CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL PLAYER'S GUIDE NOTES GETTING STARTED Note: Do not write protect your Championship Baseball disk. Remember that you'll need a formatted data disk to store the teams you create. AMIGA COMPUTERS You must use a joystick to play Championship Basebell. For a one-player game, plug a joystick into port 2 on your computer: you may leave your mouse plugged into port 1. For a two-player game, plug another joystick into port 1. (1) Turn on your computer and monitor. (2) When so instructed, insert your Kickstart disk in the disk drive. (3) When instructed to insert the Workbench disk in the disk drive, insert the Championship Baseball disk. The game will load automatically. (To bypass the introductory music and credit screens, press your joystick button while the game loads. SELECTING OPTIONS: Instead of moving on-screen baseballs, moving the joystick will high-light the various options on the screen when you're making selections, filling out your roster and line-up card, and so forth. When you're typing in player and team, use the backspace key to correct any mistakes you make. On Amiga computers, player and team names can be up to ten letters and spaces. SOME HANDY CONTROLS: To end batting practice, to break off in the middle of a game, or to start a new game after finishing a game, press CTRL and R at the same time. You'll return to the PLAY OPTIONS chalkboard. To pause during game play, press F5; to restart the action, press F7. To make a substitution in his or her line-up, player one presses F1 during the pause between half innings; player two presses F3. GOING TO THE BENCH: Before each half inning (other than the top of the 1st), there's a second delay during which you can elect to make substitutions in your line up. To make a substitution, player one presses F1 during the delay and player two presses F3. For each player (player one first), the leadoff man's position in the batting order, name fielding position, and rating appear on the scoreboard. Below them are the name, position, and listing of available reserves - only the utility infielder may substitute for infielders, the utility outfielder for outfielders, and the relief pitcher for the starting pitcher. Tap the joystick to the left and right to cycle down and up through the lineup. To replace the currently listed regular with the reserve listed, move the baseball to the OKAY box and press the joystick button. If you decide that you don't want to make a substitution, move the baseball to the CANCEL box and press the joystick button--the scoreboard appears before the game will resume. If you make up to three substitutions during any single break. Just press F1 (player two - F3) when the scoreboard reappears. PLAYER'S GUIDE PLAY BALL! You're one run down in the bottom of the ninth, two, two out. Your clean-up hitter steps in at the plate. No sweat, right?- This guy's a gamer. Bust as the pitcher uncorks the first high hard one, it's white-knuckle time. Championship Baseball takes you out to the ballgame. With a unique behine-the-plate perspective on the action. Major League animation. League play in four divisions, so-or die play-offs, a Championship Series. All the drama and depth that make baseball the American passion and the National Pastime. As the manager, you draft your team and make out the line-up card. Call the pitches. Make the moves. Take the heat. As a player, you make it happen. At the plate and in the field. Make the tough catches and the long throws. Take a pitch or take your cut. This Player's Guide includes all the information you'll need to play Championship Baseball. The first section, "Getting Started," tells you how to load the game into your computer. "Batting Practice" explains the basics of swinging away and bunting, and offers some important tips for sharpening your batting eye and timing your swing. In "Pre-Game Ceremonies," you'll learn how to draft a roster and fill out your line-up card, and "League Play" describes how the divisions, play-offs, and Championship Series are organized in Championship Baseball. "Batter Up!" leads you through the fundamentals to finesse in hitting, baserunning, pitching, fielding, and throwing. Finally, "Going to the Bench" explains how to make those crucial moves that can make the difference between being a contender and being a cellar-dweller. You've heard Major Leaguers talk about "the complete ballplayer." Knows the fundamentals. Always has his head in the game. Brings a winning attitude to the park - every day. Get in uniform for the "complete ballgame" - Championship Baseball. As the Man in Blue says, "Play ball!" GETTING STARTED To load Championship Baseball into your computer make sure that your printer, if you have one, is turned off. After a few moments, the title and credit screens appear, followed by the PLAY OPTIONS chalkboard. For batting practice or a one-player game, plug a joystick into port 1. For a two-player game, plug another joystick into port 