Clutch Hitter

n/a

System 18 Game Gear
Clutch Hitter
System(s): Sega System 18, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Developer: Sega R&D 1 Sega R&D 2
Licensor: Nippon Professional Baseball (JP) Major League Baseball Players Association (US)
Peripherals supported: Gear-to-Gear Cable
Genre: Sports (baseball)
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1991-05 ¥? ? US 1991-02 $? ? US 1991-12 $39.9539.95 2311

Clutch Hitter (クラッチヒッター) is a baseball game originally released for Sega System 18 hardware before being ported to the Sega Game Gear. The Game Gear version was only released in North America.

A "clutch hitter" is a player who is known for excelling in high-stakes situations (such as when the team is trailing late in the game).

Gameplay

Game Gear version

The game follows the rules of Major League Baseball. Players can choose from any of the 26 teams from the 1990 MLB season. The game has a MLBPA license, so players are identified by their initials and have accurate stats, but teams are identified only by their locale. Players choose a starting pitcher before each game.

	Defense
	Pitching is shown from behind the pitcher. The player can position the pitcher on the mound with and and throw the ball with . While throwing the ball, the player can use and for a breaking ball, for a fastball, or for a change-up (slow pitch). Faster pitches are harder for the batter to hit but more likely to travel farther or potentially result in a home run. The batter is eliminated when three strikes are thrown; the batter gets a free base if the pitcher throws four balls or hits the batter. The player can open an overhead view of the bases with . When this view is open, the pitcher can throw to a base by pressing while holding a direction corresponding to the base ( for first, for second, for third, or for home) to pick off runners trying to steal a base. Pitchers tire out over the course of the game. Fastballs and curve balls wear out pitchers faster. The player can substitute a relief pitcher by calling a timeout with  START  and pressing , then scrolling through the list of reliefs with and and pressing to make the substitution (or or  START  to cancel). Fielding uses an overhead view, with the D-Pad controlling all of the fielders simultaneously. Once the ball is in possession, the fielder can throw it to base by pressing while holding a direction corresponding to the base or press by itself to throw to first base.
	Offense
	Batting is shown from behind the umpire. The player can position the batter in the batter's box using the D-Pad and swing by holding . The batter stops the swinging motion when the button is released (but does not pull it back). The batter can square up a bunt by pressing  START  after the pitch; the batter can still move in the box while holding the bunt. The player can instruct a baserunner to lead-off by holding a direction corresponding to a base ( for first, for second, for third, or for all runners) and pressing or steal a base by holding a direction and also holding . A runner can be instructed to return to base by pressing while holding a direction. Runners automatically advance to the next base when a ball is hit. The player can substitute a pinch hitter by calling a timeout with  START  and pressing , then scrolling through the list of reliefs with and and pressing to make the substitution (or or  START  to cancel).

Modes

The game has the following modes:

• 1P Play: A single-player mode for playing a single game against the computer. The player picks a team to play and a team to play against.
• Vs Play: A two-player mode for two players competing with each other over a Gear-to-Gear Cable.

In either mode, players can choose to play a 5, 7, or 9 inning game.

Teams

On the team select screen, the player can switch between the two leagues with and change the division with or .

League	Division	Team	Based on
American	Western	Minnesota	Minnesota Twins
		Kansas City	Kansas City Royals
		Oakland	Oakland Athletics
		Seattle	Seattle Mariners
		Chicago	Chicago White Sox
		California	California Angels
		Texas	Texas Rangers
	Eastern	Detroit	Detroit Tigers
		Toronto	Toronto Blue Jays
		Milwaukee	Milwaukee Brewers
		New York	New York Yankees
		Boston	Boston Red Sox
		Baltimore	Baltimore Orioles
		Cleveland	Cleveland Indians
National	Western	San Francisco	San Francisco Giants
		Cincinnati	Cincinnati Reds
		Houston	Houston Astros
		Los Angeles	Los Angeles Dodgers
		Atlanta	Atlanta Braves
		San Diego	San Diego Padres
	Eastern	St. Louis	St. Louis Cardinals
		New York	New York Mets
		Montreal	Montreal Expos
		Philadelphia	Philadelphia Phillies
		Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Pirates
		Chicago	Chicago Cubs

History

Clutch Hitter is considered to be an entry in the Super League series of baseball games, directly inspiring the improvements Pro Yakyuu Super League '91 made to Super League.

Versions

There are noticeable differences between the Japanese and US versions of the arcade game: the US version has a MLBPA license and uses US teams, while the Japanese version opts for Japanese players and teams. There are also subtle changes to the presentation to reflect the two regions. A Chicken Leg, an enemy seen in Altered Beast and Golden Axe, makes a cameo appearance in the results screen.

Production credits

Main article: Clutch Hitter/Production credits.

Magazine articles

Main article: Clutch Hitter/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

System 18 US flyer

PDF

System 18 JP flyer

Physical scans

System 18 version

System 18, US

System 18, JP
"Top" instructions "Long" instructions
Instuction card(s)

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score GamePro (US) NTSC-U 80 Play Time (DE) 75

	78
Based on 2 reviews

Clutch Hitter

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 d228a467 MD5 daba20a2e2acc99cd7824ca9de42af46 SHA-1 df7af6588652c3163ea6f445fa21ef76b9764cd0	128kB		Cartridge (US)