Backyard Sports Online Blog

Recently, I participated in the time-honored classic video game exercise of taking the Backyard Baseball kids and creating them in another game: Bitball!  

Bitball is a game developed by Mr. Bitball from Indie game developer Duckfoot Games. It launched in early March, coincidentally just before the huge release of Backyard Baseball ‘97 on mobile by Playground Productions and MegaCat Studios.  

Bitball allows for full customization of your roster using the Commissioner Mode, which is available in the premium version of the game.  

After familiarizing myself with the gameplay, I felt ready to tackle the challenge of bringing the Backyard kids into the Bitball universe. A big obstacle here is that Bitball players are adults, not kids, so we had to take some liberties in deciding which of the Backyard kids grew up to have facial hair. On the flip side, one nice thing about Bitball is that your rosters can be co-ed, similar to Backyard Baseball.  

The game has four positional player ratings and four pitcher ratings. They overlap pretty well with many of *Backyard Baseball*'s hidden ratings.  

Position Players  

Hitting: Ability to make contact  

Power: How far you can mash the ball  

Speed: How fast you can run  

Defense: Probably helps your team give up fewer runs  

Pitching  

Stamina: How many pitches you can throw before getting tired  

Velocity: Pitch speed  

Movement: Curves left and right  

Control: How accurate the pitcher is  

 As Commissioner, my first executive action was probably not appreciated by fans. We moved the Seattle team and renamed them the *Melonheads*, with the initials “BIG” as an homage to the classic Backyard squad, the Humongous Melonheads. Their colors? Green and purple.  

Next, we adjusted the prices to more accurately reflect a Little League concession stand and ticket prices. We're here to promote teamwork and sportsmanship—not to make the big bucks. 

With the business side of the organization taken care of, it was time to pull out my Backyard player research documents and start rebuilding the roster.  

 Starting Pitching  

• Ronny Dobbs
• Kenny Kawaguchi
• Stephanie Morgan

Relief Pitching  

• Angela Delvecchio
• Billie Jean Blackwood
• Ernie Steele

Position Players  

C: Mikey Thomas  

1B: Tony Delvecchio  

2B: Marky Dubois  

3B: Lisa Crockett  

SS: Pablo Sanchez  

LF: Pete Wheeler  

CF: Keisha Phillips  

RF: Ricky Johnson  

DH: Achmed Khan  

I figured Marky would have a goatee.  

Pablo translates pretty well to Bitball with his round face.  

No headphones for Achmed, but maybe he’s matured and now uses more practical earbuds. 

Let’s Take to the Field  

In our first game, we absolutely trounced the other squad. We had quite a few strikeouts on our side since the opposing pitcher had max velocity.  

In the third inning, I had the bases loaded with Ricky Johnson up to bat. Traditionally, this is a terrible spot to be in—and in Bitball, it was no different. Ricky hit a dribbler into the infield, and fortunately, the other team misread the bounce, allowing us to advance all runners in a way that’s become very familiar to me as a former semi-professional Backyard Baseball Coach.   

Kenny went the distance, pitching phenomenally with only two earned runs.  

The middle of the lineup crushed it, with homers from Pablo, Achmed, Pete, and Tony. There are about 25 games left in this season if I include the playoffs and I’m looking forward to bringing home a championship with the Melonheads in this season playthrough.  

You can download Bitball for free on the iOS and Android app stores and follow them on Twitter/X @Bitball_Game.

We will be hosting the "Backyard Bitball Bash" April 20th @5PM in the Backyard Sports Online Discord server where the champion will receive a free premium version of the game.