Customer Reviews

Baseball Mogul 2007

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've played a lot of baseball sims, and have to say Baseball Mogul is the most addictive of them all. You control all front office duties for any MLB team, past or present. Other games may provide more in-game strategy options, and be more accurate statistically, but to GM a team through a number of years in one sitting is what makes BBM special.

I love taking teams and stripping them down, rebuilding through the draft and trades for prospects. You can start playing your favorite team 10-15 years ago, and see if you could steer them to a better result. The drafts actually contain "historical rookies," so through hindsight you might have an advantage (ie- that Albert Pujols kid might be a good draft pick).

You can get the 2005 version free at their website to check it out, but at under $20, buying the new 2007 version is an incredible bargain recommended for any baseball fan.

This is the first in the mogul series that I have played. I have a feeling i'll be spending 10s of hours over the next few weeks on this game. I starterd up a game starting in 1901 on "Fan" difficulty(the easiest setting). I selected all fictional players, i prefer to keep my video gaming stats seperate from my real world MLB stats in my head. You could select to have all the real rosters from 1901 and have historical players show up in the draft in the future.

The game started with 8 teams in each league, 16 total, and each team with a fictional roster. My players already had statistics from previous seasons so i could get an idea what to expect from each of them.

The game defaulted to a 3 man pitching rotation but i could choose to change that to 4 or 5 man although i don't see any upside to doing that at this point. Maybe as the years go by pitchers start needing more days off between starts.

Each player also has a group of abililty ratings. Batters for instance have contact, power, speed, and eye. There are similar ratings for fielding and pitching. Also each player has an "overall" and "peak" rating. I haven't been able to figure out what these ratings stand for. At first i was thinking that overall refered to how good a player is now and peak is how good they can become but so far as i can tell the ability ratings play a much bigger role in preformance. I have several players at 93-overall and 93-peak who are ok, but i also have a guy who is 76-overall and 77-peak who has won 2 MVP awards in 6 seasons. The main difference between them is the MVP winner has great contact and power ratings, in the high 90s, while the other guys are in the high 80s, low 90s.

Anyway i found fan mode to be very easy after the first 2 seasons. I'm making well over 100 million(not quite historically accurate) a year with a $90 million pay roll. While my competition is sitting in the $50-60 million range. My attendance is in the 35000-40000 per game while theirs is around 25000. I'm also selling my tickets for about $6 more a seat. I've won 3 of the first 6 world series and appear to be in a position to win alot for a long time to come. I hope the next level will be a bit more challenging

Between each season you have to deal with player arbitration and contract extension as well as free agency. You'll have to negotiate contracts with each player individually or even cut them completely. The trick is keeping an eye on your payroll while you do this. I've found it's best to do this the day after the world series. If you wait until free agency begins you will be forced to deal with all of these issues without being able to view your roster while doing it. Also players you choose to cut you can also go after in free agency. On the first day of free agency all available players will be demanding a fairly high salary. As the days go by their demands will lessen, sometimes you can wait a player out and get him at a bargin rate, but you risk another owner snatching him up first.

The reason i didn't give this game 5 stars is often times you can't have 2 different windows open at one time. For instance i can't view my lineup while working on a trade proposal.

There's lots to do in this game that i haven't touched on here. If you love baseball it's probably worth a try. I think i'll be increasing the difficulty to "coach" tonight and i'll start planning my new stadium.

This might be a hard thing to do when Amazon is offering Baseball Mogul 2007 for only $10, but try holding out for Baseball Mogul 2008. The reasons are listed below, and I only offer them to show how BM '07 has been upgraded - not replaced. (Which is why holding out is better than buying both titles, if you haven't already.)

First, they are adding a new feature in the '08 title called the Encyclopedia. Basically, it is just thousands of weblinks arranged which provide an awesome resource for fans of the game of baseball. It is not necessarily for just the numbers crunchers, but usually baseball simmers/fantasy players are in it for the sport itself, too.

Also, a new database engine is being released that puts more statistics at your fingertips for comparison purposes, even if you are comparing retired, dead, or active players.

Next, Sports Mogul, Inc. changed the user interface rather sweetly for the BM '08 title. You know when you are watching ESPN and they have that little ticker line scrolling at the bottom? Well, they put that into Mogul '08, and the feature is legitimate - it even scrolls during the Play-By-Play Mode during at bats.

They also added some new logos and icons for your custom teams.

The financial system really blows me away in comparison to Mogul 2007. With '08, you get to adjust the financial records based on the year per inflation (you won't see millionaires in 1907, for example, nor a $10,000 salary in 2006), taxes, and enable/disable the free agency. Basically, if you were any good with the General Manager portion of Mogul '07, expect to spend more hours devising your strategy in '08.

I consider this an upgrade, not a replacement, because you will see more of the same, but now you are to consider more when making strategy in '08. Also, it basically just adds more realism to the numbers side of baseball for the General Manager mode.

Draft Day in Mogul 2008 is more complicated only in that the title has new formulas for how players develop and age. Basically, things are more random now, but to compare that to Mogul 2007, this feature si only optional. It is intended to mimic real life in that we rarely know what players are going to do year-to-year: slump or break out. Not a huge feature, in my opinion, but a respectable option.

Baseball Mogul 2008 hypes up the new physics-based simulations, and comparing that to Mogul 2007, one could argue that the statistics are now more realistic since friction, weather, spin, etc. are now included in the gameplay.

Playing the other Mogul titles, I saw this much like I did with the new player development formulas. Basically, it is a minor change (requiring major work and research) that produces respectable simulations. In all, it makes the Mogul titles more legitimate from an academic point of view, but still keeps the genre intact: this is a simulation game, not an action game.

