All you young guys should consider yourselves very, very lucky

[ChicagoSparty]

I'm 32. I've been playing baseball games since I can remember, back to some terrible, now nameless game that I loved anyway because it had Jody Davis on the Cubs back in '84.

Anyway, baseball was my favorite sport growing up. I played it and studied it, and I always dreamed of a game that incorporated all those real life nuances that make baseball the great sport that it is.

This is that game. I didn't want to judge too quickly out of the box, so I have given it somewhere between 20-30 games to make sure that what I saw initially was not a fluke. It wasn't. This game includes virtually all of the things I used to precede with the words, "Wouldn't it be cool if. . . ." That's not hyperbole. That's fact, and reading others' posts makes me realize I'm far from the only person who feels this way.

So if you're younger, and have, probably, much more time with this game than I ever will, consider yourself extremely lucky. If you play baseball competitively, you will learn from this game and become a better player. I firmly believe that.

Thanks to the development team for everything you have done. I'm continually amazed how representative this game is.

[NiteLordz]

from a guy who is turning 20+10 in two weeks, i second this post

[Manny_Shevitz]

Hey man, I'm right there with you. I'm 37, and my first baseball video games were RBI and Bases Loaded for the NES. I've played a lot of video game baseball since then, getting excited about each new generation of consoles and the increased level of realism they would bring. But even as graphics and AI got better, and features were added to make the games play more like the real thing, they never quite got there.

I took a long hiatus from baseball games (I think All-Star Baseball for the PS2 was the last one I bought), and almost passed on MLB 09, but the glowing reviews, including the one on this site, convinced me to pick it up, and I couldn't be happier about it. It is without a doubt, the best sports video game I have ever played.

[Manny_Shevitz]

Okay, I lied: my first baseball video game was that Mattel handheld that was shaped like a baseball diamond, and had little red blips that represented the players. But I figured most of you wouldn't know what the heck I was talking about.

[gambler1180]

29yo here and i second this post as well. Just wish we could create our own stadiums.

[EdgeCrusher]

Long-time lurker, rarely post.I'm 33, my bro is 40.I can't even tell you the R.B.I. Baseball battles we had.That game was like the Tecmo Bowl of baseball.

Tony Armas..The man, the myth, the legend.(As far as that game goes)

[Gilly]

31...think my first was realsports baseball for the atari 5200, classic.....no love for 'baseball' on the nes??

[Randor2000]

30 here. You guys remember what a coup it was that year when RBI had "all" the teams.