Backyard Baseball Hall Of Fame
It seems impossible. Or, at the least, prohibitively expensive. But for many baseball fans in the 1960s, it was as simple as placing an order in the Sears, Roebuck catalogue.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has received a legacy grant to support educational outreach to Central New York students. This grant will service under-resourced youth in our backyard, who otherwise may be unable to visit Cooperstown and access the Museum’s education programs. Players who did things you or I could never do on a baseball field. Players like Alfonso Guilleard Soriano - seven-time All-Star, esteemed member of the 40/40 club, high socks aficionado. Sure, there are plenty of players on this year's Hall of Fame ballot who were, technically speaking, 'better at baseball,' if you're into that sort of thing. He was known as “The Hit Man” and “Donnie Baseball.” New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, one of the very best players in baseball in the mid 1980’s, is once again candidate on the Modern Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.
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Shortly after Hall of Famer Ted Williams retired from baseball in 1960, he joined Sears as their sporting goods consultant, helping the department store select and develop its sports equipment. As Sports Illustrated noted in a column from 1962: “If the legendary Williams batting eye can't detect a flaw, Sears knows the item is absolutely first-rate.”
Later this year, the Cromleys will also attend the wedding of a player Marlin hosted back in 2002.
“You form relationships with these kids,” Marlin said. “And those connections so often stay well beyond the two weeks of [the World Series tournament].”
The capstone of the Cromley’s connection to baseball came in 1999, when Marlin proposed to Brenda in Cooperstown, on a bench outside the Otesaga Hotel, overlooking Lake Otsego.
“We met through baseball and I thought, ‘what better place to propose than Cooperstown?’”
Baseball Hall Of Fame Members
Isabelle Minasian is the digital content specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Backyard Baseball 2001 is part of the long running Backyard Baseball series, but this one could be one of the very best. This is one of the most charming arcade-style baseball games you will ever play. Even though it is what could be referred to as “retro” this is still a fun time if you like old school arcade baseball games.
That Classic Style
The first thing I have to mention is the presentation. I am a big fan of the way the whole Backyard series of games looks and this one is no different. They do all share a similar art style, but I feel that Backyard Baseball 2001 has more chunky and well defined kids and characters and it gives the game a lot more personality.Also while this is a game about kids playing baseball, it does actually have the MLB license so that is really cool and makes the game even more fun. They have the likenesses of many players, but it in kid form so that is awesome.
Plenty To Do
The game modes are exactly what you would expect from a game in the Backyard Sports series. Backyard Baseball allows you to play a single game. This mode lets you change the difficulty level from tee-ball all the way to hard. You can change innings, errors pick your stadium and so on. It is a great way to learn the basics of the game.You also have Season Play which is Backyard Baseball 2001’s main game mode. Here you will take your ragtag group of kids on a quest to win different championships. This is way more fun than it should be. If you do well here your players can be in the Hall of Fame. Speaking of players there is a trading card book where you can learn more about the different players.Backyard Baseball 2001 also had an online mode and I am sure there is someone out there who has a server that allows you to play this online. In multiplayer I would bet that this game is an absolute blast! The core gameplay no matter if it is pitching, fielding or batting is very simple and it plays like a 90s arcade-style baseball game. It is just all about having fun and fun is the best way to describe it.
Like A Cartoon
The art style of Backyard Baseball 2001 is great. It really does look like something that would have been on Nickelodeon in the 90s, probably in between Rugrats and Rocko’s Modern Life! It has a very charming and wholesome look to it and the way the different “stadiums” look is very well done too.
Backyard Baseball 2001 is a game I had a lot of fun with. Is this the definitive Backyard Baseball game? I actually think that I would say that this is where the series peaked. Even though games would be released for the next decade on different systems. It is Backyard Baseball 2001 that people seem to most fondly remember. If you are bored of games like MLB The Show and want a fun baseball game, you do not get much more fun than this.
8/10
Pros:
- Has a charming Nickelodeon like art style
- Makes great use of the MLB license
- Gameplay is fast and fun
- It is easy to learn the basics
- Classic arcade style baseball
Cons:
Backyard Baseball Unblocked Hall Of Fame
- Season mode is not as in-depth as a modern game
- Online mode can be hard to get working these days