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Editor's note: Rachel learned from her dad that you need more than quick fingers to win while playing video games. This led her to develop a novel approach to judging the quality of baseball video games. I like her method, and I think it's great that she can share her love of both sports and video games with her father. -Jay
Throughout my childhood, baseball was a constant presence in my life. Actually, it's more accurate to say that the Detroit Tigers were a huge part of my early years. At a young age, I learned how to play ball while I listened to stories about the Tigers. Of course, I played many baseball video games during this time.
After I played baseball games for years, I developed my own unique method for reviewing them: If my dad can kick my ass, it's a good game.
Early on in my sports game career, I always beat my dad. Years of gaming and sports afforded me superior reflexes and hand-eye coordination. The last time my dad seriously played video games was during the Intellivision's time. So unfortunately for Dad, he didn't stand much of a chance when he played against me on a Sega Genesis or a Sony PlayStation. At the time, I never considered strategy as a major element of baseball video games. For me, winning generally boiled down to timing.
This changed one day when I innocently suggested to Dad that we play MLB 07: The Show. The Tigers were losing miserably, so he readily agreed. In the beginning, I didn't take the game seriously. I felt my victory was assured. But for three innings, I failed to score, and this baffled me. I sat up a little straighter and tried to figure out what was going wrong. Simply put, Dad's pitching was brilliant. He played as Detroit, and he started Justin Verlander, the Tigers' ace. Dad utilized Verlander's strengths perfectly. He kept me off-balance with a combination of fastballs and changeups. Periodically he would use Verlander's slider to throw off my timing even more.
I tried to use some of the baseball knowledge I learned from him to make a comeback. When I tried to predict his every pitch, Dad did something illogical. Typically, when a batter faces a two-strike count, you throw high and away. Dad and I both know this. So what did he do? Dad threw a fastball right down the middle, and I struck out.
My fate was sealed when Dad's timing caught up with the game. By the 4th inning, he hit a home run every time I accidentally hung a fastball. Dad didn't say anything, but I could see him starting to smirk a little. I did eventually score, but I realized I was still going to lose. Finally, pent-up frustration got the best of me, and I viciously plunked Placido Polanco.
Dad was incensed. He asked, "Why did you hit Polly?" I replied, "Placido hits about four homers a year, and you've managed to hit three homers with him in this game alone. Why do you think I hit him?" He told a very animated version of that story at work the following Monday.
My dad's life is steeped in baseball strategy, history, and players. When a game gives dad the opportunity to put all of that knowledge to use, I don't stand a chance. With this in mind, I have to say that MLB 07: The Show and MLB 08: The Show are good baseball video games.
This post is dedicated to Curtis Granderson, formerly of the Toledo Mud Hens and the Detroit Tigers. I'm still rooting for you Grandy, even if you are a damn Yankee now.