_ _____
/ \ _ _ / ___| _
/ _ \ | | | | \ (__ _| |_ _ _
| |_| | | | | | ___ \__ \ '-. .-' __ | |/ \
| _ | | | | | |___| \ \ | | _\ \ | /\_\
| | | | | | | | ___/ / | | / O \ | |
|_| |_| |_| |_| |____/ \_\ \___/ |_|
____ _ _____ ____ ____ _ _ _
| _ \ / \ / ___| | __| | _ \ / \ | | | |
| |_) | / _ \ \ (__ | |__ | |_) | / _ \ | | | |
| _ / | |_| | \__ \ | __| | _ / | |_| | | | | |
| | \ \ | _ | \ \ | | | | \ \ | _ | | | | |
| |_/ / | | | | ___/ / | |__ | |_/ / | | | | | |_ | |_
|____/ |_| |_| |____/ |____| |____/ |_| |_| |___| |___|
__ ____ ____ __
/ \ / \ / \ / |
/_/\ \ | /\ | | /\ | / /||
/ / | | | | | | | | / /_||_
/ / | | | | | | | | /___ _|
/ /___ | \/ | | \/ | | |
|______| \____/ \____/ |_|
===============================================================================
Table of Contents
===============================================================================
[INTRO] Introduction
[MODES] Modes of Play
[TEAMR] Team Ratings
[TEAMS] Team Summaries
[QUEST] Frequently Asked Questions
[REALL] Comparing to Reality
[VERSN] Version History
[COPYR] Copyright
[CONTC] Contact Information
Navigation tip: Press Ctrl and F to bring down a search bar. Then type in the
name of the section you're looking for - like [VERSN] for the ever-popular
Version History.
===============================================================================
Introduction [INTRO]
===============================================================================
Baseball season is back underway, so Vinny's next project is an outdated
baseball game! What a way to spend a few kilobytes of disk space, a few hours
of time, and space on your walkthrough list (21 and counting). But really, All-
Star Baseball 2004 is still a pretty fun game with effective game play and
groovy music, even though the game is basically All-Star Baseball 2003 with
updated lineups. In fact, it's not much different from the N64 All-Star
Baseball games. Best of all, you can spend a short time reliving the good old
days of Major League Baseball when fans cared more about HRs than HGH and when
the media talked about pitching lines instead of silly Congressional hearings.
What's more, this is a great new addition to the VinnyVideo brand's ever-
growing portfolio of FAQ/Walkthroughs. Okay, I do read the Business section of
the newspaper sometimes...
Note: Since you're playing an old baseball video game, I'm assuming you know at
least a little something about the rules and strategies of baseball (i.e. you
know what strikeouts and shortstops are). If you don't, then go to your local
library or visit Wikipedia or MLB.com and find out.
===============================================================================
Modes of Play [MODES]
===============================================================================
---Single Player---
These are one-player games.
Quick Game: Play an exhibition game with two randomly selected teams. All you
have to do is select the team you control and the difficulty, level, and that's
it. This is good if you want to get to the game quickly.
Exhibition Game: Play an exhibition team using the teams, venue, and time of
day of your choice. You can also change the difficulty level.
All-Star Game: Play a single game between teams consisting of the best players
of the National and American Leagues. You can change the team you control, the
time, and the difficulty level, but you can't pick the players on your roster.
Batting Practice: Practice hitting with any batter in Major League Baseball at
any venue. You can also select a specific pitch or plate location to work on.
Home Run Derby: The Home Run Derby matches up sluggers in a free-swinging
contest to smash as many home runs as possible. You can change the players
involved, and you can also use the Options menu to change team selection,
venue, time, and game type. The Innings mode can take a while, so you may
prefer the Modern style.
