Even More Diamond Mind Baseball Play By Play
This is turning into a somewhat irregular series. Here are the earlier “episodes:”
I keep collecting examples of good, bad, and interesting play by play, and will continue to report on these from time to time.
Now, there might be some duplicates that show up now and then. Be warned. However, each of these examples has its own character and personality. And I’m frankly amazed at how many unique play by play readings I’ve discovered after only a little over a hundred games.
I’ve tried to avoid any play by play that I’ve already reported on in my game summaries. These are all clippings that caught my eye for one reason or another as I was playing.
Rare Plays
There are rare plays that show up now and then that you don’t see in my game summaries. For example, there’s this brawl:
We only ended up with one ejection after that one, which was probably a miracle in itself.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Just about every game out there has some sort of “brawl” roll or result or whatever. That’s not really unique, right?
Well, do other games feature fly balls that blow back into fair territory?
I don’t want to come off as too much of an evangelist here, but the truth is that even the other pitch-by-pitch simulators don’t have plays like this. I know, because I’ve played them.
And here’s one that’s got to be even more rare:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that live. That is what I would call a rare play — and I might note that most games would just call it an infield single and would be done with it.
Humor
Humor is really hard to pull off in these games. Jack Wood does a great job of it, though.
Again, most simulators don’t bother to deal with little things like switching the ball with the umpire. But throwing in phrases like “that ball stinks” just sells this one so well. It helps bring the whole thing to life.
And then there are exaggerations, like this one:
Okay, maybe it wasn’t a complete exaggeration. Eddie Joost actually had a good batting eye; I’m not sure what was on that pitch from Joe Dobson. Oh, and yes, Dobson’s nickname was “Burrhead.” See for yourself.
And then there’s this one, which needs no comment.
We might as well also throw in this gem, which has been a favorite over on the Diamond Mind Baseball message boards:
I’m not sure if I should feel more sorry for Erautt or for the 8th graders.
Color
Finally, let’s take a look at a few play by play snippets that really add an extra something to the game.
Some of these come in the form of separate play by play that is marked off from the “real” game:
It really takes a lot of guts to have your simulator tell the player “we’re waiting,” but Diamond Mind pulls this one off brilliantly.
This one is pretty common if you bring a reliever in with the bases loaded:
It’s simple and easy to replicate, I know — but it also really adds something to the moment. I’d much rather have this kind of snide remark than pixelated players running around on my screen.
And then there’s stuff like this that comes up when your pitcher is throwing a gem and comes up for his final turn at bat:
Not a bad day for Dave!
Anyway, I’ve got a lot more where these came from. I seem to collect more per game now than I did when I started. More to come!