We Love It's Guide to…
Draft a team of neighborhood kids, then time pitches, swings, and fielding plays in quick games or a season-long baseball campaign.
Released 10 Oct 2024
Draft Backyard Kids
Time Your Swings
Earn Trick Pitches
Rediscover the joy of the original Backyard Baseball 1997, now updated for modern systems! Build your roster from among the iconic Backyard Kids, aim for those home runs, and various game modes. Relive the magic of this classic baseball game!
Developed by Mega Cat Studios · Published by Playground Productions
Choose from a cast of 30 child athletes, each with different strengths, and take charge of a backyard baseball team. You can jump into a quick random matchup, draft players for a single game, or build a roster for a season.
Play through batting, pitching, fielding, and base running with straightforward controls. Batting depends on timing; pitching offers different throws, and successful plays can earn special pitches or powerful-hit effects. Batting practice against Mr. Clanky offers a place to work on your swing.
Set game rules and track statistics as you play. Season mode follows a 14-game schedule, then sends the top teams through a series of playoffs and championship rounds; Steam leaderboards also track categories such as home runs and season wins.
Players often describe the game as a nostalgic, charming baseball diversion that remains enjoyable to return to. They praise its easy-to-learn controls and the added strategy of timing plays and assembling a team from distinctive characters. Some also find it challenging, and a number of reviews report performance problems or frustrating fielding behavior.
"The game’s nostalgic and cozy charm is what makes this game the same success as it was back in ’97. 9/10. Rectify Gaming
"The game holds up. Whether you're a millennial looking to relive the glory days or hand the iconic video game franchise to the next generation, Backyard Baseball '97 is worth your time." Sports Illustrated
"Solid baseball gameplay mechanics aid the memorable people and places of the game." Gamespot
Relive the game that started it all! The original Backyard Baseball '97, now enhanced to run on Steam. Whether you're picking your dream team, hitting home runs, or just here for the witty banter, step back into the backyard and experience the game that made baseball fun for everyone!
Play pick-up games, practice batting, keep track of stats, compete in single games or a whole season - you can even set the rules! Backyard Baseball ‘97 features all of the realism and statistics of adult baseball games but with simple, intuitive controls that anyone can master.
Random Pick-up: A quick way to jump right in! The computer chooses a random team for you and itself, and the game starts immediately.
Single Game: You take turns with the computer, choosing players from a random pool of characters.
Season: You create a team and manage the team through a 14 game series. The opposing teams are computer generated. At the end of the season the best two teams advance to the BBL playoffs (best of 3). The playoffs winner advances to the championship series which consists of the Super Entire Nation Tournament (best of 3) and then the Ultra Grand Championship of the Universe Series (best of 5)!
Compete globally! Steam's Leaderboard system lets you compete with friends and players around the world. Track your home runs, strike-outs, grand slams, season wins and more in real-time. See how you stack up and strive to reach the top!BATTER UP, PLAYGROUND STYLE
For many fans, this is the game that debuted one of the most iconic video game characters of the 90s or any era—the legend himself, Pablo Sanchez. Build a roster from a cast of 30 hilarious child athletes who made Backyard Baseball a cult classic.
The rules for Backyard Baseball are a hybrid of Pro and Little League rules:
No leading off
No Injuries
Bunting is allowed
Tagging up is allowed
You can also practice batting
To get into the swing of things, choose a batter and face Mr. Clanky for some batting practice. This is where you’ll learn just when to click to make your chosen batter hit that ball!
At our core, we are fans first–not just of video games but of the Backyard Sports franchise. Fans have asked for accessible and legal ways to play their original Backyard titles for years, and we are excited to deliver.
Without having access to the source code, there are hard limitations on the experience we can create. As an example, we can’t use the original 32bit code to support modern macOS, as even with an incredibly clever wrapper, macOS can’t execute the binaries.
We can make the game run buttery smooth, stack it with Steam achievements to test your mettle and give you a chance to batter up to compete in the Steam Global Leaderboards for Home Runs. Baseball 1997 runs well, looks better than ever, and creates a new installation for digital preservation within the Backyard Sports catalog that allows the next generation of fans to fall in love with the title that started it all.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 25 |
| Age ratings |
|
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Website | Official website |
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