Mar 23, 2020  Major League Baseball players have no games to play right now, and they don't know when they will. So, they're doing what they can to stay sharp. That includes Atlanta Braves star Freddie Freeman, who did what a lot of parents do; play baseball in the backyard with his son. Now, normally parents let little kids win these games.

1. Backyard Baseball Game

Ah yes, the good old days. Growing up in the early 2000s, my memories of baseball are fond. Hitting a homerun off of Toby Mac in Ben Zobrist's backyard, meeting Chipper Jones before a 2003 game against the Cubs, seeing Sammy Sosa hit a 450-foot bomb in that same game, getting to witness the greatest defensive outfielder in baseball history (Andruw Jones) make the most difficult plays look routine. However, some of my best memories stem from the little room directly adjacent to the one that belonged to my parents. This was the computer room, and the focal point was the glamorous Dell Dimension XPS R450 sitting against the back wall. That's where I would go to escape, and my drug of choice was Backyard Baseball. I can still hear my dad's inquisitive voice; 'Why do you come home from baseball practice just to play virtual baseball?' Moving into my high school years, my post-practice game of choice was MLB The Show, and don't get me wrong, it's a great game, but it will never live up to the simplicity yet pure joy of playing that pixelated version of our national pastime that Humongous Entertainment so elegantly designed. So, I decided to conceptualize a new iteration of the game. Yes, I know that different companies have tried to revive the series in the past, but none of them quite hit the mark. They were trying too hard to modernize the game. You know what they say. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. So, without further ado, here is my take on that what a Backyard Baseball game would look like if it were put out this year.

1. Probably the easiest current backyard baseball player to make and they do this 🤦🏼‍♀️. Siegler MLB postponing their 2020 season is on par with the Rangers. Every time they open a new park, the season gets shortened. 1972 - Strike, 1994 - Strike, 2020 - Pandemic.
2. Feb 28, 2020  Getting ready for the 2020 BBL season. Here are some players you should take a closer look at. Getting ready for the 2020 BBL season. Here are some players you should take a closer look at.

A few notes before we get started.

-This is a modern reimagining of the original game, so the players will all be active, but the player rating system Remains the Same as it was when the game first came out.

-The five simple aspects of the game each player will be rated on our contact, power, speed, defense, and pitching.

-How I assigned pitching ratings to position players: the more experienced the player is, the higher their pitching rating. If the player has had a pitching appearance in his career, his rating is pretty high. This allows for a team to have more than one pitching option, even though there are only nine players to a team. Arm strength somewhat factors into a player's pitching rating. The highest pitching rating a position player can have is five.

-Just like the original versions of the game, there is one player in the game from each team. No more, no less.

-I will be releasing the ratings and artwork (done by me) for 5 players with each post.

Enjoy!

Arizona Diamondbacks

Eduardo Escobar

Contact: 7

Power: 7

Speed: 5

Defense: 5

Pitching: 5

Escobar has flown under the radar for the majority of his career, and he owes part of that to the majority of his time being spent in Minnesota oh, but he has broken out this year in a big way. He is arguably one of the top 5 best third baseman in the league right now.

Atlanta Braves

Ronald Acuña Jr.

Contact: 7

Power: 9

Speed: 9

Defense: 6

Pitching: 2

Arguably the most exciting young star in the league, Acuña is the obvious choice to represent the Braves in this game. If he can learn how to play the field, he could easily develop into a 5-tool player and the next best player in the game.

Baltimore Orioles

Trey Mancini

Contact: 6

Power: 7

Speed: 4

Defense: 5

Pitching: 1

Mancini is finally looking like the player he has been thought to become. I halfway wanted to put Chris Davis on here instead just for his pitching ability, but I couldn't justify picking him over Mancini with the way Davis has been hitting over the last 3 years.

Boston Red Sox

Mookie Betts

Contact: 10

Power: 8

Speed: 8

Defense: 9

Pitching: 3

This one is a no-brainer. Betts is probably the best player in the reimagining of Backyard Baseball, and he might just be the best player in Major League Baseball. He's off to a rough start in 2019, but that doesn't stop him from becoming our first player on the list with a 10-rating in a category.

Chicago Cubs

Javier Báez

Contact: 8

Power: 8

Speed: 7

Defense 8

Pitching: 4

There aren't a ton of players in the conversation for most exciting player in the game, but Báez is quite possibly right at the top of that short list. A five tool player, he does everything for the Cubs, and he was born to be in this game.

Hope you enjoyed the first installment of this project of mine! Stay tuned for part 2!

Backyard Baseball Game

At this point, it’s unclear when we’ll get to see the next MLB game played. The league — and every other American sports league — delayed its season amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

With this move coming towards the final stretch of spring training, MLB players are left to get ready for a season that they don’t know when exactly it will take place.

But at least Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is doing his part to stay fresh for the season, and he has his son to help.

Freeman’s wife, Chelsea, posted a video of Freddie and their 3-year-old son, Charlie, playing some backyard baseball on Sunday. Let’s just say that Freddie didn’t go easy on his son.

Charlie left an off-speed pitch up high for Freddie, and the four-time All-Star absolutely crushed the ball into the woods.

Just look at Charlie’s reaction — it was too good.

And sure, this wasn’t exactly 98 mph heat from Charlie, but it’ll have to work in these trying times.