Inspired by an article by Zach Kram at the Ringer last year, Bobby and Alex take a deep dive into the history of “Backyard Baseball,” the kids-video-game-turned-cult-classic that they grew up with. They bring on Nick Mirkovich, one of the game’s co-creators, to talk about the game’s inception and its evolution through the years, and speculate on why the game remains so firmly embedded in the minds of this generation. They dive into the colorful personalities of each character and reminisce on what made the game so special in the first place. It’s a full-on nostalgia sesh, featuring real gameplay and cameos from Sunny Day, Vinnie the Gooch, and the one and only Pablo Sanchez.

However, what may be the most entertaining part of the game were the characters you could choose from when you drafted your team at the start of the season. If you have a spotty memory, or didn’t really play the game when you were younger, don’t you worry, because what follows is the definitive ranking of the Backyard Baseball characters.

Do you want to play the game too and get all the memories rushing back? Here’s how!

On a Mac:

1.Download the video game emulator ScummVM.

2. Open the DMG file and drag ScummVM into your Applications folder.

3. Download Backyard Baseball 2001 here.

4. Once the ZIP file has downloaded, double click to open it. It will reveal an ISO file called Backyard Baseball 2001.

5. Double click to open the ISO file. It should open a drive that looks like this.

6. Create a new folder on your desktop (or wherever you will remember) and call it Backyard Baseball.

Backyard Baseball Vinnie The Gooch Game

7. Select all the contents of the ISO drive and drag them into the folder you just created.

8. Now, open up ScummVM and click “Add Game” on the right hand side. Find the folder you created and click “Choose.”

Backyard Baseball Vinny The Gooch

9. You should see a screen like the one below. Press ok, select the game, and press start!

On a PC:

1.Download the video game emulator ScummVM.

2. Save to your desktop, or wherever is convenient for you.

3. Download Backyard Baseball 1997 here, or Backyard Baseball 2001 here.

4. Double click to open the zip file. It should open a folder called Backyard Baseball.

5. Open ScummVM and click “Add Game.” Navigate to find the Backyard Baseball folder and click “Choose.”

6. You should see a screen like the one below. Press ok, select the game, and press start!

Backyard Baseball Vinnie The Gooch Company

Enjoy!

All music sound clips, and photos from “Backyard Baseball,” courtesy of Humongous Entertainment/The Evergreen Group.

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