Baseball Mogul 2006

Sports games from the big publishers are getting better and better at providing what amounts to a TV-quality view of the sports field that gives you a real sense of being, say, a baseball player on the field. And that's a nice fantasy. But... what if you prefer to fantasize about owning or managing your own baseball team?

In that case, what you want is Baseball Mogul. It's a game of franchise management, not on-field management. No, you won't get a high-end 3D experience here, but what you will get is the kind of game that makes you think like, and face the kinds of decisions faced by, the owner of a big league team.

From Our Review:

The game is Baseball Mogul 2006. It will remind baseball statistics buffs of their days of playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball with dice and cards or playing SSI’s stat-heavy Computer Baseball or one of the text-oriented Lance Haffner games on the Apple II. Baseball Mogul 2006 is no Earl Weaver Baseball with its life-like choreography or Tony LaRussa Baseball with its physics-based algorithms. It isn’t High Heat Baseball with its fabulous graphics and action component. EA Sports wouldn’t have dreamed of publishing it.

Baseball Mogul 2006 offers a very different experience from any of the games mentioned above. It is franchise management, not on-field management. It has the financial perspective and allows you to set everything from ticket prices to concession prices. It lets you determine the broadcasting package. Most importantly, it offers you the farm system of your dreams—a farm system with more depth than most players will ever be able to manage. It even offers the frustration that must be felt by a real general manager when the on-field manager doesn’t use his personnel according the rationale for which they were drafted (the player doesn’t manage individual game situations—just rosters).

From the Developer:

Baseball Mogul® begins in any year you choose, from 1900 to 2006 with the full roster of your favorite team -- or an entirely fictional team of your own creation.

As General Manager (GM), your job is to build the best lineup of players to take your team to the World Series. You can make complex player trades and sign players to multi-year contracts as you build your team, but you'll have to compete with the other General Managers, and negotiate with the player's agents.

As GM you also have to manage all the finances for your ball club, making sure that the team doesn't go bankrupt. Raise revenue for your team by setting the price of tickets and concessions, and selling the TV broadcast rights, while you manage your team's expenses by setting the budget for your farm system, player scouts, medical staff, and player payroll. But be careful, because fans can be fickle if your team doesn't win or if your tickets become too expensive!

If you don't succeed in your first year, you get a new chance with Baseball Mogul's in-depth amateur draft. You pick and choose from the best high school and college talent around the world. If your new players are good enough, have them join your team right away, otherwise send them to your minor league franchise for training and improvement.

Your involvement as GM does not stop in the team's front office. This year's version of Baseball Mogul gives you complete control over your team on the field. You start by setting the starting defense, batting order and pitching rotation for your team. On game day, you choose your level of involvement. You can retire to the luxury box and make calls to the dugout as needed. Or you can take control of each player, choosing what pitches to throw and when to bunt or go for an extra base. A powerful game engine simulates each pitch of the game based on customized player ratings and over 100 years of historical data, assuring you the maximum realism possible!

Baseball Mogul is designed to help you manage your team over many simulated years. Manage your team one day at a time, or let the computer simulate weeks or months at a stretch so you can play for virtual years or decades. As your players age, their abilities mature and decline realistically. Don't forget to build your team for the long term, rather than spending all your money on free agents this season.

Watch your team rise and fall in the standings, watch your bank statement, and read the news stories to stay on top of what's happening with all the ball clubs in both leagues. If you pick the right players, manage your finances well, and stick to a winning strategy, your team may win the Championship, and you too may become a Baseball Mogul!

Reviews:

"With the 2006 edition, this game has evolved from admirable statistical sim to full on addiction.... Final Verdict: 90%".
PC Gamer