Backyard Baseball 2001 was the second Backyard Baseball game, and the fourth overall game in the Backyard Sports franchise. It was made for Windows/Macintosh. It was also the second game overall to have pros. Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles is featured on the cover.
Gameplay[]
The biggest change is the introduction of Pro Kids to the Baseball series. Starting with this game, all the kids are on the bleachers during the player draft; in previous Backyard Sports games, only a fraction of the kids were on the bleachers. Another change is that, unlike the original/1997 version, you can now see if a player is either having a "good day" or "bad day", where a player gets a random increase or decrease to their stats, by looking at they're ratings on the field in game or seeing if the background behind them is either blue or orange when they're up to bat or pitching. Batting powerups can now be obtained by turning double plays; in the previous game, they were only obtained by hitting powerup pitches.
In Season Mode, each opposing team now have a Backyard Kid and a Pro Kid as team captains. The Pick-Up Game fields are now available in Season Mode; the player chooses one as their home field. Several Backyard Kids had their stats changed. It is now possible to create a custom player; this feature had been introduced in Backyard Football.
Intro video[]
Sammy Sosa appears at the bat, with Mike Piazza catching. Camera closes into them, and Sammy Sosa takes a big swing of the bat and stops to reveal the BBL logo, Then Chipper Jones appears, who picks up a grounder, and throws to second. Stephanie Morgan catches the ball and hits foot on second base to get a sliding Jeff Bagwell (a Houston Astro) out. She throws it to first, covered by Colorado Rockie Larry Walker for the double play. A sweating and panting Dmitri Petrovich who runs by first base, tagged out. Lisa Crocket, who hits a ball that stops and turns into a white circle with the Cleveland Indians logo. Kenny Kawaguchi does the same thing, except the ball turns into the Seattle Mariners logo instead. Nomar Garciaparra (a Boston Red Sock) hits a Texas Ranger, then Ken Griffey Jr. (a Cincinnati Red), Luanne Lui and Kimmy Eckman, respectively, all take swings. After which more white circles with logos of various MLB teams appear, until all 30 teams appeared. After that, Randy Johnson appears and pitches the ball at the screen, and the Backyard Baseball 2001 logo appears.
Pros[]
Fields[]
- Steele Stadium
- Parks Dept. #2
- Cement Gardens
- Tin Can Alley
- Eckman Acres
- Dirt Yards
- Sandy Flats
- Playground Commons
Teams[]
Major League Baseball[]
American League | National League | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
West | Central | East | West | Central | East |
Anaheim Angels | Chicago White Sox | Baltimore Orioles | Arizona Diamondbacks | Chicago Cubs | Atlanta Braves |
Oakland Athletics | Cleveland Indians | Boston Red Sox | Colorado Rockies | Cincinnati Reds | Florida Marlins |
Seattle Mariners | Detroit Tigers | New York Yankees | Los Angeles Dodgers | Houston Astros | Montreal Expos |
Texas Rangers | Kansas City Royals | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | San Diego Padres | Milwaukee Brewers | New York Mets |
Minnesota Twins | Toronto Blue Jays | San Francisco Giants | Pittsburgh Pirates | Philadelphia Phillies | |
St. Louis Cardinals |
Custom Teams and Names[]
Names | Teams |
---|---|
Blue | Melonheads |
Crazy | Hornets |
Green | Wombats |
Humongous | Bombers |
Junior | Monsters |
Little | Fishes |
Mighty | |
Red | |
Super Duper | |
White |
Due to similarities with the real teams included in the game, the custom team names Giants and Socks are cut from this installment of the Backyard Baseball series. The names All Stars and Rockets are no longer available as well.
Trivia[]
- The stylized menus from the previous games are replaced with a more streamlined look. This menu system is featured in all subsequent SCUMM-era games.
- The voice clips of the Backyard Kids and the commentators were mostly recycled from the first game. The Backyard Kids have new voice clips for getting a strike, getting a ball, and hitting a home run. Vinnie the Gooch also has several new lines.
Gallery[]
Backyard Baseball series | |
---|---|
PC games | Original (1997) • 2001 • 2003 • 2005 • 2007 • Sandlot Sluggers |
Mobile games | 2015 |
Console ports | 2002 (GBA) • 2005 (GBA) • 2007 (GBA) • 2003 (PS2, Gamecube) • 2009 (DS) • Sandlot Sluggers (Xbox 360 and Wii) |