RealSports Baseball

How to play RealSports Baseball online

Almost every action combines the fire button with a joystick direction. In the emulator, hold Space and press an arrow key.

• Pitch: choose the pitch with an arrow key (up = fastball, right = sinker, left = riser, down = intentional ball), then hold Space and tap the down arrow to throw
• Swing: hold Space and press a direction – up bunts, left or right hits a grounder, down (or down-diagonal) hits a fly ball
• Field: arrow keys move your fielder; hold Space and press right (first base), up (second), left (third) or down (home) to throw
• Run the bases: hold Space and press right to advance, left to go back
• Player 2: T/F/G/H for directions, A as the button
• Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
• Choose a variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
• Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it

Gameplay

A game runs nine innings, with extra innings if the score is tied. A team bats until three players strike out, fly out or are tagged out, and a run scores when a runner rounds all the bases and gets back to home plate. The score for each team and the number of outs are shown at the top of the screen.

As the pitcher, you pick one of four pitches. The computer decides at random whether each one is a strike or a ball, though an intentional ball is always a ball unless the batter swings at it. As the batter, the direction you push decides the kind of hit, and timing matters too: swing early to pull the ball towards left field, late to send it towards right. To steal a base, first select the runner by pushing towards his base without the button, then hold the button and push right to run. Runners get a better jump while the pitcher stands still.

Game variations

There are four games. Games 1 and 2 are for two players, and games 3 and 4 are against the computer, starting either in the field or at bat. According to the manual, only in Game 1 can the batter hit every pitch; in the other games, a pitch that is called a ball cannot be hit, so only strikes can be put into play. The difficulty switches are not used.

Tips

• Mix your pitches. Switching between fastballs, sinkers and risers makes it harder for a human batter to time the swing.
• Use timing to place hits. An early or late swing moves the ball to a different part of the field, away from the fielders.
• Steal while the pitcher waits. Runners move faster when the pitcher isn’t moving, so that is the moment to go.
• Know your throws by heart. Right, up, left, down for first, second, third and home saves vital fractions of a second.

History

Reviews were generally positive, with one critic of the time writing that 2600 owners “finally have a game they can love”. A rebuilt version for the Atari 5200 followed in 1983 with better graphics and a synthesised voice announcer, and a version for the Atari 7800 appeared in 1989. A 2600 edition that would work with a voice controller was announced for 1983 but never released.