2. Before beginning play, make sure that the SHIFT/LOCK key is in the unlocked (up) position. For league play, you'll need a blank, initialized diskette to store information about your teams. SOME HANDY CONTROLS: During game play, you can press F5 any time to stop the action. Press F7 to restart the action. BATTING PRACTICE To work on getting your batting stroke down, use the joystick to place the baseballs next to PRACTICE on the PLAY OPTIONS chalkboard and press the joystick button. After a few moments, the Championship Baseball split playscreen appears, and you can start taking your hacks at a variety of pitches. To bunt, press and hold down the joystick button just BEFORE the pitcher releases the ball. Release the joystick button BEFORE the ball reaches the plate to take the pitch - as you'll see, it's tough to bunt successfully at a pitch that's out of the strike zone. To swing away, press the joystick button AFTER the pitcher releases the ball. You may want to take several pitches, just to get an idea of what kind of stuff the batting practice pitcher has and to sharpen your sense of the strike zone. The batting practice pitcher throws the same selection of pitches as all the pitchers in Championship Baseball. Balls and strikes are "called" in the scoreboard strip at the top of the screen. Eash side of the split playscreen gives you a different perspective on incoming pitches. From behind the plate, you'll see that those curve-balls that start up under your chin can drop in for strikes. From the first base side, you'll see how easy it is to get out in front of a change-up. And both sides of the screen will show you that when the guy on the mound cranks up the fastball, he's throwing up the fastball, he's throwin' smoke. Just as in the big leagues, the key to hitting is watching the pitch as it leaves the pitcher's hand during his delivery. You can use the pause feature of Championship Baseball to good advantage here: during batting practice, try toggling F5 and F7, to stop and start the action, several times during several pitches. By studying the position of the pitcher's hand as he "brings it over the top" on different types of pitches, you can develop your batting eye and timing. When you put the ball in play during batting practice, the fielders will play it out, much as they would under game conditions, before returning the ball to the pitcher. To end batting practice and return to the PLAY OPTIONS chalkboard, press F3 and F5 at the same time. PRE-GAME CEREMONIES To get under way, use the joystick to place the baseballs next to GAME on the PLAY OPTIONS chalkboard and press the joystick button. When the GAME OPTIONS chalkboard appears, select a ONE PLAYER or TWO PLAYER game. When you choose a ONE PLAYER game to play against a computer team, the ONE PLAYER OPTIONS chalkboard appears, and you may select an EXHIBITION game or LEAGUE play. If you select LEAGUE play, you'll be prompted to INSERT TEAM DATA DISK and PRESS BUTTON TO GO ON. You may then either select NEW TEAM to draft a new team or GET TEAM to field a team that you've already created and stored on your own team data disk. In one-playerEXIBITION play against the computer, you have the additional option of fielding one of the two teams that come on the Championship Baseball disk, the EAGLES or the PUMAS. If you choose to do this, simply leave the Championship Baseball disk in the disk drive when you're prompted to INSERT TEAM DATA DISK OR GAME DISK. When you choose a TWO PLAYER game, each player may either draft a brand new team or get a team that he or she has fielded before from a team data disk. Tach player follows the steps described in the following sections, player one first, then player two, placing their own team data disks in the disk drive as required. DRAFTING A NEW TEAM When you select NEW TEAM, you first get a chance to name your team. Type in the name you want from the keyboard (up to 12 letters and spaces- use the INST/DEL key to backspace over mistakes), then press RETURN. When the DRAFT screen appears, you begin selecting your roster, starting with your first baseman, cycling through the infield and outfield positions, and ending with your catcher, three starting pitchers and one reliever, and two reserves (one utility infielder and one utility outfielder). For each position other than the reserves, you have a choice of two players, identified as A and B until you select one and name him. The numbers to the right of the players represent their skill ratings. All players other than pitchers are described in terms of their hitting style - LINER or SLUGGER - and rated for their (B)atting, (C)atching, (R)unning, and (T)hrowing abilities. Ratings range from a low 1 to a high of 3. Added together, no player's ratings may total more than 8. Sluggers with a batting rating of 3 are power hitters - they have the best home-run-hitting percentages. Keep in mind that Championship Baseball is a game of offense and defense. As you fill out your roster, it's