Everything the game does, in plain language. Where we give a number, it comes straight from the game's own rules.
You manage a team built from real player-seasons, 1901 to 2025: Babe Ruth in 1920, Pedro Martinez in 2000, and 1,428 others. You draft a roster under a salary cap, then play games where dice decide every at-bat, using cards built from each player's real stats.
See Manager calls for every call and its odds.
The dice decide each game. The better team wins more often, but any single game can go either way.
The season and team, the positions he can play, his price, his real stats, and his Runs+, which is how many runs that season was worth above an average player. At the bottom is his roll card, the list of results the dice can produce for him.
There is one kind of draft. Both teams must fit under a $100M salary cap, so stars cost you depth: every dollar spent on one big name is a dollar you don't have for the other spots.
Every price is $1M for taking a roster spot, plus a charge for the runs a player adds: about $0.21M per run of Runs+ for a hitter, $0.26M for a starter and $0.30M for a reliever. Bats are the cheapest source of runs and relievers the most expensive. A player's price is shown on his card and next to his name in the draft.
In the draft, you can't overspend, and the game never lets you get stuck with an impossible roster. Before it allows a pick, it adds up the cheapest player still available for each of your other empty spots. If his price plus those would go over the cap, the pick is blocked and the button says Over the payroll.
So the cap gets tighter as you fill the roster. A warning shows how much room you have above the cheapest way to finish, and the Only players I can afford switch hides everyone you can't take.
Late in the draft you may only be able to take bargain players. The computer follows the same rule. In the rare case that nobody left fits both your open spots and your cap, your turn is skipped, and an empty spot counts as an average player in the game.
In a league or at a free table there's no draft clock. Once the table fills, you have 48 hours to build an 18-player roster under the $100M cap: 9 in the lineup, 5 starters and 4 relievers. A player who would put you over is marked Over your cap. Swap in someone cheaper to make room.
On his card, a roll of 1 to 16 is a home run, 17 a triple, 18 to 24 a double, 25 to 31 a single, 32 to 64 a walk, 65 to 91 a strikeout, and 92 to 100 an out in play. Sixteen numbers out of 100 is a lot of home runs, and it is part of why he is the highest-priced hitter in the game.
Walk, hit by pitch, strikeout, single, double, triple, home run, groundout, flyout, lineout and error. Of the outs that are in play, about 46% are groundouts, 42% flyouts and 12% lineouts. Errors appear only on pitchers' cards, about 1 in 60 of the balls in play that would otherwise be outs, and they stand in for the defense behind that pitcher.
After a result, runners move by fixed rules. Where there's a chance, a dice roll decides, using the odds below. Each hitter has a speed rating, taken from his real steals and triples, that nudges these odds.
| Result | What the runners do |
|---|---|
| Walk or hit by pitch | Runners move up only if they are forced. |
| Single | A runner on third scores. A runner on second scores about 6 times in 10 (about 8 in 10 with two outs), otherwise stops at third. A runner on first usually goes to second, and about 3 times in 10 to third when third is open (about 4 in 10 with two outs). |
| Double | Runners on second and third score. A runner on first scores about 4 times in 10 (about 6 in 10 with two outs), otherwise stops at third. |
| Triple or home run | Everyone scores. |
| Error | The batter reaches and every runner moves up a base. Runs that score on an error are unearned. |
| Groundout | With a runner on first and fewer than two outs, it becomes a double play about 4 times in 10 for an average hitter, less for a fast one. Otherwise forced runners move up. With first base empty, a runner on third scores about half the time. |
| Flyout | A runner on third tags up and scores about 6 times in 10 (a sacrifice fly). A runner on second tags up to third about a quarter of the time when third is open. |
| Lineout | Runners hold. |
Stolen bases and sacrifice bunts happen only when a manager calls them (see Manager calls). There is no hit-and-run or squeeze. Without a call, a hitter's speed shows up in how often runners take the extra base and how often he grounds into a double play.
Three calls are yours on offense and defense at the plate: a steal, a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk. On defense you also set your infield, your outfield and whether to hold the runner (see Defense below). In a quick game you make them all live, in the moment. In a league your club makes the steal, bunt and walk calls for you, following the settings you choose on your manager page. In a league you turn each defensive call on or off on your manager page, and your club uses it only in its own spot.
| Call | When it is offered |
|---|---|
| Steal second | A runner on first and second base empty, with any number of outs. |
| Steal third | A runner on second and third base empty. |
| Sacrifice bunt | A runner on first and/or second, nobody on third, and fewer than two outs. |
| Intentional walk | First base open and a runner on second or third. You make this one when your team is in the field. |
Buttons for the calls that fit appear above Swing or Pitch, with the runner's chance of making it. You can ignore them and swing. The computer manages too: it steals the way its runners really did, bunts with its weakest hitters in close games, and walks a dangerous hitter late. You never get an automatic call.
