The Original Backyard Baseball Characters, Ranked
Humongous Entertainment existed from 1992 until 2006. During that time they made many, many games in the edutainment genre, helping kids with all sorts of developmental skills, like reading, writing, math, and science. HOWEVER, the most enduring relic from the company’s existence is its Backyard Sports series, particularly the first in the line, 1997’s Backyard Baseball.
I’m fairly certain I received my copy of Backyard Baseball in a box of Wheaties. It’s a fully playable game — you can take on a friend in versus mode, or put together a roster to go through a season. There are a ton of fun little nuances to the game, such as creative team names like the Mighty Melonheads or the classic schoolyard taunts like “we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher!”
Of course, the majority of the action takes place on the field. Though you can choose anyone right from the get-go, it quickly becomes apparent that certain players are better than others. Future iterations of Backyard Sports games allow you to pick athletes to play with the kids, but Backyard Baseball has none of that nonsense. I don’t want my nine-year-old kid playing with Barry Bonds. I want him playing with other nine-year-olds (yes, I know all of the professional athletes are “kid” versions of themselves, but I don’t care).
The OG game had 30 kid athletes just itching to be on your squad. We don’t have time for chumps here — you want the best players suiting up for you. Let’s dive in.
30. Jorge Garcia
Outside of #1, this is the easiest choice on this list. Jorge brings absolutely nothing to the table. He’s got 2 ratings across the board, he’s pompous as hell for how terrible he is (“pick me if you want a know-it-all criticizing your every move”), and his theme music is trash. He also swings straight down, which is more appropriate for a whack-a-mole extravaganza, not a baseball game. Only choose…
