by

Scott Kendrick

Updated February 16, 2019

Baseball fans love to argue about the sport's different eras and how their favorite players would have
performed at various times. For example, how would Babe Ruth stack up today? Would Roger Clemens
be able to strike out Ty Cobb?

Fans also like to inject themselves into the front office positions. Do you think you could run the Yankees
better than Hank Steinbrenner? How do you think your GM and managing abilities stack up to other
baseball fans?

These computer games and board games can satisfy these needs and provide you with a lot of fun doing
it!

Diamond Mind Baseball

Diamond Mind Baseball website

Diamond Mind

Diamond Mind is a computer simulation that's been around for more than 20 years. Its intricate engine
is used by ESPN and other media to simulate seasons and is considered by many to be the best simulator
out there.

The way it works is, users draft a team using past players and then try to beat other owners in a 12-team
league for a simulated 162-game season. It's not as easy as sticking Mickey Mantle in center, Babe Ruth
in right, and putting Cy Young on the mound, either, as the salary cap means you can only afford a few
superstars for your team. Sure, you'll be filling out your roster with players you've probably forgotten
about, but that's part of the fun.

The simulator comes in web-based and downloadable versions.

Sim League Baseball

What If Baseball website

What if Sports

This simulator from WhatIf Sports, run by Fox Sports.com, is similar to Diamond Mind but has a couple
of subtle differences. Players from 1885-2007 are used, and you can manage your club through a 162-
game schedule in a 24-team league. There are private and public leagues and there's also a feature
where you can play games live.

Sim Dynasty

Sim Dynasty login screen

Sim Dynasty

Sim Dynasty is more in line with running a franchise instead of just running a team. Managers can
control their team over multiple seasons, build a farm system, and compete over a longer span of time.
A single-season team is free, so it's a great way to test out the system before getting into a multi-season
league commitment.

SimDynasty doesn't have the polish of Diamond Mind, but it has a vibrant online community, and its
franchise potential is intriguing. The free-to-start policy is a double-edged sword—yes, it's cheap to try
out, but for those who want to stick around, there are inherently more people who end up ignoring
their teams after a poor start.

Baseball Mogul

Baseball Mogul 2018 website

Sports Mogul

This is one of the first online baseball video games to take you from season to season and it's still the
number-one best-selling baseball PC video game. Compared to the other software-based games, this is
also one of the best looking. One cool feature of the game is that it uses real players' names and they
age over time.
In Baseball Mogul, you control every aspect of your team—from deciding how much you charge for
tickets to picking up free agents and running your farm system. You can choose whether to run the
game using salary caps or simulate a reality where the Yankees have more to spend than other teams.
The game is generally more of a solitary quest, but there's also an online version where you can play
against other owners on the Internet.

Out of The Park Baseball

Out of the Park Baseball website

Out of the Park

This very good game is similar to Baseball Mogul. There are online leagues with customizable financial
systems, auto-generated game recaps, and authentic minor league systems.

Strat-O-Matic Baseball

Strat-o-Matic website

Strat-o-matic

Strat-o-Matic is a popular card and dice game that was adapted to the computer. Through a partnership
with Sporting News, Strat-o-Matic has been adapted to resemble Diamond Mind, with the difference
that it uses player ratings from the past season. Like Diamond Mind and Sim Dynasty, it simulates three
games per day until the season is complete.

The original dice game is still available each season and there's also a traditional computer game that
allows you to play head-to-head on the internet or do your own simulations against the computer.

APBA Baseball

APBA website

APBA

You may remember the old dice version of APBA Baseball—well, they still make the game after all these
years and now there's also a software version that includes Pete Van Wieren describing the games,
which is a nice touch. In APBA, you're controlling a team from the past or drafting a team and playing
against the computer or a friend in person. This is more of a solitary quest than most of the other games
on this list.

10 Best Computer Baseball Games

DYNASTY League Baseball

Dynasty League Baseball website

DYNASTY League Baseball

Like Strat-O-Matic and APBA, DYNASTY is derived from a classic baseball board/card game, Pursue the
Pennant. The board game version is in the permanent archives of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but
there is now a new multi-player online version where you can play solitaire or live head-to-head games
in full season draft leagues with stats, standings and leaders updated automatically in real time.
DYNASTY has a graphical interface and is praised by the media and MLB Analytics departments for its
accuracy, realism, and detail. Past seasons and Greatest Teams are also available in addition to the
current season.

Scoresheet Baseball

Scoresheet fantasy baseball website

Scoresheet

You have to be in the regular season to play Scoresheet, but it's another interesting concept—it doesn't
use past stats, as essentially every other game does. Played in real time during the season, this service
touts itself as the only baseball simulation that plays based on stats from the current week's major-
league games. Scoresheet is essentially like drafting a traditional fantasy team, but playing alternate
games on the computer and you actually manage the team—at-bat by at-bat—working the matchups
like a real manager.