Season: Season mode lets you play through a Major League Baseball season. Since
a full 162-game season may get boring after a while, a variety of schedule
types are available. After selecting the season, you will pick your team and
difficulty level. Before you start playing games, though, you might want to
adjust your pitching rotation and set your rosters for left- and right-handed
pitchers and for DH and non-DH games. You can also make trades with other
teams. Just remember that the game won't let you trade players of widely
differing abilities; for example, Benji Gil for Alex Rodriguez. You can also
view schedules and statistics. Press X on the schedule screen to simulate games
up to that point. Your progress is saved after each game so you don't have to
play through a marathon of games to see how long your batteries last.
World Series: Play a best-of-seven series between the A.L. and N.L. teams of
your selection. The only option you can change is the difficulty level. The
game will save your current status after each game.
---Multiplayer---
I believe all of the one-player games are available in Multiplayer mode except
for Season play. I am not absolutely sure about this because I don't have a
Game Link cable, a second Game Boy Advance, and a second ASB2004 cartridge.
Also, I think you're able to play with three or four players, which is about as
much fun as watching the tarp get wet during a rain delay.
---Trading Cards---
You receive a special trading card at the conclusion of every game. This
feature lets you view the list of cards you've collected. Also, if you have the
right equipment, you can trade duplicate cards to another copy of All-Star
Baseball 2004.
---Options---
Options changes settings, mostly settings related to sound. I like to turn
Crowd Noise and In-Game Music (familiar bouncy ballpark organ tunes) on, and I
would strongly consider turning Auto Fielding on for beginning players. These
settings can also be adjusted from the in-game pause menu.
---Statistics---
This lets you view the hitting and pitching statistics for any team in the
game. Press Up or Down on the Control Pad to select a team. Then choose between
Hitting and Pitching to view the desired stats. Scroll through the stats with
the Control Pad, and remember that you can press A on a column to sort players
using that statistic.
---Credits---
See who helped produce this game. Give them a round of applause while covering
your yawning mouth. Press B to end the credits.
===============================================================================
Team Ratings [TEAMS]
===============================================================================
OVR SPD POW CON DEF BEN PEN ROT .AVG HR SB ERA
Anaheim Angels 65 61 45 51 66 53 82 99 .282 133 122 3.77
Arizona Diamondbacks 65 56 47 60 56 59 87 95 .272 120 89 3.31
Atlanta Braves 71 61 60 69 65 68 80 95 .267 162 75 3.91
Baltimore Orioles 66 56 49 60 58 71 80 88 .250 150 82 4.21
Boston Red Sox 69 59 51 64 48 65 95 100 .280 168 89 3.32
Chicago Cubs 69 58 51 63 82 44 84 100 .254 160 56 3.85
Chicago White Sox 69 54 57 55 83 55 96 86 .269 185 32 4.30
Cincinnati Reds 70 60 59 66 56 67 99 83 .247 145 101 4.34
Cleveland Indians 63 52 48 59 67 52 85 82 .261 112 41 5.16
Colorado Rockies 69 58 55 66 83 44 90 84 .270 140 69 4.74
Detroit Tigers 61 57 50 61 69 60 52 79 .240 89 52 4.85
Florida Marlins 64 59 46 56 44 60 87 94 .268 95 175 4.01
Houston Astros 73 59 54 65 85 69 91 91 .270 197 70 3.80
Kansas City Royals 63 58 47 59 76 54 65 82 .266 127 102 5.14
Los Angeles Dodgers 70 60 53 68 65 51 91 100 .257 160 89 3.47
Milwaukee Brewers 59 51 49 51 52 44 91 79 .258 72 79 4.31
Minnesota Twins 67 59 49 58 64 59 79 100 .275 142 76 3.96
Montreal Expos 69 59 51 63 80 52 87 95 .268 144 40 3.56
New York Mets 72 59 53 64 82 59 95 94 .256 151 94 3.42
New York Yankees 70 56 59 64 57 65 91 100 .277 241 107 3.75
Oakland A's 68 56 51 57 65 59 91 100 .261 173 50 3.46
Philadelphia Phillies 68 54 50 62 83 45 87 95 .267 183 74 3.85
Pittsburgh Pirates 68 55 51 60 83 59 90 79 .257 164 69 3.78
St. Louis Cardinals 71 57 53 66 90 54 90 91 .270 172 88 3.78
San Diego Padres 66 55 47 59 74 53 74 100 .264 108 43 3.69
San Francisco Giants 69 59 51 64 65 59 94 96 .269 150 65 3.57
Seattle Mariners 69 60 48 53 71 59 97 95 .279 145 145 3.67
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 61 58 44 54 74 48 83 70 .249 86 31 5.45
Texas Rangers 69 54 54 64 86 58 89 82 .265 201 47 5.08
Toronto Blue Jays 63 54 50 58 78 63 85 52 .270 149 61 4.40
The first set of ratings are provided by the game: Overall, Speed, Power,
Contact, Defense, Bench, Bullpen, and Rotation. The last four numbers are the
team's total batting average, home runs, stolen bases, and earned run average.
