You'll also have to manage your team's multiple levels - you'll have to take care of the majors along with the minors. That hot rookie you just drafted or traded for likely won't be that great from the start but will have a lot of upside (baseball talk for potential to be a star). He might be ok - do you want to keep him up at the majors where he won't get much playtime but might be able to help your team out? Or, would you rather let him play daily in the minors and improve faster? All of these decisions are important to the development of young stars.
After you've taken care of all that, you can watch those players you've signed and developed actually play. There are two different modes here - general manager mode and play-by-play mode. In the first mode, you'll just watch the action as it unfolds. However, you can jump in at any time and switch to play-by-play mode - and this is one of the modes that really makes the game stand out.
Baseball has some moments where the tension really builds up. Play-by-play mode allows you to control your team's actions, down to each pitch thrown.
Imagine this: One out, Marcus Giles on first base with Chipper Jones up to bat. The pitcher looks over a couple of times, and the pitch - Giles is off as Chipper swings through the pitch! He's safe at second base. Now, the pitcher comes in with a 3-2 pitch and Chipper hits it into center field - it drops in! Giles is running hard and the third base coach gives him the sign to go home! The center fielder comes up throwing and guns the ball home - Giles is safe! The Braves win!
Situations like that allow you to try to get that run home in many ways - maybe you'd play for the run by sac bunting Giles over to second? You might just try to swing for the fences and hope for a home run. Then again, you could just get caught stealing second or hit into a double play. When playing play-by-play mode, all of these options and more are at your fingertips, giving you the chance to make the call in your team's big game.
There was also one small touch that really made me smile. At any point during the season, you can check out the news. Now, there've been newspapers in previous sports games, but the stories didn't feel natural. While it may just be a form for making a news story, Baseball Mogul 2007 puts forth an effort to make each story look like a real one, including a player's or team's current relevant stats. This really added to the overall experience and presentation for me.
This is probably the deepest baseball game I have ever played - the depth of the stats and things to manage are mind-boggling. I was definitely lost at first. After playing for awhile, though, I started to understand more of what was going on in the game. In the end, I feel that Baseball Mogul 2007 is the undisputed king of the baseball simulators - the game is truly complete. At $19.95, this game is an absolute steal. And for only 4.95 a month, you can play an online version of a dynasty and build a team up over many seasons.
If you find yourself fiddling with stats and rosters in console games more than you do actually playing the games, give Baseball Mogul 2007 a shot. You won't be disappointed. And it'll cost you less than a single game at your favorite ballpark.
