Street Sports Baseball

Scenario

It’s the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded - and it doesn’t take a semi-pro like Magic to know the score is tied. Tina’s up at bat. On the mound, Ralph’s got her in his sights (as long as his cap doesn’t falll down over his eyes). He winds up, throws …

Will it be a curve ball or a slider this time? Will Tina connect to drive in the winning run…?

The diamond may be a vacant lot or a parking lot. Home plate may be nothing more than a trash can lid. But the thrills and spills are strictly big league. Anything can happen, and almost everything will.

Only one thing’s for sure when you’re playing STREET SPORTS BASEBALL… It’s a hit!

STREET SPORTS BASEBALL offers all the hard hitting action of real baseball. And you don’t have to worry about being rained out!

The rules are the same as in the big leagues. ‘Three strikes and ‘‘‘Yer Out!". Four balls and you take a walk. But in this game, you’ll play everything from manager to shortstop, outfielder to “king of the mound.” Choose your team from siixteen of the baddest ball handlers on 52nd Street. Once the action begins, you time the swings. You control the pitches. When there’s a hit, it’s up to you to haul in that long fly ball out of the sky or fire a throw to first base on a close play.

A special “split screen” format gives you a close-up of the action and a bird’s eye view of the entire field simultaneously. And don’t worry about keeping score. The computer does that automatically. All you have to do is keep your eye on the ball. You’ve got nine innings to prove your team the champs of the neighbourhood… or the chumps.

So play ball!

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Playing the Game

The 52nd Street gang is ready and raring to play. But before that first pitch whistles across home plate, you’ve got to choose up sides, assign positions, and work out a batting order.

Selecting Play Options

Before you begin, you must make several choices. First you must choose which playing field you want to use - the vacant lot or the parking lot. Press the joystick LEFT or RIGHT to highlight your choice, and press the FIRE button.

You can play STREET SPORTS BASEBALL alone against the computer, or with a friend. Move the joystick LEFT or RIGHT to indicate HUMAN (against another person), or COMPUTER (against the computer). When you’ve highlighted your choice, press the FIRE button.

Next, STREET SPORTS BASEBALL gives you three choices of play. You can choose from the following options.

• NEW: choose your team player by player:
• OLD: load a previously chosen tearm which was saved to disk; or
• RANDOM: have the computer choose the players at random.

If you choose RANDOM, the computer will randomly pick, position, and set the batting order of the players for each team. And the game will then begin.

If you choose OLD, you can play with previously picked teams which were saved on disk. You will have the option of changing their field positions and batting orders, or playing with them as they were saved.

Note that you should use THEC64 Joystick's MENU to save your progress in the game, 
rather than the OLD option described here.

If you choose to pick NEW teams, STREET SPORTS BASEBALL gives you a chance to name your teams. Type in the name you choose and press RETURN. It will appear automatically on the scoreboard when the game begins. (This is not an option if you choose to play with an OLD team or a RANDOM team picked by the computer.)

Heads or Tails?

The action pits the Home Team against the Visitors. A flip of a coin will decide who picks first, and who is the visiting team (only when playing with NEW teams). Press the joystick LEFT to call heads, RIGHT to call tails. Then press the FIRE button to flip the coin (by tradition, the Visiting team is always first up at bat).

Choosing Sides

Take a good look at the 52nd Street Hall of Famers lined up on the screen. Move the joystick LEFT or RIGHT to get “up close and personal” with this rough and tumble crew. If a player is eligible, you can read their description. Once a player is chosen, the first three letters of their team name appears below each character.

The Visiting Team chooses first, then the Home Team, alternating until there are eight players on each team. When the player of your choice is indicated on the screen, press the FIRE button.

The Hall of Famers

What these kids lack in big league flair they sure make up in local colour. It’s your job to put together a team that can hit and field its way to victory.

Name	Description
RADAR	Knows where the ball is going at all times.. He’s one of the hardest runners and throwers in the 52nd Street league. And he “drives” the other team crazy when he’s up at bat
MAGIC	He’s unbelievably well-rounded. Never makes an error. Throws and runs like a semi-pro. Bats ’em high and deep
BRAD	He changes baseballs into bullets with his ballistic throws. And his line drive hits have a similar quality. Unfortunately he has no wheels
RALPH	His teammates grimace when he gets the ball cause his arm is on the weak side. And he tends to strike out. But he never makes an error and he’s an o.k. runner
KEVIN	Wooooshhh! No one wants to get in his way when he’s on the run. He’s a team’s fastest weapon. Nifty fielder too
VIC	Thinks he’s a Don Johnson look-aliike. But looks more like he’s blind when it comes to playing the field. Strokes long shots when he’s up at bat though
BOJO	Throws his weight around at the plate. But often swings too late - like when the ball is already in the catcher’s mitt. Good arm (though his glove is suspect)
DAVID	Airlines have to take an alternate route when he’’s up at bat. His long fly balls go first class all the way. Non-stop. Unfortunately his fielding is second-rate
BUTCH	Plays ball like he slam dances. A little wildly and recklessly. He “pops-up’’’ too much and throws like a sissy. But he rarely blows a catch - no mater how difficult
BOB	He’s an all-around kind of guy. He’s a good fielder, has a rifle arm, and runs like a champ. But he shines brightest when cracking screaming liners over the infield
JULIE	The guys think she throws pretty good “for a girl”. Truth is, she throws better than most of them. Only problem is she gets excited at bat and tends to strike out
KIM	A real free-spirited girl. Tends to lose concentration when she’s in the outfield. But she makes up for it with some peppery hitting and hustle on the bases
TINA	This girl wants to make it to the big leagues some day. She’s always operating at top speed - on the run, up at bat, and in the field
DANA	“Hustling” isn’t her strong suit. Once she’s hit one of her trademark drives, she has trouble circling the tires . And she’s known as a “marshmallow tosser.”
MELISSA	She’s the kind of “heads-up’’ player you can count on in the clutch. Always into the game. And her high-powered arm gets lots of attention too
KITTY	A spray hitter. Known for her great slides, she always tries to turn a single into a double. Too bad she boots so many chances in the field

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Field Position

Who’s on first? Who’s “King of the Hill’? Who patrols the outfield?

