Games are played at the managerial level, allowing you to select the
team's strategies, but not to control the players. It's a lot like being a
big league manager - you can send signals for pitchouts, stolen bases, and
the like, and substitute players, but you can't select individual pitches or
tell players where to throw the ball. Once the strategy has been selected,
radio announcer style play-by-play text is displayed describing the result of
the at bat. You have the option at any point of letting the computer
simulate the game for a set number of innings or until the end.
The game also allows the GM and owner to continue to work during the
season. The GM can propose trades, call up players from the minors, sign
contract extensions, and adjust the team's depth charts at any point during the
season. Wearing the owner's hat, you can set ticket prices and
schedule special promotions to keep fan interest in the team high.
After the season and playoffs are completed, the game moves to the next
season after the MVP, best pitcher, and outstanding rookie awards are
given.. Players retire, contracts expire creating free agents, and coaches
move on. The game then moves to the coaches signing period and the whole
process begins anew.
STB provides its players with a large number of statistics for the baseball
players in the game that are continually updated throughout the season.
You can view the statistics for your own players, those on other teams,
league leaders, or even the records set during play. There is even a Hall
of Fame to immortalize retired players with impressive lifetime numbers.
The season totals for the game's players are all realistic and closely match the
statistics of the real life players. Many computer games have difficulty
generating realistic numbers, routinely creating .500 hitters and 28 to 25 run ball
games, but this is not the case with STB.
To further enhance its realism, the game's baseball player's are given a
little personality in the form of leadership skills, desire to play well every
day, and the ability to play well despite being on a losing ball club.
When trying to sign players, you might find that some might not want to play for
you or will tell you that your team is not good enough for them. They may
also complain about lack of playing time during the season, or find a contract
offer to be insulting because it is below their expectations. This all
works nicely in the game and makes you feel that you are doing more than playing
a straight numbers game.
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