I think some of the game's ratings are dubious, and I don't know how they came
up with them.
===============================================================================
Team Summaries [TEAMS]
===============================================================================
Anaheim Angels: The Angels were the World Champions at this time, much to the
surprise of followers of the game. The Angels aren't going to hit a lot of
balls out of the park, but they can certainly play "small ball," as the lineup
is full of threats on the basepaths and high-average hitters. Their pitching is
pretty good, and Troy Percival is a lights-out closer.
Arizona Diamondbacks: The 2003 D-backs still have the core players from their
2001 World Series team. The lineup is good but not spectacular. The
Diamondbacks win ballgames from their pitching - specifically, their starting
pitching, and especially Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. When one of them is
on the mound, expect a 10-strikeout performance and a victory. Arizona has the
best team ERA in the game. Incidentally, the D-backs lost 111 games next season
in a disastrous 2004 campaign.
Atlanta Braves: A lot of people thought the Braves were in decline around this
time, but this is a playoff-caliber team. There's power and contact throughout
the lineup. Even 44-year-old first baseman like Julio Franco is an important
contributor. With Tom Glavine gone and John Smoltz moving to the bullpen, the
pitching isn't as great as it once was, but it's still OK, especially when Greg
Maddux is on the mound.
Baltimore Orioles: The weak Orioles have a few good sluggers, but most of them
boast pitiful batting averages. Rodrigo Lopez is the best member of a fairly
weak pitching staff.
Boston Red Sox: Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra are going to keep pitchers
busy, and the pitching is outstanding. In this game, they might even be better
than the Yankees!
Chicago Cubs: As a Cubs fan, I'm not going to talk about what happened in Game
6 of the NLCS. The Cubbies don't really look like a team that's going to the
playoffs (look at that .254 team batting average), but they managed to do so
anyway. Sammy Sosa is the only significant threat with the bat. There's not
much on the bench, especially since the Cubs carry 12 pitchers. Kerry Wood,
Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Clement are the key components in a young
and extremely talented starting rotation that was decimated by injuries in
later years.
Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have four great sluggers in Paul Konerko,
Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, and Frank Thomas. However, the team stole a paltry
32 bases. What's more, the starting pitching is mostly unproven and the talent
of the relief pitching is unevenly distributed.
Cincinnati Reds: This is a good example of a team that just can't hit the ball
consistently. There's decent power and quite a bit of speed, though. Adam Dunn
and Russell Branyan will strike out 150 times or more, and they're not the only
free swingers on this club. Worse pitching is around, but the pitchers are
basically mediocre. In addition, the Reds are loaded with bad gloves.
Cleveland Indians: The Indians were rebuilding in 2003, and you can tell. Ellis
Burks is the only real power hitter (although Travis Hafner will be in the near
future), and there's no speed except for Omar Vizquel. I can't say anything
good about the pitching staff, whose total ERA is an astronomical 5.16.
Colorado Rockies: The Rockies have some superb hitters like Larry Walker and
Todd Helton, but the pitching looks pretty shaky. Get ready for high-scoring
baseball if you select this team.