That’s up to you. This is where strategy counts. If you want to go with the field positions that appear on the screen, position the joystick LEFT and press the FIRE button. If you want to make changes, follow the instructions on the screen to choose a new player for each position. When all changes have been made, follow the directions on the screen to move on to the next option.

Batting Order

Choosiing the best team is one thing - making the most of all that talent is another. Here’s where your skins as manager and coach come in. First, what’s your batting order gonna be? You can go with the batting order that appears on the screen (position the joystick on the LEFT and press the FIRE button). Or you can create your own batting order. Use the joystick to locate the player you want for the spot in the batting order and press the FIRE button.

The program will then give you one more chance to make changes. If you want to make more changes, the program will go througth the entire sequence of options over. If you don’t want to make any more changes, move the joystick LEFT and press the FIRE button.

The last option you have before going on to play the game is for saving your newly created teams. Save the teams you’ve just created by moving the joystick RIGHT and pressing the FIRE button. If you don’t want to save your newly created teams, move the joystick LEFT and press the FIRE button.

Note that you should use THEC64 Joystick's MENU to load your progress in the game, 
rather than the Save option described here.

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Diamond in the Rough

STREET SPORTS BASEBALL gives you a “split screen” view of the action.

• on the left: a close-up of each play
• on the right: “a bird’s eye view”, of the whole field, so you can keep an eye on the big picture (except when a pitch is thrown).

Above the scoreboard indicates team names, score, player at bat, the current inning, and the count on balls, strikes and outs.

OK, OK, so there are a few obstacles out there on the field. (What did you expect - astro turf?) This wouldn’t be STREET SPORTS BASEBALL if there weren’t! A tree stump. A bush or two. A puddle where you least expect it. Part of the challenge is to keep one eye on the ball… and the other on that bird bath you’re about to trip over. One Iittle stumble can slow you up just long enough to let the opponent’s runner grab another base.

By the way, that trash can lid in the infield isn’t an obstacle, it’s home plate. That old tire is second base, and first base is an old cardboard box. Nobody’s quite sure what third base is, though it looks suspiciously like Bojo’s old red jacket.

Play Ball!

The Visiting Team is up first. With three outs, the sides will change automatically. Before the action begins, here are a few tips on play.

When You’re Up at Bat

You control each batter in the Iine up. Keep your eye on the pitcher. The next pitch could be slow or fast, an inside or outside curve, or a little bit of all. To swing, press the FIRE button. If you’re playing against the computer, you must press the FIRE button once as a practice swing to let the computer know you’re ready for the pitch.

The pitch is made, and… Crack! It’s a hit! The status line at the bottom of the screen tells you if it’s a grounder or a flyball (and whether it’s to the infield or outfield) a foul ball, or awright! - a home run. (Going… going… gone!)

When You’re on Base

If there’s another runner on the next base, he or she will automatically advance. If you’ve got a player on second or third, and no one behind him, he’ll stay put - unless you hold the FIRE button down.

If the play at the base looks like a close call, you can slide in by pulling the joystick DOWN. This betters your chances of advancing bases safely.

When You’re On the Mound

You begin each play by controlling the pitcher. Here’s where good hands and nerves of steel come in handy. Choose from four basic pitches:

• Fast ball: pull the joystick down
• Slow ball: push the joystick up
• Right curveball: push the joystick right
• Left curveball: push the joystick left

Press the FIRE button to let ’er rip. And remember the joystick controls the ball all the way to the plate. So you can curve the ball wide to the right and then pull it in and over the plate. Or start out slow and wing it fast over the plate.

But don’t get wild. Bean the batter with a wild pitch and it’s an automatic walk - just like in the big leagues.

When You’re Playing the Field

As soon as a batter connects with the ball, STREET SPORTS BASEBALL shifts your view to the field. Check out the bird’s eye view on the right to see where the ball is headed. (The status line below the screen will tell you the kind of hit you’re up against.)

Use the joystck to move the fielder under your control LEFT, RIGHT, UP/forward, or DOWN/back to get into position. If it’s a flyball, the trick is to get under it and catch it. If it’s a grounder, try to get in front of the ball to stop it.

To throw to one of the bases, use the joystick to direct your throw, and press the FIRE button when you’re ready to throw.

End of Game

A full game is nine innings. The scoreboard marks each inning of play. At the end of the bottom of the ninth, the game will automatically end, if the game is not tied. If the game is tied, the game will continue until there is a winner at the end of an inning. To end the game at any point during play, press the RUN/STOP and RESTORE keys simultaneously.

Wanna play again? You can start another game with the same team by highlighting Yes, and pressing the FIRE button. The game will begin again at the top of the first inning with the same players and positions.

To restart on THEC64, use the MENU button and select 'Exit Game' and then press FIRE 
            to immediately launch the game again from the carousel.

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Credits

PROGRAMMER: Greg Omi