important to go for a balance of power at the plate, speed, and defensive abilities. To help you fill out your line-up card and for planning your strategy during games, you might also want to write down rating information on all the players in each roster you select. Catchers are rated in three categories: (S)peed, (C)ontrol, and (S)tamina. Ratings range from a low 1 to a high of 3. Added together, no catcher's ratings may total more than 6. Each pitcher's (S)peed will determine the number of "heaters" he can throw during a game before he loses something off his fastball. His (C)ontrol will determing how often he can catch the plate with his "corner" pitches. And his (S)tamina will determine how many pitches he can throw before both his overall speed and accuracy start to fall off. See "Pitching and Holding Runners on Base" for details on pitch selection and delivery. To select and name a player, place the baseballs next to his ratings information and press the joystick button. Then type in his name from the keyboard (up to 12 letters and spaces - use the INST/DEL key to backspace over mistakes), and press RETURN. When you go to select your reserves, you'll find there is only one infielder and one outfielder to choose. You still have the opportunity to name these players. While you're drafting players, you have the option of going back and changing or renaming any player you've already chosen. To do so, place the baseballs next to the NAME section, and move the joystick left and right to cycle through the players you've already chosen. When you come to the player you want to change, press the joystick button, then select a new player or change the name of the one you have. When you press the button again, you'll return to where you were previously in the drafting process. Any time while you're selecting your roster, you can move the baseballs to the CANCEL box and press the joystick button if you want to start over. When you're satisfied with your team, move the baseballs to the OKAY box and press the joystick button. FIELDING A TEAM STORED ON A DISK When you choose GET TEAM, you'll be prompted to INSERT TEAM DATA DISK and PRESS BUTTON TO GO ON. When you do so, a list of all the teams stored on the disk in your disk drive will appear. Use the joystick to move the baseballs next to the name of the team you want to field and press the joystick button - the selected team will be loaded into your computer. FILLING OUT YOUR LINE-UP CARD After you finish drafting a new team or choosing a team stored on your team data disk, you must fill out your line-up card. When your BATTING LINEUP screen first appears, the name, position, and ratings of your first baseman are displayed at the top of a blank line-up card. Move the joystick right and left to cycle forware and backward through the players on your roster - your eight starters and three possible starting pitchers. (Remember that in LEAGUE play, you may not start the same pitcher two games in a row.) Move the joystick backward and forward to move the baseballs to the spot in the line-up where you want the currently listed player to bat, and press the joystick button to place his name there. When your line-up card is filled out, you can "swap" any two players in the order. Use the joystick to place the baseballs next to the name of one of the players you want to swap and press the joystick button - a black marker will appear to the left of his name. Then place the baseballs next to the other player's name and press the joystick button again. Any time while you're filling out your line-up card, you can move the baseballs to the CANCEL box and press the joystick button if you want to start over. When you're satisfied with your line-up, move the baseballs to the OKAY box and press the joystick button. You'll then have a chance to choose the division you want to play in - see "League Play," below. In EXHIBITION pay you'll be pitted against a randomly selected team from the division you choose. You'll next be prompted to INSERT GAME DISK and PRESS BUTTON TO GO ON. In LEAGUE play, you'll then see the division standings. Press the joystick button and the game will begin. LEAGUE PLAY Only one-player games against the computer qualify for league play. The league consists of four divisions, each one including five computer teams and the team that you field. The divisions, ranging from the easiest to the toughest, are the SOUTH, NORTH, EAST, and WEST. When you finish filling out your line-up card, you're given a choice of divisions. Once you've started a particular team in league play within a given division, you'll go up against a team in that division each time you choose LEAGUE play and field that team - until the season's over. And any team of yours that wins its division will be pitted against a randomly selected computer team in the play-offs and Championship Series. THE SEASON In each league the season consists of five games, one against each team in the division you select. When you select