Detroit Tigers: How does a Major League Baseball club lose 119 games? Let's
see... a .240 team batting average, 89 home runs, and a team ERA of 4.85.
Unless you really follow baseball, you probably don't remember many of their
starters, like Shane Halter and Warren Morris.
Florida Marlins: Mike Lowell, Juan Encarnacion, and Derrek Lee supply almost
all of the Marlins' home runs. However, this year's surprising World Series
champions prefer to win games on the basepaths with speedsters like Luis
Castillo and Juan Pierre. The Marlins have a young and fairly talented pitching
staff. Most of the players on the roster came from the Marlins' farm system.
Houston Astros: Jeff Kent and the Killer B's provide plenty of pop in the
Astros' bats, and the pitching is pretty good, too, especially ace Roy Oswalt.
According to the game's ratings, the Astros are the best team in the game,
although those ratings should be taken with a grain of salt.
Kansas City Royals: This was easily the best Royals team of recent times. They
even had a winning season! This lineup is actually pretty good. Mike Sweeney,
Raul Ibanez, and Carlos Beltran can all hit the ball, and Beltran is very fast.
A lousy pitching staff will keep the Royals from contending for the playoffs.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers' diversity of players makes the team look like
a United Nations conference. The hitters can't consistently hit for average,
but they've got decent power and speed. The pitching staff is one of the best
in the National League.
Milwaukee Brewers: This is not a good team! Speedsters Eric Young and Alex
Sanchez and slugger Richie Sexson are all the lineup has to offer. The weak
pitching won't do anything to bail out the offense, which hits fewer home runs
than any other team in the game. According to the game's slightly dubious
rating system, this is the worst team in All-Star Baseball 2004.
Minnesota Twins: The Twins' roster consists almost entirely of "home-grown"
players. There aren't a lot of stars on the team, but the abundance of good
players will win ballgames. The Twins have numerous great contact hitters, and
they can also pitch and run.
Montreal Expos: Rumors of "contraction" had finally ended by now, but the final
years of the Expos were marked by instability as they played many of their home
games in Puerto Rico (not included in the game). Vladimir Guerrero, who had 37
or more doubles, homers, and steals in 2002, is quite possibly the best player
in Major League Baseball. While there aren't a lot of other great hitters, this
better-than-average Expos team achieved a winning season. The pitching, led by
20-game winner Bartolo Colon, is quite good.
New York Mets: The Mets were a team marked by a very little stability. Injuries
to key players like Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar devastated the team. Even
when healthy, the batting order is aging and power-heavy. The pitching staff,
bolstered by the addition of Braves fixture Tom Glavine, is quite strong in
both starting and relief.
New York Yankees: The Yankees are probably the most powerful team in All-Star
Baseball 2004 and are arguably the best overall. Alfonso Soriano is a 40-40 (or
really 39-41) man, and Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Jorge
Posada are among the Yankees' superstars. The starting pitching is superb (I'm
not going to talk about Roger Clemens). While Mariano Rivera is one of
baseball's best closers, parts of the bullpen are quite shaky.
Oakland A's: The Oakland A's play like the Oakland A's. The "Money-Ball"
system hits plenty of home runs, doesn't always hit for average, and steals
very few bases. The rotation is one of the best in baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies: Jim Thome, Pat Burrell, and Bobby Abreu are major
threats in a fairly strong lineup. The Phillies' top three starters are great,
but the rest of the pitching staff is merely average. In real life, the fairly
strong Phillies just missed Playoff Land.
Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates have a lot of players with mediocre batting
averages and moderate power, although Brian Giles is a great all-around hitter.
The pitching staff is fairly good, but not good enough to keep the Bucs out of
their ship's cargo hold.
St. Louis Cardinals: The Redbirds boast a well-balanaced lineup. A wise pitcher
will strongly consider pitching around to Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds. The
Cardinals' Gold Glove-laden fielding is the best in the game. There are a few
potential holes in the pitching staff that may prevent the Cardinals from
reaching the very top.
