Realism Schmilism

One of my favorite games for the 8-bit Nintendo was R.B.I. Baseball.  What it lacked in realism it made up for in fun factor.  Because it included real names and stats from the 1986 and 1987 seasons (despite not being licensed by MLB), it included the flukey 1987 season in which home runs were flying out of the park in great contrast to the rest of the 1980s.  It never was explained what happened that year.  Some might claim it was the beginning of PED use (see Canseco and McGwire), but that does not explain why home runs went down to normal levels after that.  Anyway, being able to hit with Andre Dawson, who clubbed 49 that year, is one of my fond memories of this game.  In stark contrast to all the power numbers was the Cardinals team from that year, which featured several base stealers instead of the normal power laden lineup.  Plus Jack Clark, of course.

There was also an arcade version that I remember playing at Wal-Mart.  It was similar to the Nintendo game, except that it used much older lineups featuring players like Ruth, Mays, etc.  I loved using Carl Hubbell since he was a left handed sidearm pitcher.

Anyway, what brought this to mind is that a new version, R.B.I. Baseball 14,  has been announced for release this spring.  I have no idea what the 14 refers to, unless they are counting all the versions released in Japan.  This version is licensed by Major League Baseball, so it should include real names and stats, and hopefully places like Wrigley Field, etc.

Here is video that a guy made using the R.B.I. game and Vin Scully's call of the bottom of the tenth of game 6 of the Mets-Red Sox World Series.