the division you want to play in, the DIVISION STANDINGS from the sports page of the GAMESTAR GAZETTE appear on the screen. Also shown is your next opponent, and you're prompted to PRESS BUTTON TO CONTINUE. Be sure the game disk is in the disk drive, then press the button. When you do so, the game will begin. At the end of each game, the results are stored in the division standings on the Championship Baseball diskette. To win a division, you must end the five-game play-off against the champion from the division paired with yours. The division pairings are SOUTH vs. WEST and NORTH vs. EAST. THE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES If you win your play-off game, you advance to a best-two-out-of-three Championship Series against the pennant-winner from the other pair of divisions. BATTER UP! As each hitter comes to the plate, his name, posision, ratings (BCRT), and hitting style are displayed for several moments on the scoreboard strip at the top of the screen. Particularly when you're in the field, it's important to study the hitter's batting and running ratings and his hitting style. This will help you decide how to pitch to him and - if he gets on base - how much of a base-stealing threat he is. BATTING When you're at the plate during a game, your options are the same as in batting practice. To bunt, press and hold down the joystick button just BEFORE the pitcher releases the ball. Release the joystick button BEFORE the ball reaches the plate to take the pitch. To swing away, press the joystick button AFTER the pitcher releases the ball. See "Batting Practice" for some tips on "reading" pitches and timing your swing. RUNNING THE BASES When you put the ball in play, the batter automatically runs toward first base. Once he reaches the bag, however, you control the rest of his baserunning on the play. You can take a lead, retreat back to the bag, start a runner on the pitch, steal bases, and slide. If there are runners on base, you control the LEAD RUNNER, and only the lead runner can steal a base. When the ball is in play, all other runners advance and retreat automatically if forced. As soon as the lead runner scores or is put out, your control shifts IMMEDIATELY to the next lead runner. On a home run, all runners score automatically - you can sit back and savor the moment. Running the bases effectively requires alertness, quick reflexes, and a through knowledge of each player's running ability. When a man on first, for example, to stay out of the double play on a ball hit to the infield you'll have to start the runner the INSTANT the ball is hit, if not before - particularly if you man is slow. And of course sliding can make the difference between "Safe!" and "Out!" Dive back into the Slide into the bag bag when retreating when advancing !------------------------------! !\ / ! ! \ / ! ! \ / ! ! \ / ! ! \ / ! Retreat to last ! \ / \ ! Advance lead base passed ! --------------O--------------! runner ! \ / ! ! / \ ! ! / \ ! ! / \ ! ! / \ ! ! / \ ! !------------------------------! Dive back into the Slide into the bag when retreating when advancing To move the lead runner ahead, push and hold the joystick to the right. To retreat to the last base passed, push and hold the joystick to the left. To stop the runner on or between bases, return the joystick to the neutral center position (just release it). To slide, push the joystick diagonally as your lead runner approaches the bag: diagonally right to slide into the next base, diagonally left when retreating to the last base passed. Timing your slide is important, since it slows you down. Stealing bases or putting on the hit-and-run requires alertness and good timing, especially when you're playing against a computer-controlled team. When taking your lead, stealing, or putting on the hit-and-run, you control the lead runner only - any other runners on base will follow the lead runner only if and when the ball is put in play, and only when forced. To take a lead, ease the joystick just slightly to the right and release it. Keep your eye on the pitcher - he may try to pick you off. To retreat to the bag, push the joystick to the left. To send the runner, push and hold the joystick to the right. It's important to time his start just right. If the opposing pitcher hasn't started his delivery to the plate, he can always whirl and fire, throwing out your runner or catching him in a rundown. If you start the runner too late and your batter takes the pitch or swings and misses, the opposing catcher may be able to throw the runner out. (See "Pitching and Holding Runners on Base," and "Fielding and Throwing.") When you're playing against the computer and you take a big lead off third base, the catcher will sep out of the box and take a throw from the pitcher, then hold the ball until you retreat to the bag. Any runner taking a lead or running on the pitch will retreat to the bag automatically on a foul ball. All runners will retreat automatically if they're running on a