San Diego Padres: This team has a few decent contact hitters, but the Padres
have as much power as a gymnast and are as dangerous on the basepaths as a
broken-down Geo. There's almost nothing in the way of proven pitchers, although
the ones they have aren't bad. The best pitcher is closer Trevor Hoffman, who
will have very few games to close.
San Francisco Giants: The Giants have plenty of players who hit for a
respectable average and slam 15 home runs. However, the offense is clearly
built around super-superstar left fielder (and alleged steroid user) Barry
Bonds. In most situations, if you're pitching against him, go ahead and
intentionally walk him like they did 198 times in 2002. Heed not the boo birds!
Kirk Rueter and Jason Schmidt are the most prominent members of an effective
group of pitchers.
Seattle Mariners: The Mariners have one of the most balanced lineups in the
game, with plenty of contact, power, and speed to go around. Ultra-speedy
Ichiro Suzuki is one of baseball's best pure hitters. You'll like the pitching,
too.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Yuck. Aubrey Huff is a good hitter, but that's all the
lineup has. The Devil Rays (now just the Rays) have the lowest home run and
speed totals among all the American League teams, and their team ERA is a sky-
high 5.45, far worse than any other team's. There's very little to like about
that pitching staff.
Texas Rangers: The Rangers have a swing-for-the-fences style, slugging 201 home
runs and stealing only 47 bases. Much of the power comes from lampooned
superstar Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro (accused of using steroids, but
maybe he got that power from the sildenafil citrate drug he endorsed). The
Rangers' pitchers are generally obscure and not very good - especially the
starters.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays have a decidedly average-looking lineup (the
Jays are very good at being a very average team). 2003 Cy Young Award recipient
Roy Halladay isn't enough to make up for a so-so group of pitchers.
Statistics are based on the 2002 season.
===============================================================================
Frequently Asked Questions [QUEST]
===============================================================================
Q: What are the controls?
A:
---Hitting---
Control Pad: Move hitting cursor
A: Swing the bat
B: Hold to bunt
R: Select the swing angle (left/right, up/down)
L: Hold to manipulate runners (see Running section below)
SELECT: Toggle between a contact and power swing
---Pitching---
A: Confirm pitch type/throw pitch
Control Pad: Select pitch/Select pitch's plate location
B+Control Pad: Throw over to corresponding base (Right = first base, etc.)
R: Cycle through infield defensive shifts
L: Cycle through outfield defensive shifts
SELECT+L/R: Change view to check baserunners
---Running---
R: Return runners who aren't on a base to last base (especially helpful if you
overshoot the intended base).
On force plays, just press the Control Pad direction corresponding to the
runner's current base - for instance, Right to move a runner from first to
second.
If it isn't a force play, press the Control Pad direction corresponding to the
runner's current base and then the next base. For example, to move a runner
from second to third, press Up+Left.
To steal a base, hold L, use the button combination you would for a non-force
play to get a lead, and then apply that combination again to take off running.
It may not work though, so be careful. For example, to steal second with a
runner on first, hold L and press Right+Up twice.
---Fielding---
Control Pad: Move fielder
A+Control Pad: Throw ball to corresponding base (Up = second base, etc.)
A: Throw to pitcher
B: Change player to control
Press START at most times to pause the game and bring up a menu that allows you
to view game statistics, change your lineup, or adjust game settings.
On game menus, the A button will select an option, and B will take you back to
the previous screen.
Q: Should I hit for contact or power?
A: As a batter, you can press SELECT to choose between the two. There are many
factors when deciding. If your batter is Ichiro Suzuki, you'll have a massive
contact zone and a tiny power zone, so using a power shot with him is stupid.
