‘Ballpark Classics’ Looks Like a Trip to Gaming Past

When I was eight years old and started to show an interest in baseball, my dad first bought me a pack of baseball cards, then a couple of weeks later he brought home a game called All-Star Baseball, which had dual spinner devices and round cards representing top major league players.  This was the mid-to-late 1970s, so this, Strat-o-Matic and APBA were the sim options, as Atari and Intellivision video games were still a few years away.

My friends and I loved All-Star Baseball, maybe because it was so simple - you flick the spinner, it lands on a number, the result is a single or strikeout or home run, whatever.  APBA was a little more complicated, with pitching and more detailed results based on dice rolls.

There are still plenty of loyal Strat and APBA players out there, but I think it’s mostly because they’ve played the game for years.  Many have moved to the computer versions, though there are dice-and-cards holdouts as well.

With video games by EA, 2KSports and others providing a completely different experience for gamers, I wonder if games like Strat and APBA would have any chance if they debuted today.

I ran across a news item today about a new “tabletop” baseball game, “Ballpark Classics,” that just signed a licensing deal with Major League Baseball.  From the descriptions and videos on its Website, Ballpark Classics looks a bit like a pinball machine with baseball rules, including pitching, hitting and some rudimentary strategies.

The site goes on to explain the basic game play:

You pitch by placing a steel baseball into the pitching pipe and squeezing it with your thumb or fingers. By changing your finger placement and adjusting the force, you can throw fastballs, curves, change-ups, sliders, and even create your own pitches. It’s easy to do, but challenging to perfect–just like real baseball.

Batting is all about timing, bat speed, and getting inside the pitcher’s head. Ballpark Classics features batting so realistic that you can get called out on a check swing. You can play head-to-head, in teams, or by yourself.

Seems simple enough even a kid can play it.  Being able to extend the baseball experience beyond watching on TV or looking at baseball cards, to playing “games” with friends even in the dead of winter, made me more of a fan.  That was more than 30 years ago, but I think it still applies.  I hope that a game like this helps build some fans who may be too young for a complex video game.

Ballpark Classics is debuting at Toy Fair in New York next week.