Other minor, but appreciated, features (and why you should hold out for Baseball Mogul 2008 if you can) are being able to save your season at any time, including the middle of a game (Play-By-Play Mode); expanded statistics for scouting (like IBB, GDP, ground ball and fly ball percentages, etc.); updated rosters before the 2007 MLB season starts; a better player editor so that you can customize him with even more factors; better split statistics comparisons (like left vs. right pitching and hitting, RISP, etc.); and lastly, the simulation for Mogul 2008 was upgraded to speed up those season simulations where you don't intend to do any Play-By-Play (it takes about 30 seconds to sim a full season in Mogul 2008).

Well, that's my review. Again, my intent in bringing it to the Baseball Mogul 2007 section was to point out my opinion that there is going to be an "upgraded 2007 version." If Baseball Mogul 2007 was going to be wholly different than Mogul 2008, then the review would stand for '07 only. But really, if you have played '07 (or if you haven't), the same features are simply made better in the '08 title with a slightly new look.

In terms of baseball simulators, I believe the Mogul franchise is the best around today, but Frontline Sports dominated the 1990s, I believe. My point is that none of these simulators will be perfect, only respectable as they dedicate to research and realism in the numbers side of baseball.

If you don't like applied mathematics or statistics, the Mogul franchise will not help you appreciate the sport of baseball. If you love numbers, the sport of baseball (through great products such as Baseball Mogul) provides an entirely separate universe outside what you watch from your couch. But you get to see that separate world when you are told a batter's accomplishments as they compare to his last 23 At bats or amongst history's shortstops (as examples).

If you love numbers, controlled simulations, and like the tie into baseball, get into the Baseball Mogul series. If you like the Baseball Mogul series and are wondering when to hop in again or upgrade, wait for the Baseball Mogul 2008 product and skip 2007.

Don't get me wrong, the idea behind this game is great. I just personally find myself speeding through games just to get to the off- season parts, then simply losing interest all together. The ability to play with any team throughout history is super, but the free agency and off-season signing parts are just not realistic enough. Basically if you pay any player enough, he will sign with you and no other teams will compete for super stars. By the end of the 1st season, you can easily have an all star team assembled. And I know the argument of real players going for the money too, but there are still some players who want to stay where they are despite contract offers. This game doesn't offer that at all, and the computer simply does not try to out bid you for any player, ever. Check out out of the park baseball if you want actual strategy during the off season.

The game is meant for people who love baseball and fantasy baseball. To begin a game and see the all of the players of that particular year is just great. You can play the game in many ways, from calling each pitch or completing a season in seconds. I have had no problems with the game play or the program. This is not a game for the arcade player, but it is a game for baseball fanatics. Absolutely, a great game.

This game has much to offer to the strategist. Not intended to be the typical "arcade-style" game -- you do not control the players movements in any way. Instead, it allows you to construct teams and play individual games making managerial (e.g. hit & run, steal, replace players) and player (e.g. call pitches and location, swing or take a pitch) decisions. Or you may opt to play a more long-term role, letting the computer simulate games while you make personnel and business decisions. You may simulate days, weeks, or even seasons at a time. It enables this with an extensive library of player data - major and minor leaguers going back to 1901. It will also create fictional players if you let it.



Drawbacks are that the simulation tends to make some unusual decisions - for instance, computer generated trades can seem pretty random, though they can be turned off. Also, while it is good at introducing variation into the individual games (for instance it will occasionally rest starters), some of the decisions it makes can be unorthodox. I would also like to see the ability to import schedules when replaying historical seasons; the algorithm it uses tends to introduce 3-day gaps. Lastly, make sure to install the latest online updates, which fix a few bugs and add key features like the ability to perform a double-switch in the lineup.



Those negatives aside, I have not found a baseball simulation as rich in features as this one. And at a bargain price.

Every year i cant help but pick this game up. While i still enjoy action baseball games theres a part of me that still wants to be more in depth with what goes on with my club, and baseball mogul gives u that. Its the only game that lets you handle an entire minor league system that actually produces starters from development. This game is the pure defination of what its like to be a general manager. Everything from personell decisions to ticket prices, farm team and medical budgerts, to detailed contracts and trades, this game gives any real sports fans endless hours of playing time. The massive player data base lets you start a season as far back as the early 1900's. Even better, real life players from back then become the new minor leaguers, not made up names. Make your home town team the new "Yankees" by landing studs like Ruth, Gherig, and Mantle as the years go on. A++++++

Stumbled across BM 2007 as a result of an Amazon recommendation. Ordered it on a lark and installed it on my laptop late last week, and I am hooked!! I didn't do a THING over the past weekend except tinker with this game. If you love the wheeling and dealing, GM-centric side of baseball, this game is for you. I love that part as much and maybe more than playing the game itself.

I did take off a little on my rating because the program does have some bugs/kinks in it, and I've already seen a number of ways where the AI interface could be refined/improved. Also, the user manual provided on the Sports Mogul website is basically worthless. The Help documentation within the program is better, but still needs a lot of improvement.

All in all though, BM is easily worth $19. I expect I'll upgrade when the 2008 version comes out.

from hadling front manager duties, such as making trades, setting prices on food and tickets, to drafting your minor leaguers, this game has it ALL. the new features are great.

if you would like to know more about it, visit their web site
sportsmogul.com

If you like statistics, this is your game. It is a chess-like experience at the speed or complexity that you like. They even have an online sign-up for $5/month where you play against other enthusiasts. Honestly, it is my favorite computer game since the early days of CIVILIZATION or, going way back, Earl Weaver Baseball.