If you're using a well-rounded hitter like Sammy Sosa, you'll probably want to
use a power shot if runners are on base. If you're using a lousy contact hitter
who has some power, like Todd Hundley, power is the way to go. There are some
other factors as well; for example, if the count is 2-0, there's a good chance
you'll be getting a sluggable fastball down the middle - an invitation for
power. An 0-2 count may force you to use a more defensive contact hit. Having
runners on base makes power more useful; empty bases is usually a more
desirable condition for contact. And lastly, if you're bunting, using power
won't help you bunt farther and will make it harder to angle your bunt.
Q: What are the differences between the difficulty levels?
A: The main difference between the Rookie and All-Star levels is the speed. On
harder difficulty levels, the pitches seem quite a bit faster (even though the
radar gun says the same speed as in Rookie mode), giving you much less time to
react, whether hitting or fielding. Also, opposing pitchers are a little more
willing to work the corners of the plate and hitters are less likely to ignore
a fastball down the middle. In short: If you're inexperienced or have poor
reaction time (maybe because you're drunk!), stick with Rookie or Veteran mode.
Q: How do I change team lineups before the game?
A: You can't in exhibition games. You can pinch-hit, make substitutions, and
change pitchers from the pause menu once the game is started, though. This is
probably the game's biggest shortcoming. However, you can set starting lineups,
positions, and rotations in Season mode.
Q: How can I bring in a pinch-runner?
A: You can't. You can only pinch-hit.
Q: Does anything special happen if I pitch a no-hitter?
A: No. Sorry.
Q: Why are the team ERAs so low?
A: There are three reasons. First, 2002 was one of the best recent years for
pitchers, and All-Star Baseball 2004's stats are based on the 2002 season (the
game was made right before the 2003 season began). Second, most teams in this
game hold just 11 pitchers on their 25-man rosters. Third, the relatively few
pitchers the game does have tend to be the team's best available. Not all of
them made the opening day roster (like Rick Ankiel), often because of injury.
Q: What tips do you have for the game?
A: Here are a few tips that might help you out:
---Hitting---
* To make good contact with the ball, swing the ball when your cursor overlaps
squarely with the pitcher's aiming sight. Watch the latter closely, as it may
dip or curve, especially on breaking balls.
* At the plate, don't try to chase bad pitches that are well outside the strike
zone.
* If you're hitting for power and aim just a little above the ball, you'll hit
a hard line drive. Aim a bit over the ball to hit a higher ball, perhaps
increasing the chances of a sacrifice fly. The same applies to hitting left or
right of the ball. The R button doesn't work for power hits, even if you set an
angle for the contact hit and then changed to power.
* Don't angle the ball with R too sharply, or you'll hit a foul ball or a puny
pop-up. To keep the latter from happening, I'd just change the horizontal
angle, leaving the flat vertical angle unchanged.
* If you don't angle your cursor a little, every contact hit will go straight
down the middle, regardless of the batter's handedness and tendencies.
* With practice, you can bunt well. Angle the cursor so you'll hit the ball
slightly down and strongly toward the third base foul line. Don't angle too
sharply, though, especially horizontally. One notch below the sharpest angle
possible is best. There's no point in using the power cursor when bunting.
* Use pinch-hitting to your advantage, especially when a tired pitcher is at
the plate. But don't pinch-hit for an effective, energized pitcher.
---Fielding---
* In All-Star Baseball, your pitching will be most effective if you aim for the
corners of the strike zone. Unlike real umpires (who can be quite
inconsistent), the game's strike zone never changes.
* The changeup is the most effective pitch in the game, but don't use it
exclusively.
* If your pitcher is getting tired, don't throw high breaking balls to a heavy
hitter unless you'd like to give up a home run.
* Different pitches have different pitches to choose from, and some pitchers
(like Greg Maddux) have bigger repertoires than others.
* If you're ahead in the count (like 0-2), throw a tempting pitch at the edge
of the strike zone or a weak pitch in the dirt.
* You can aim breaking balls a little off the plate, and if done properly,
they'll curve back for a strike (keep in mind whether you're a lefty or a
righty).