In a quick game, Set your defense opens the choices when your club is in the field. They stay set until you change them. In a league you turn each one on or off (off or situational) on your manager page. Either way, each one only works in its own spot. The tradeoff is real: a call helps where it fits, and costs you a little anywhere else.
| Call | Works when | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Infield in | Runner on third, fewer than 2 outs | A runner on third scores on a ground ball about 1 time in 5 instead of 1 in 2. About 6 in 100 ground balls get through for singles. |
| Double-play depth | Runner on first, fewer than 2 outs | About 15 more double plays in every 100 ground balls, less for fast hitters as always. About 4 in 100 ground balls get through, and a runner on third scores on any ground ball. |
| Corners in | A bunt is on: runner on first and/or second, nobody on third, fewer than 2 outs | A sacrifice bunt works about 1 time in 2 instead of 3 in 4. About 5 in 100 ground balls get through. |
| Outfield in | Runner on third, fewer than 2 outs | A fly ball scores the runner about 35 times in 100 instead of 62, and a runner on second scores less often on a single. About 8 in 100 fly outs drop in for doubles. |
| Outfield deep | All the time | About 45 in 100 doubles and triples are held to singles. About 5 in 100 fly outs fall in for singles, and runners take extra bases a little more. |
| Hold the runner | Runner on first | Steals succeed 12 points less often, and the runner takes third on a single about 1 time in 4 instead of 3 in 10. About 5 in 100 ground balls get through. |
A league club set to situational, and the computer's clubs, use each call in these spots: infield in from the 7th inning on with a runner on third, fewer than two outs and the game within a run; double-play depth with a runner on first, nobody on third and fewer than two outs; corners in when a weak hitter is likely to bunt; outfield in in the 9th or later with the winning run on third and the club tied or one behind; outfield deep from the 8th inning on with a lead of one to three runs; and a hold on a runner who really did steal a lot.
In thousands of test games, each call is a small edge in its own spot and a small loss when it is out of place. If you used every call in its best spot, a team's scoring would change by about 1%. They change how a game is played more than how many runs a team scores.
| Setting | What your club does |
|---|---|
| Stolen bases: Off | Runners never try to steal. This is the default. |
| Stolen bases: Selective | Runners go as often as they really did that season and succeed about as often as they really did. A player who never ran stays put, and they hold back late in a game that is out of reach. |
| Stolen bases: Aggressive | Runners go about a third more often than in real life, and even players who rarely ran will go if they succeeded at least two times in three. |
| Sacrifice bunts: Situational | With nobody out, a runner on first and the game within two runs, one of your three weakest hitters bunts. |
| Intentional walks: Situational | From the 6th inning on, when you are tied or ahead by up to two runs, with first base open and a runner on third (or on second with fewer than two outs), you walk one of the other team's four best hitters if the next one is clearly weaker. |
These settings apply to your own club only, and nobody else can see them. They apply to every game the server plays for you. Computer-run clubs play with everything off.
In thousands of test games, selective steals changed a team's scoring by less than 1%, and bunting cost about 2.7% of a team's runs. These calls change how a game is played more than how many runs a team scores.
Yes, but not by getting worse. A pitcher's card never changes during a game. Fatigue works as a limit: every pitcher has a number of batters he can face, and when he reaches it, or gets hit hard, he is taken out.
That limit comes from his real season. A starter's limit is the batters he faced per game that season, plus 5%, kept between 20 and 40. A reliever's is the batters he faced per appearance, kept between 4 and 12. So a pitcher who went deep into games in his real season goes deep in yours.
The game credits them the usual way. A starter needs at least 5 innings to get the win, otherwise it goes to the reliever who pitched the most. A save goes to the pitcher who finishes a win after coming in with a lead of 1 to 3 runs, if he isn't the winning pitcher.
A manager can give starters a short, normal or long leash. Short cuts every starter's limit by 20% so he is taken out sooner. Long adds 25%. You can also set the order of your five starters, or choose who starts a particular game. Starters take the ball in order: game day 1 is the first starter, day 2 the second, and so on around.
A few calls are made by the game itself, the same way for both teams. Today you can't make them or change them.
| The call | How the game makes it |
|---|---|
| Taking extra bases | Runners advance by fixed odds, nudged by the hitter's speed. There are no outfield arm ratings. The odds are on the On the bases tab. |
| Tagging up | It's automatic. About 6 times in 10 a runner on third scores on a fly ball, and a runner on second tags up to third about a quarter of the time when third is open. |
| Trailing and forced runners | They advance by the rules, with no choice. A walk or a groundout moves forced runners up, and other runners move by the odds on the On the bases tab. |
| Double plays | The chance depends on the hitter's speed: with a runner on first and fewer than two outs, about 4 times in 10 for an average hitter on a groundout, less for a fast one. You can set double-play depth or play the infield in, live in a quick game or as a setting in a league (see Defense). |
| Pitching changes and the closer | These follow the stamina and run rules on the Pitchers tab. In a league, the next reliever follows the bullpen order you set, or is the best one available if you let the game choose. In a quick game you can take out your own pitcher and choose who comes in (see Pitchers). |
Steals, sacrifice bunts, intentional walks and your defense are your calls (see Manager calls). Pinch hitters aren't in the game at all. See What it doesn't do.
Clubs are ranked by winning percentage, then run difference, then runs scored. The top four make the playoffs: first plays fourth and second plays third, each a best-of-3. The winners meet in a best-of-5 final, and the winner of that is the champion.
A league roster is the same as a draft: 18 players under a $100M cap, with 9 in the lineup, 5 starters and 4 relievers. You can have only one season of any player.
See the private leagues page for how buy-ins and prizes work.
This is a simple game on purpose, so you can play it in a few minutes. These things are not part of it today: