r/BackyardBaseball

Would the MacBook Neo be able to handle the new 2026 version of this game comfortably?

Not sure it it’s an issue with modern gaming in general or just BYB, but the 2026 game is not nearly as polished as the 1997 version from a gameplay perspective. Is this not laughable to anyone else? Have developers forgotten how to make a complete and functional game?

And don’t tell me we should have lower standards because it’s a game for kids. That shouldn’t matter because kids deserve fully functional gameplay.

I've been interested in the series for a while, but was worried the games might feel dated. The new one got me excited, but I've heard it's full of bugs and things that just don't work right.

What are the pros and cons of the various editions?

Bare in mind that I want a game that works on a modern PC without having to jump through hoops and has proper controller support. With that factored in, what am I looking at here?

Achmed

Tony

Pablo

Pete

Jocinda

Kenny

Keisha

Stephanie

Amir

I finished my first season of 01, and here are the changes I noticed. The obvious stuff is pros, backyard kids on the other teams, real home fields, and double plays giving power ups. I will mention coaching children. That means I coached elementary soccer and did some for pick up games in various sports.

Arms are much weaker in 01, and I think this change affects the game the most. In 97 outside of 3B and the outfield arm strength is a dump stat (and even in the outfield I find it is normally not very important). The throw just has a little less zip, but they go the distance easily. Gretchen at pitcher has no problem throwing Pete out at first. Now in 01 catcher is no longer a dump position. Bunts are much more dangerous, as every player cannot throw out Pete before he gets to first. In 97 Pete and Kiesha would all the time pick up a ball in the outfield and throw a fast runner out at first. Not even close in 01. I found this made speed less important, as everybody felt faster with the weaker arms.

Stealing is much more practical in 01. With all the strong arms especially in the playoffs I basically never stole a base. Everybody can hit a home run and giving up double plays is not too bad. Now stealing is way more consistent. It used to be I would only have Pete and Luanne steal. Last season Gretchen stole on average 1 base per playoff game. I once stole with Angela.

Seeing CPU positions and stats- This is a huge one. In 97 you can just see their list of players and batting order. I know many of the generic kid stats, but I do not know if Star Moonbeam is CF or 3B. In 01 I can see all of their positions and 10 ball stats. That makes the game much easier when I know their 3B cannot field or run (I found the CPU loved putting its worst defensive players on 3B and LF making a huge weak spot). This makes the game easier, but is somewhat negated by a smarter CPU. They now put players at much better positions. In 97 I many times noticed they put a Dimitri/Maria/Annie clone at pitcher and an Angela clone in the outfield.

Hot and cold days- In 97 you have to start the game with no awareness of this. This means you might notice Pete is moving really slow and can no longer play CF. Fixable, but it is too late to move him to a better batting position. In 01 you know all this before the game (and how much) meaning you can just fix the roster to accommodate Ricky now having a ten bat and Maria now having a 1 bat. I prefer the 97 method, as that is much more realistic for coaching children. Nothing like the excitement of seeing Gretchen is hot when her now lightning fast swing hits a triple home run.

The fielders are a lot better in 97. In it they rush for the ball and famously will catch it when it bounces off another fielder. It is hilarious when it helps my team and frustrating when it helps the other team. In 01 my outfielders kept standing still unless I told them to move and only one went for the ball. I think it is highly tied to intelligence. Stephanie, Gretchen, and Dimitri (1st, 2nd, and 8th smartest players) were much more likely to move on their own than my players with a low intelligence score.

Attention is actually important in 01. In 97 it barely matters, but not in 01. I regularly had issues with Stephanie stopping to throw her glove in the air when we were throwing the ball at her. On the other hand when that happens in 97 the ball goes through the player likely out of play. In 01 it instead knocks them over.

The CPU is really bad at forcing extra bases in 97 (running to second when the pitcher has the ball). In 01 they normally stay unless the pitcher drops it.

There is no victory screen in 01 (that or I missed it).

97 has infield flies, and 01 does not. With the double play mechanics that is odd, as it would be more useful in 01. I heard this is a steam only thing, and in disc 97 had no infield flies.

Batting power is considerably stronger in 97 than 01. I have listed 11 players in 97 as home run hitters, and my 01 team had four of them (Keisha, Tony, Angela, and Dimitri). In 97 I have hit true home runs with all 30 kids. I know it is only 1 season but only these four hit a true home run (I also played a pick up game with a stacked team and only Angela got true home runs). Maria came close once, but nobody else did. This is one of many reasons I make every backyard kid (except Sally and sometimes Lisa) swing power, as all can hit a homerun or deep to the outfield. In 01 with the worst fielding and weaker arms the other swing styles have much more value. Now Gretchen and Ricky can hit line drive and bolt for first. In 97 they would be thrown out.

Bat swings are much faster in 01. In fact it felt like everybody but Stephanie swung at the same speed. In 97 you want to swing much earlier than in 01. It took me a few games to figure this out.

Commentary- Sunny is really annoying in 01. After a few games I had to turn her off, and that made it way better.

Pitching accuracy- The pitches are more accurate in 01.

Power ups are more powerful. I found it much harder to hit power up pitches in 01. With less home runs and weaker arms every batting power up is stronger except for screaming line drive which seems even weaker.

Stamina is much less important. I quickly noticed running back and forth on the bases takes up noticeably less stamina than in 97. Then players recover it much faster when batting. That and the CPU throws so many balls. I know they greatly reducing the pitcher rating system to value stamina less, and that was a good call with the new method.

The playoff teams are more stacked in 97 than 01.

For players I picked a random team from 07 and transferred it to 01 to get all backyard kids. Here is who I thought was boosted or nerfed.

Angela- the best player somehow got buffed on both sides. The only issue is she no longer dives for the low balls, and with my middle infield of Stephanie and Gretchen that did not matter. Her slow swing is gone, batting power is now more important than contact, pitching is more important, and her slowball is better. I am already thinking if I make a new random team tier list for 01 she will have the S tier all to herself.

Kiesha- Probably even better on offense, but her fielding was way worse. In 97 she feels like a solid 4 fielder and here she feels like a high 2 or low 3. She has a weaker arm, and I have to micromanage her. In a playoff game she dove for a ball and instead knocked it over the fence for a triple home run. She is no longer great at defense. Overall a nerf. With how great she is I understand balancing her.

Stephanie- With the worse fielding her defense is now more important. She was great there. On offense it feels like her bat is just an illusion, and she is way worse there.

Tony- Basically the same. A little worse at hitting and a little better at base running.

Ernie- Way worse in every way. I was often convinced he was throwing.

Gretchen- I have always been a Gretchen truther, and I heard she was worse in this game. I found the opposite. Now with the weaker arms she can easily line drive her way to first, and she is a gigantic base running threat. She went from being one of the worst offensive players in the game to being really good at it. On defense she was my most reliable fielder and making many crucial plays at 2B. I just had to remember to make her throw it to Stephanie every time. With the possible exception of Angela she was my most consistently good player.

Dimitri- The same.

Maria- In 97 she is above average on offense and below average on defense. Now she is the opposite. Her hitting is worse, but she is a reliable glove in the outfield.

Ricky- Better on offense and worse on defense but not much. At least he was better than Ernie.

Thanks for staying 'til the end.

I’m hoping to get some opinions from collectors before I make a decision about selling this because I honestly have no idea what it’s worth. 😂

For a little context, I’m an original artist/animator who worked at Humongous Entertainment, and I’ve had this sheet since around 1997. I posted a video about it last year, and I recently shared it again. Since then, two collectors have reached out to me through DMs asking if I would sell it. One of them actually tried to buy it from me last year when I first posted the video!

It’s an original 1997 Backyard Baseball perforated card sheet that has remained completely intact since I got it. It has all 9 cards still attached:

• Angela Delvecchio
• Dante Robinson
• Jocinda Smith
• Kenny Kawaguchi
• Lisa Crockett
• Mark DuBois
• Tony Delvecchio
• Keisha Phillips
• Vicky Kawaguchi

The cards themselves are in pristine condition. This particular sheet has just a small tear along one of the perforations/corners. No creases or other damage.

I actually have a second sheet that is completely pristine with no tears at all, which I’m definitely keeping. 😂 I originally kept them intact simply because I thought the full sheet looked really cool and never wanted to separate the cards.

I these came with the original 1997 game, and I remember having them shortly after I started working at Humongous Entertainment. They eventually ended up loose in a moving box with random papers from that time period and somehow survived almost 30 years and multiple moves in this condition. 😂

I’ve been offered $1,000 for the sheet, but before I make a decision, I’d really like to hear from people who actually collect Backyard Baseball or vintage game memorabilia.

I cannot find another intact 1997 sheet currently for sale anywhere, so I honestly don’t know how to value it.

If this were yours, what would you value it at? Would you sell it for $1,000 or hold onto it?

I’m genuinely looking for honest opinions from collectors because I don’t want to sell something I’ve kept for almost 30 years and then regret it later. 😅

Hi - I am interested in getting my kid set up for backyard baseball. We do not use any gaming consoles at home and have never played any games on the computer. But the NYT article made it sound like this was a decent game for little kids, and they have been begging for me to let them play something on the computer. Is there anything specific you recommend for Steam? We have a MAC computer. Any particular joystick or controller you would recommend buying? We have OLD playstation controllers but Im guessing those are not going to work ha. Thank you!