* A pitcher's energy is shown on the meter below the pitch selection dialog. If
the meter starts flashing, be ready to bring in a new pitcher if he gets into
trouble. You can also tell your (and your opponent's) pitcher's energy level by
watching the aiming sight, which turns from white to green, yellow, and finally
red as the pitcher becomes more fatigued.
* Remember that you don't have to warm a pitcher up in the bullpen before
making a pitching change.
---Fielding---
* In this game, fielding is tough. The small screen (unless you're playing on a
GameCube or emulator) can make it worse. You may want to use the auto-fielding
option when you're starting out with the game.
* If you're manually fielding, check the radar on the upper-right corner of the
screen to help position your fielder (the yellow dot) near the red circle
(where the ball will land).
* Bring the infield in (check the Controls section) if you think the opposition
is planning to bunt. Use infield and outfield shifts to your advantage.
* When making substitutions, don't insert a player into an unnatural position -
for example, don't play a first baseman in center field. Remember that "CO"
stands for Corner Outfielder and "MI" is a Middle Infielder.
---Other Game Notes---
* On any screen that shows stats (such as the game's Statistics option or the
end-of-game box score), press L or R if you want to view the Glossary that
shows what each stat means.
* Use the "Change Controls" option on the in-game pause menu to change the team
you're controlling. The other options are self-explanatory.
* I've seen several hit batters, but as far as I know, the game doesn't have
balks, wild pitches, passed balls, catcher's interference, or other rare
events. And, of course, there aren't rain delays or bench-clearing brawls.
* The game's rendition of the U.S. national anthem sounds terrible, even though
you hear just the last couple of words. The Canadian national anthem isn't
heard when you play with Montreal or Toronto.
* Some things in this game aren't realistic; for example, Jamie Moyer's
fastball won't ever approach 94 MPH in real life. Also, home runs are
frequently longer than they would usually be in real life.
* Several ballparks in this game obviously include signs that advertise
Anheuser-Busch's most popular brand.
* Reminder for the announcer: "Drived" isn't a word.
===============================================================================
Comparing to Reality [REALL]
===============================================================================
The "Comparing to Reality" section is used in many of my sports guides to
provide a brief summary of the season upon which the featured game is based or
to show discrepancies between the game and real life. More detailed information
about the 2003 MLB season can be found at MLB.com, Wikipedia.org, and other
Internet and print sources.
The 2003 Major League Baseball season is best remembered for the Florida
Marlins' stunning World Series win as they overcame a terrible start, a
managerial change, and an almost-insurmountable deficit in the National League
Championship Series. The Marlins, consisting mostly of home-grown minor-
leaguers and bargain-basement free agents, beat the well-compensated Yankees
four games to two in the World Series.
Numerous statistical milestones were achieved during the 2003 season: Alex
Rodriguez became the youngest player to hit 300 home runs, Sammy Sosa hit his
500th home run (and was later ejected in a game for using a corked bat), Roger
Clemens won his 300th game and struck out his 4000th batter, and manager Tony
La Russa won his 2000th game. Kevin Millwood threw a no-hitter on April 27, and
six Astros pitchers teamed up to no-hit the Yankees. Mike Maroth set a more
dubious milestone, becoming the first 20-game loser since 1980. On a less happy
note, Bobby Bonds and Warren Spahn were among the more prominent players who
passed away during 2003.
And I must admit that any kind of season summary is not complete without at
least mentioning a certain event that occurred during the eighth inning of Game
6 of the NLCS, where a here-to-be-unnamed Cubs fan has been blamed for
preventing left fielder Moises Alou from catching a fly ball that would have
otherwise still been difficult to reach. From there, the Cubs gave up eight
runs in the inning and went on to lose the deciding final game of the series.
Of course, I earlier said I wouldn't mention this event (at least not in the
Cubs team summary).
===============================================================================
Version History [VERSN]
===============================================================================
Date | Version | Size |
--------|---------|------|-----------------------------------------------------
3- 9-08 | 0.1 | 10KB | Began guide.
3-11-08 | 0.15 | 12KB | Did some stuff.
5- 3-08 | 0.2 | 11KB | Did a little stuff.
5-10-08 | 0.3 | 13KB | Worked on team summaries and other things.
5-11-08 | 0.5 | 21KB | Completed team summaries.
5-12-08 | 0.6 | 26KB | Worked mostly on FAQ section.
5-13-08 | 0.8 | 31KB | Close to completion.
5-14-08 | 0.9 | 35KB | Proofread guide.
5-15-08 | 1.0 | 37KB | Added season summary. Guide is now complete.
===============================================================================
Copyright [COPYR]
===============================================================================
(c) 2008 Vinny Hamilton. All rights reserved.
All trademarks mentioned in this guide are copyrights of their respective
holders.
You can print this guide out for your personal use.
You can download this guide to your computer for your personal use.
You can post this guide on your Web site as long as you give proper credit AND
you don't change a single letter, number, or symbol (not even an ampersand).
Remember that the latest version will always be available at GameFAQs.com, but
don't count on there being frequent (if any) updates.
You can translate this guide into a foreign language (British, Southern,
Australian, and New Yorker are not considered foreign languages) and post the
translation on your Web site as long as you ask permission first.
You can't post this guide on your Web site and then say you wrote the guide
yourself.
You can't post this guide on Web sites that contain (or have links to sites
that contain) explicit depictions of unclothed humans (also known as
pornography), racism, gambling, or flattery of totalitarian regimes.
You can't post this guide on your Web site if you're going to change anything
in this guide that took me so many hours to write.
If you don't comply with these guidelines, your hard drive will be reformatted
inexplicably and you will suffer from constipation for the rest of your life.
Heed this warning.
===============================================================================
Contact Information [CONTC]
===============================================================================
If you have any questions or comments about this guide, please send an e-mail
to [email protected]. That's zero-zero-two, by the way. Remember that not
all e-mail messages will be read. Please follow these guidelines:
Do include "All-Star Baseball" in the subject line.
Do send polite suggestions for ways to make this walkthrough better.
Do tell me about any errors or omissions you find in this guide.
Do send information about any glitches, tricks, or codes you discover.
Do ask any questions you have about All-Star Baseball 2004 gameplay. I will
respond eventually if you follow all of these rules.
Do make a reasonable effort to use decent spelling, grammar, usage,
punctuation, and capitalization so I can understand what you're trying to say.
Do use patience. I check my e-mail quite sporadically.
Do not send spam, pornography, chain letters, "flaming," or anything that
contains profanity or vulgarity. Again, violating this rule will result in
deletion of the message and permanent constipation.
*******************************************************************************
Current list of VinnyVideo guides available on GameFAQs.com and Neoseeker.com:
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F1 ROC II: Race of Champions FAQ/Walkthrough
SimCity 3000 Walkthrough/Strategy Guide
Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing FAQ/Walkthrough
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Madden NFL '96 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
Madden NFL '98 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
Madden NFL '97 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
ESPN SpeedWorld (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
The Oregon Trail: Fifth Edition (PC) FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
Off Road Challenge (N64) FAQ/Walkthrough
F-1 World Championship Edition (SNES) FAQ/Walkthrough
Donkey Kong 64 FAQ/Walkthrough
Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego FAQ/Walkthrough
Michael Andretti's Indy Car Challenge FAQ/Walkthrough
Mario Open Golf (Japan) FAQ/Walkthrough
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) FAQ/Walkthrough
MicroLeague Football 2: The Coach's Challenge Strategy Guide/FAQ
Scooby-Doo: Unmasked! (GBA) FAQ/Walkthrough
All-Star Baseball 2004 Strategy Guide/FAQ
*******************************************************************************
Proposed future guides:
All-Star Baseball 2003 Strategy Guide/FAQ
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (GBA) FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
Madden NFL '95 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (PC) FAQ/Walkthrough
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