, Jeff Bagwell, and Kenny Lofton (A surprise considering I normally had him on my team)
That leaves 18 players left for 7 spots. We need to start making big cuts, so anybody with a fielding ranking of less than 5 has got to go: Jose Canseco and Shawn Green… wait that can’t be right! You mean that Mark McGuire and Mo Vaughn were good fielders? Nope, they are cut. I’m also cutting Valdimir Guerrerro since he was with the Expos.
13 players for 7 slots!
Best Backyard Baseball Lineup 2017
Since we have been focusing on hitting let’s take everyone with a 10 batting ranking: Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa.
Hmm: You mean Barry Bonds didn’t get a 10? Must have calculated these things before the ‘roids but he and Ken Griffey Jr. should be in
Since we now have a surplus of outfielders let’s cut a bunch from the list: Juan Gonzales, Larry Walker, Raul Monesi and Tony Gwynn (underrated in this game)
3 slots for 5 players and it comes down to the infield. I’ll eliminate Alex Rodriguez since he only has a 7 batting rating (9 fielding but we have some guys with 10 fielding). I’ll eliminate Chipper Jones since I want a strong infield in fielding and he is an 8 (others are 10s).
So the list of players:
Frank Thomas
Curt Shilling
Mark McGuire
Sammy Sosa.
Barry Bonds
Ken Griffey Jr.
Cal Ripken Jr.
Derek Jeter
Nomar Garciapparra
So let’s deal with positions: I’m going to have Shilling start on the mound since his in-game experience should help him last awhile (Frank Thomas can come in for relief and we would move Curt to the outfield). I want Big Mac at first (position he has experience with) and Griffey at center (best fielding OF we have). I’ll put Bonds in Left and Sosa in right.
We have a big problem at catcher… since we cut Pudge (NO! Why did we do that?) we don’t have a good catcher. Luckily since we are playing with Backyard baseball rules we don’t have to worry much about catching so we will put Frank Thomas behind the plate.
For the infield: I always worry about Nomar’s arm so he will be at second, Cal played a lot of third so he will go there and Jeter will be at short.
Batting order:
Barry Bonds LF: with a 10 running rating he is our best option to lead off
Derek Jeter SS: 9 running and 8 batting with experience hitting out of the two hole
Sammy Sosa RF: Bringing the power
Mark McGuire 1B: Bringing the pain
Frank Thomas C: This is the slow part of the lineup, I don’t want really fast people to be hampered by the Big Hurt and Big Mac
Curt Shilling P: I don’t always think it’s a good idea to bat the pitcher 9, I would rather have guys on base for the top of the order
Ken Griffey Jr. CF: This is almost like a second lead-off spot and I trust that Ken can handle this
Nomar Garciapparra 2B: I think hitting behind Ken will be good and Nomah will be able to move him over
Cal Ripken Jr. (3B): I don’t think Cal will be disappointed with this ranking, he might have the smallest ego on this team and so he’ll bat last
Here is the post about the Backyard team