World Series Baseball (Mega Drive)

For non-Mega Drive versions, see World Series Baseball.

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World Series Baseball
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega of America
Developer: BlueSky Software
Supporting companies: Western Technologies (speech)
Brand: Sega Sports (US)
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)
Licensor: Major League Baseball Properties, Major League Baseball Players Association
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Sports (baseball)
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-03 $59.9959.99 1222 US ▼ (Sega Channel) 199x SUBsub BR 199x 046120

World Series Baseball is a 1994 baseball game by Sega and BlueSky Software released for the Sega Mega Drive in the US. It is an entry in the World Series Baseball series. It is the first baseball game for the platform to have licenses from both the MLB and the MLBPA, so it has all of the players and teams from the 1994 season.

This Mega Drive version was announced alongside a different Game Gear version and a similar, but ultimately unreleased Mega-CD version. It was followed by World Series Baseball '95, also for the Mega Drive.

Gameplay

The game takes a more realistic, simulation-style approach compared to the more simplified, arcade-style approach taken by most other baseball games of the time. It uses a low angle from the perspective of the catcher for pitching and hitting and employs control schemes that try to more authentically reproduce the depth and strategy of baseball. Players can choose from any of the 28 teams from the 1994 MLB season. All 28 ballparks were recreated for the game, including their scoreboards, with details such as the ivy wall at Wrigley Field or the "Green Monster" at Fenway Park. The game has spoken commentary taken from Sports Talk Baseball.

In the game options, players can select the difficulty for pitching and batting separately (Rookie, Veteran, or All-Star) and toggle auto-fielding.

	Starting Lineup and Pitchers
	Before each game, players set the batting order and can also change the defensive position of each player and make substitutions. Players choose the starting pitcher and can have two relief pitchers warm up in the bullpen. Starting pitchers have more stamina than relief pitchers, but relievers can warm up to their maximum stamina while in the bullpen.
	Defense
	On each pitch, the player positions the pitch using the D-Pad. The strike zone appears in brackets in the center of the screen. The type of pitch is chosen from a menu with , , or . Each pitcher has a repertoire of three pitches from eight different possible pitches: Fastball: A straight pitch that is the fastest in the pitcher's arsenal. It is intended to get the batter to swing late and miss, but there is a risk of giving the other team a long hit if the batter correctly times it. Splitter: A high-speed pitch that drops as it reaches home plate. It is intended to get the batter to swing too high and miss, as its drop-off is sharper and more sudden than a sinker. Slider: A curved pitch that breaks away from the pitcher's throwing arm. It breaks more sharply than a curveball, so it resembles an ordinary fastball until it is near the plate. Sinker: A high-speed pitch with a downward trajectory that is used to induce groundballs. Curveball: A curved pitch that breaks away from the pitcher's throwing arm. Changeup: A straight pitch that is usually the slowest in the pitcher's arsenal. It is intended to get the batter to swing early and miss, but it is one of the easiest pitches to hit if the batter correctly identifies it. Screwball: A curved pitch that breaks in the opposite direction of a curveball or a slider. Knuckleball: A rare pitch that is slow and follows an unpredictable trajectory. The player can conceal the location of the pitch by holding the button and moving the D-Pad before releasing the button. The aim of the pitch is set to the location of the ball when the button is pressed, not when the button is released, and any movement after that is ignored, so this can be done to hide the location of the pitch from the other player in two-player games. After choosing the type of pitch and its position, the player chooses the speed of the throw: for slow, for medium, or for fast. The pitcher can also throw to base with the D-Pad ( for first, for second, or for third) to pick-off runners trying to steal a base or throw a pitchout (a pitch deliberately thrown outside of the strike zone to make it easier to catch) with to prevent baserunners from stealing a base or to thwart a squeeze play. Pitchers tire out over the course of the game and must be relieved. When fielding, the D-Pad controls the player closest to the ball. If auto-fielding is enabled, the fielders automatically move toward any ball hit near them. The position of the ball is highlighted with a yellow circle when it is near the ground, and the positions of fielders are shown as team-colored dots over the miniature diamond in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The player can have the nearest fielder dive for the ball by pressing while holding a direction or jump by pressing while the fielder is standing still. Once the ball is in possession, it can be thrown to base by pressing while holding a direction corresponding to the base ( for first, for second, for third, or for home). If no direction is held, the ball is thrown to the cut-off man or to the pitcher. Calling a time-out with  START  shows the pitcher's statistics (inning pitched, total pitches, balls, and strikes) and stamina and contains a menu to warm up relievers, substitute pitchers or fielders, play a replay, or check the scoreboard. Pitchers that are replaced are removed for the remainder of the game. There is also the ability to change the defensive strategy by changing the depth and shift of outfielders and infielders.
	Offense
	Before each pitch, the player chooses the type of swing: for contact, for normal, or for power. Contact is a light hit to put the ball into play; power is a hard hit to try to get a run. The strike zone appears in brackets in the center of the screen. Hitting comes down to aim and timing. The player moves a circular reticle at the ball with the D-Pad and swings with or bunts with . As in real baseball, pitchers throw a variety of pitches to try to confuse the batter. On Rookie difficulty, the player does not need to aim the hit and only needs to swing. After selecting the type of swing, runners can be instructed to lead-off by holding while tapping a direction on the D-Pad corresponding to the base that the runner is currently on (( for first, for second, or for third, or for all baserunners). Runners can attempt to steal a base by holding while holding a direction on the D-Pad. When running, the player can slide to base with . The player can control the runners on base by holding a direction on the D-Pad ( for first, for second, for third, or for all baserunners) with to run to the next base or to return to base. The positions of runners are shown as team-colored dots over the miniature diamond in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Runners tire out and run slower if caught in a rundown (stranded between two bases) for too long. Calling a time-out with  START  shows the batter's statistics (defensive position, batting average, home runs, runs batted in, and stolen bases) and contains a menu to make substitutions, play a replay, or check the scoreboard.

