World Series Baseball 98 (Mega Drive)

For the Sega Saturn game, see World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn).

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World Series Baseball 98
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega of America
Developer: BlueSky Software
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 1997-07-18 1244

World Series Baseball 98 is a Sega Mega Drive baseball game developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega. Released exclusively in the United States in July 1997 as the 16-bit companion to it's Saturn counterpart, the game is an update to the developer's previous game World Series Baseball '96, with the only substantial addition to the game being an updated player roster.

Gameplay

The game plays identically to World Series Baseball '95 for the Sega Mega Drive. It features all 28 teams and 700 players from the 1997 MLB season, along with all 28 ballparks. The game additionally features several special teams: the American League Stars, National League Stars, and MLB Stars (consisting of the best players from each league or from both leagues) and the American League Legends, National League Legends, and MLB Legends (all-star teams including historical players such as Roberto Clemente). The 1998 expansion teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, are also present. However, as neither team had yet played a game at the time of the game's release, they are not available for league play and have fictional rosters (containing the names of the developers).

	Scoreboard
	The scoreboard is shown at the beginning of the game and after each play (and can be shown by calling a time-out with  START ). In addition to the score, the scoreboard has an inset that can be changed with and , which cycles between the hitting tendencies of the current batter (shown on a field divided into thirds and changing depending on the handedness of the pitcher), statistics for the pitcher (innings pitched, strikes, and base balls and the pitcher's stamina), and the players on base. The scoreboard has a menu that can be navigated with and , which allows players to watch an instant replay, set the batting line-up, change the defensive position of each player, and choose the starting and relief pitchers. Starting pitchers have more stamina than relief pitchers, but players can have up to two relievers warm up to their maximum stamina in the bullpen. Pitchers that are replaced are removed for the remainder of the game. The scoreboard also provides options including selecting the difficulty for pitching and batting separately (Rookie, Veteran, or All-Star), setting the length of the game (3, 6, or 9 innings) before the first pitch, and toggling auto-fielding.
	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. The pitcher's stamina can be viewed from the scoreboard. 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. The player can open the scoreboard with  START  to check the score, warm up relievers, substitute pitchers or fielders, play a replay, or change the options. 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 batting bar at the ball with the D-Pad and swings with or bunts with . The batting bar is shaped like a bat and indicates where the bat will make contact with the ball. It has two vertical lines that indicate the "sweet spots" on the bat. On Rookie difficulty, the player does not need to aim the hit and only needs to swing. On Veteran, the batting bar is always the same size, while on All-Star, the size of the bar and the positions of the vertical bars vary depending on the batter. 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. The player can open the scoreboard with  START  to check the score, make substitutions, play a replay, or change the options.

Modes

League team select

League season schedule

Trade

Playoff tree

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. Assigning control to a human is done before the game by moving the player to a team with or , then the game is started with  START . Teams with drafted players from the League mode can be used in this mode.
• League: Plays a season of games that culminate in the World Series. The player can choose the number of games (13, 26, 52, 104, or a full 162 games) and the number of divisions (4 or 6). Games can be simulated and skipped. 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 has the ability to draft and trade players. There is a mid-season All-Star Game whose members are chosen based on the player's season. This version of the game adds interleague games, which were introduced to the 1997 MLB season. The game uses a battery backup to save the season progress, including individual player statistics.
• Playoffs: Skips the regular season and goes straight to the playoffs (and the World Series if the player qualifies). Progress in this mode is also saved using the battery backup.
• 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, and the venue.
• 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. This mode can be played by up to 8 players taking turns. Records can be saved to the cartridge.
• Classic Home Run Derby: This mode is a home run competition that retains outs and innings. Like a standard baseball game, the player pitches during one half of the inning and hits in the other half, but there is no fielding or baserunning. The player with the most home runs after nine innings is the winner. There is an option to play as or challenge the "Home Run Derby Champion." It can be played by one or two players. Records can be saved to the cartridge.

Teams

League	Division	Team
American	Western	Anaheim 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
	Unassigned	Tampa Bay Devil Rays
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
	Unassigned	Arizona Diamondbacks

Production credits

BlueSky Credits

98 Version

• Lead Programmer: Keith Freiheit
• Lead Artist: Joseph Shoopack
• Special Thanks: Jerry Huber, Jennifer Littfin

Original Game

• Game Design: Chuck Osieja, Jay Panek, Dana Christianson
• Lead Artist: Scott Seidel
• Artists: Rick Randolph, John Seidel, Joe Shoopack, Drew Krevi, George Simmons, Ray Ferro, Phil Gordon, Brian Mcmurdo, Chris Kreidel, Amber Long, Dok Whitson, Geoff Knobel
• Lead Programmer: David Dentt
• Programmers: Bill James, Larry Clague, Kevin Baca, Mike Nana, Dave Kunkler
• Sound Speech and Music: Sam Powell
• Voice Talent: Steve Mollenhauer, Jim Staylor, Scott Seidel, Chuck Osieja, Jay Panek, John Holland
• Blue Sky Testers: Jonathon Panek, Brandan McDonald, JB Lagdao, Brian Criswell, Travis Mason, Dennis Young
• Special Thanks To: Mike McMahon, Matt McDonald, James Doyle, Tom Carrol, Mark Lorenzen, Tom Moon, Karl Robillard, Matthew Williamson, Michael Kramer, Sean Hennessy

Sega Credits

• Producer: Scott Rohde
• Product Manager: Brad Hogan
• STATS - Player Ratings: The Baseball Workshop
• Product Specialist: Mark Subotnick
• Test Manager: Mark Lindstrom
• Test Lead: Mark Paniagua
• Asst Test Lead: Lorne (Puff Daddy) Asuncion, Roger Deforest, Todd Slepian
• Testers: Marc Dawson, Dave Paniagua, Jeff Loney, Fernando Valderrama, Lance Nelson, Don Carmichael, Alexis Alexander, Jeff Hedges, Karen Brown, Tony Lynch, Tim Spengler, Todd Slepian, John Jansen, Big Roge Deforest, Chris Lucich, Tyrone Johnson, Jeff Loney
• Special Thanks: Sandy Castagnola, Dave Dempsey, Doug Evans, Sheri Hockaday, Tracy Johnson, Marcus Matthews, Annie Nelson, Judie Nybo, David Perkinson, Chris (Smitty) Smith, Bernie Stolar, Diane Tucker, Shuji Utsumi, Mike Wallis
• The World Series is a trademark owned by Major League Baseball and may not be reproduced without written consent.
• Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Properties, Inc.
• MLBPA logo (C) MLBPA MSA.
• Officially licensed by the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: World Series Baseball 98 (Mega Drive)/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score GamePro (US) NTSC-U 65

	65
Based on 1 review

World Series Baseball 98 (Mega Drive)

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

Main article: World Series Baseball 98 (Mega Drive)/Technical information.