fly ball and it's caught; as soon as your lead runner has tagged up, you take control of his movement again. Whether you're trying to steal or hit and run, don't get so involved in taking a lead or sending the runner that you forget what you're doing at the plate. Stealing a base with two outs won't do you much good if you forget to swing at strike three while you're at it. PITCHING AND HOLDING RUNNERS ON BASE At the start of each half inning and each time the ball is returned to the pitcher following a play or a pitch, the pitcher bends over and looks for a sign from the catcher. (At the end of each play and when a pitch is swung on and missed, press the joystick button TWICE to return the ball to the pitcher, then TWICE MORE to "set" your pitcher.) To start your delivery, press and hold down the joystick button -- the pitcher moves to an upright position and comes set. You control the type and location of each pitch with your joystick, as shown. High and inside knuckleball Hard knuckler, inside corner Screwball, inside corner !------------------------------! ! \ ! / ! ! \ ! / ! ! \ ! / ! ! \ ! / ! ! \ ! / ! ! / \ / \ ! Fastball ! --------------O--------------! Change-up ! \ / ! ! / ! \ ! ! / ! \ ! ! / ! \ ! ! / ! \ ! ! / ! \ ! !------------------------------! Slider, outside corner Curve, outside corner Outside knuckleball The high and inside knuckler and the outside knuckler are sure to be out of the strikezone, and the change-up and fastball are certain strikes. Whether the other four types of pitch catch the corner for a strike or miss for a ball will depend on the hurler's control and stamina ratings and on how many pitches he's thrown. The speed of each pitcher's fastballs, sliders, and hard knucklers will depend on his initial speed rating and stamina ratings and on how many pitches he's thrown. Every pitcher will tire as a game goes on, especially if he's throwing a lot of pitches, and both the speed and accurace of his pitches will fall off. See "Your Line-Up Card" for details on pitchers' ratings and pitch selection. If your starter loses his stuff and starts getting shelled, you may want to go to your bullpen -- see "Going to the Bench". But keep in mind that you can change pitchers only between half innings and only once during each game. To pick off a runner -- or just to hold him close to the bag -- release the joystick button BEFORE moving the joystick to deliver the pitch. You may then throw to any base as shown. 3rd base !------------------------------! ! O ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! / ! \ ! Home ! --------------O--------------! 2nd base ! \ ! / ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !------------------------------! 1st base For details on throwing out a runner who takes off after you start your delivery, see "Fielding and Throwing" below. At the conclusion of each pitch or play, including foul balls and home runs, press the joystick TWICE to return the ball to the pitcher -- his uniform will turn black to indicate that he has the ball. Press the joystick button TWICE MORE to get set to pitch again -- the pitcher's uniform will turn to the team color and he'll bend over to look for the next sign from the catcher. YOU MUST "SET" YOUR PITCHER BEFORE A NEW BATTER WILL COME TO THE PLATE FOLLOWING A HIT OR AN OUT. FIELDING AND THROWING When the ball is put in play, the player nearest the path of the ball becomes eligible to field it. If the ball has a shadow, it's a fly ball; otherwise, it's a grounder. Move the joystick to move the eligible fielder to the ball -- he'll move in the same direction you push the joystick. His uniform will turn black when he gets possession of the ball. You may then continue moving the player to intercept and tag out a runner or to force a runner at any base, or throw the ball to any base or to the pitcher. To catch a fly ball, keep your eye on the ball's shadow. As the ball descends, position your fielder so he'll intercept the shadow. To throw the ball, press and release the joystick button, then move the joystick as shown to throw to a base or press the button a SECOND time to throw to the pitcher on the mound. Press button twice to throw to pitcher 3rd base \ \ !------------------------------! ! O ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! / ! \ ! Home ! --------------O--------------! 2nd base ! \ ! / ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !------------------------------! 1st base The official scorer in Championship Baseball will assign an error when you fail to make a play that should have been made. To throw out a runner trying to steal, press the joystick button ONCE as soon as your catcher has possession of the ball, then move the joystick as shown above to throw to the desired base. To tag out a runner trying to steal home, you must MOVE your catcher to intercept the runner. If you don't move your catcher, the runner will slip past him and score. And of course your catcher must have the possession of the ball.