Modes

Season schedule

The game has the following modes:

• Exhibition: A single game against a human or computer player. The player can also watch two computer-controlled teams play.
• League: Plays a season of games that culminate in the World Series. The player can choose the number of games (13, 26, 52, or a full 162 games) and the number of divisions (4 or 6). If the player has the best record in the division by the end of the season, the player's team progresses to the best-of-seven League Championship, and the winners of the League Championship advance to the best-of-seven World Series. The game uses a battery backup to save the season progress.
• Home Run Derby: Players have 10 attempts to hit as many home runs as possible. A missed attempt is a hit that is not a home run; there are no strike-outs. The player can choose the pitch speed (70-79, 80-89, or 90-99 mph). This mode can be played by up to 8 players taking turns.
• Batting Practice: The player practices batting. There are no outs in this mode. The player can select a left- or right-handed pitcher, a left- or right-handed batter, the type of pitch, the speed of the pitch, and the venue.

Teams

Team select

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

Production credits

• Developer: BlueSky Software
• Producers: Chris Smith, Jesse Taylor, Daniel Meade, Ken Balthaser
• Executive Producer: Wayne Townsend
• Project Manager: Mark Dobratz
• Programmers: David Dentt, Larry Clague, Steve Hostetler, Kevin Baca, Brian Belfield, Bo Kane, Rich Karpp
• Artists: Chuck Osieja, Scott Seidel, John Seidel, Matt McDonald, Drew Krevi, Amber Long, Mark Dobratz, Liz Anderson, Rob Cuenca, Kevin McMahon
• Music: Sam Powell
• Sportstalk: Allen Maynard, Joe Shands, Fletcher Beasley
• Test Lead: Vince Nason
• Testers: Todd Morgan, Steve Bourdet, Jerry DeYoung, John Amirkhan, Michael Baldwin, Greg Becksted, Dusty Bedford, Michael Bench, Daniel Caraballo, Glen Cureton, Chris Cutliff, Daniel Dunn, Mark Fabela, Eric Fong, Richard Gangwish, Lawrence Gibson, Roman Greco, Rick Greer, Randall Hauser, Tracy Johnson, Darin Johnston, Dan Jung, Jeff Junio, Kevin LaBounty, Jeff Loney, Mike Madden, Julio Martinez, Lance Nelson, Mike Palser, Chris Pepper, Kevin Seiter, Tim Spengler, Siegie Stangenberg, Mark Subotnick, Terry Thomas, Conan Tigard, Matt Underwood, Gregg Vogt, Paul Walker, Gregg Watkins, Christine Watson, Rich Wong
• Batting Grids and Pitching Charts: Baseball Analysis and Reporting System (BARS)
• Career Player Statistics: The Baseball Workshop
• Marketing: Doug Rebert, Kelly Ryan
• Manual: Mike Yoffie
• Special Thanks to: Ron Thompson, George Kiss, Jennifer Cleary-Haney, Trevor Bostelaar, Jason Weesner, Mike McMahon, Chris Gill, Jason Gill, Joe Miller, Jeff Moses, Gary Gillette, Lori Niwa, Stephen Patterson, George deGolian, Norman Wood

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: World Series Baseball (Mega Drive)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

File:WSB MD US TVAdvert 1.mp4

US TV advert

File:WSB MD US TVAdvert 1.mp4

File:Sega World Series QC TVAdvert.mp4

CA

File:Sega World Series QC TVAdvert.mp4

Print advert in (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in (BR) #7: "Outubro 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score (RU) 50 (US) NTSC-U 100 (US) NTSC-U 72 (US) NTSC-U 90 (US) NTSC-U 95 (US) NTSC-U 78 (UK) NTSC-U 80 (RU) 78 (US) NTSC-U 100

	83
Based on 9 reviews

World Series Baseball (Mega Drive)

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, BR
Cover

Technical information

Main article: World Series Baseball (Mega Drive)/Technical information.

References

World Series Baseball series of games
	World Series Baseball (1994) | World Series Baseball '95 (1995) | World Series Baseball '96 (1996) | World Series Baseball 98 (1997)
	World Series Baseball (1993) | World Series Baseball '95 (1994) | Nomo's World Series Baseball (1995)
	World Series Baseball (unreleased)
	World Series Baseball Starring Deion Sanders (1995)
	World Series Baseball (1995) | World Series Baseball II (1996) | World Series Baseball 98 (1997)
	World Series Baseball '96 (1996)
	World Series 99 (1999) | World Series Baseball (2001)
	World Series Baseball 2K1 (2000) | World Series Baseball 2K2 (2001)
	World Series Baseball (2002) | World Series Baseball 2K3 (2003)
World Series Baseball related media
	(2000)