WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL Cartridge Instructions (For 1 or 2 Players) OBJECT OF THE GAME Score the most runs in 9 innings of devastating action and sheer sweat! Go for extra innings if tied! Your home team is blue, the visitors are red. Here's your chance to beat the nearly invincible computer-controlled red hats! Or take on any red team who can stand the heat! CONTROLS: KEYPAD 1: Left Fielder / Speed 1 / Skill Level 1 KEYPAD 2: Center Fielder / Speed 2 / Skill Level 2 KEYPAD 3: Right Fielder / Speed 3 / Skill Level 3 KEYPAD 4: Shortstop / Skill Level 4 KEYPAD 5: 2nd Baseman KEYPAD 7: 3rd Baseman KEYPAD 8: Pitcher KEYPAD 9: 1st Baseman KEYPAD CLEAR: Clear KEYPAD 0: Catcher / Skill Level 0 KEYPAD ENTER: Enter UPPER SIDE ACTION KEYS: Overrun / Flyball / Slide LOWER LEFT SIDE ACTION KEY: Line Drive LOWER RIGHT SIDE ACTION KEY: Bunt DISC: Move players / Pitch / Top game speed NOTE: Do not use the keypad and disc or any two or more keys on keypad at the same time. Before Game Starts: € To select game speed press button 1, 2, or 3 (slowest). (For fastest, press DISC.) € To select number of players managing the game, press 0, 1, or 2. Then press ENTER. € To select skill level, press 0, 1, 2, 3, OR 4 (hardest). Then press ENTER. € To clear a wrong selection, press CLEAR. After Game Starts: € To throw the ball to any fielder, press the fielder who will receive the ball. He'll turn black when in control, then, upon catching the ball, he'll turn light blue if his color was blue or dark red if his color was red. € To catch a fly ball, grounder, line drive, or bunt, press the nearest fielder to the ball destination. If the ball is not directly in his way, press Disc to move him to the exact location where he can field the ball. € To reposition an outfielder from his normal rest position to another rest position at any time, press the outfielder first so he receives the ball. Then press Disc to move him to the desired position, and press ENTER. He'll automatically throw the ball to the pitcher and remain in this position. Unless you press CLEAR when the pitcher has the ball (anytime during the game), he'll retain this new position throughout the game. Pressing CLEAR, however, will bring back ALL repositioned outfielders to their original rest positions. Pressing ENTER when the pitcher has the ball will switch ALL outfielders to their alternate rest positions. SIDE BUTTONS € To bat a fly ball, press either Upper Side Button when pitch crosses plate. A fly ball may become a Home Run! € To bat a line drive, press Left Lower Side Button when pitch crosses plate. € To bat a bunt, press Right Lower Side Button when pitch crosses plate. € To overrun 1st base, press either Upper Side Button while still holding down on Disc., € To slide into any base (except 1st, when overrunning), press either Upper Side Button while still holding down on Disc. DISC € To select fastest game speed (before game starts), press DISC. € To pitch, press DISC. € To move players (runners or fielders), press DISC. GET READY To begin the game, press RESET. "BASEBALL" Title will appear on the screen. Select Game Speed: Press 3 for slow Press 2 for medium Press 1 for fast Press DISC for fastest After selecting game speed, the game will ask you to select the number of players and skill level. Use right hand controller to select. PLAYERS: 0: Computer will control both teams 1: You against the computer 2: You against a friend SKILL LEVEL: 0: Easiest -- no flyballs 1: Easy -- computer chooses fielders when ball is hit 2: Moderate -- computer chooses fielders when ball is hit 3: HARD -- advanced pitching control if 2 players 4: HARDEST -- advanced pitching control if 2 players Press ENTER to complete Number of Players Selection and Skill Level Selection. Realize that in every higher skill level players will react faster and more accurately to your commands! PLAY BALL! As the diamond appears on the screen, watch the players quickly take the field. The home team is BLUE and always begins in the field. At bat, the RED visitors! The scoreboard on the screen automatically keeps track of strikes, balls, outs, innings and runs. Runs appear at the top of the screen. Errors are not recorded, but they do occur. COLOR FUNCTION CHART Player... ...taking field: MEDIUM BLUE (Home) / MEDIUM RED (Visitors) ...in control: BLACK (Home) / BLACK (Visitors) ...has ball: LIGHT BLUE (Home) / DARK RED (Visitors) ...lead runner: LIGHT BLUE (Home) / DARK RED (Visitors) Most professional baseball rules apply -- 3 strikes for an out, 4 balls for a walk, first two foul balls count as strikes. Batted balls can be bunts, grounders, line drives, fly balls, foul balls or home runs! Force-outs, double and triple plays can all be made! Baserunners can overrun 1st base or slide into bases! Fielders can catch flyballs! You'll hear roaring cheers when you score a run. Hit a grand slam home run, and they'll go wild. You'll hear the crack of the bat, hear the "ump" call the outs. "YER OUT!!" THIS IS IT! PITCHING Pitcher automatically has the ball at the start of each inning. After a foul ball, the ball will automatically return to the pitcher. Other times, you must press PITCHER to allow him to receive the ball from other players. The type of pitch depends on WHERE you press the Disc. You can throw fast and slow, inside and outside curves, fast balls and change ups by pushing different spots on the edge of the Disc. TOP: Fast Ball UPPER LEFT: Fast Inside Curve LEFT: Inside Curve LOWER LEFT: Slow Inside Curve BOTTOM: Slow Ball UPPER RIGHT: Fast Outside Curve RIGHT: Outside Curve LOWER RIGHT: Slow Outside Curve Advanced Pitching: For 2-player games at hard and hardest skill levels, you can really put on a dynamite pitching performance! Assume full control of ball AFTER it leaves the mound! To speed ball up, press and HOLD DOWN on top portion of Disc. To slow ball down, press and HOLD DOWN on bottom portion of Disc. To curve ball out or in, press and HOLD DOWN on right or left side of Disc. After a pitch, if no contact is made by the batter, catcher would have the ball. Return ball to the pitcher by pressing PITCHER. With men on base, keep an eye on early runners trying to steal as you're about to pitch. Catch any of them off-guard by throwing fast to base or trap an advanced runner before he slides into next base! Pitcher's throw to 2nd base is a lot quicker! So is a throw from 2nd baseman to catcher! Remember -- push down on FIELDER you want to RECEIVE the ball -- 1st base, 2nd base, etc. When throw is made, baseman will automatically cover his base. Shortstop, however, will not cover 2nd base automatically. When baserunner takes too big a lead, try for a PITCH OUT play! Pitch an outside curve to catcher, hoping batter will ignore it, then quickly, push down on 2nd or 3rd base AHEAD of the baserunner! Get that throw off fast! Make the baserunner swallow his own dust as he slides into base -- GET HIM OUT! Or catch him in a RUN-DOWN if he tries to creep back where he came from! Use the Disc, get your basemen closer to the runner! Run him down and get the PUTOUT! Pitcher cannot his a batter with a wild pitch. Batter will his a fast ball FURTHER than a slow ball. A slow ball will make it easier on a runner to STEAL a base! FIELDING Keep an eye on the direction of the ball when it leaves the bat! Quickly, press nearest fielder to ball destination. Start fielder moving toward the ball by pressing Disc. If a fly ball, try to follow the ball shadow rather than the ball, and make the catch where both shadow and ball meet. When caught -- hey! -- the screen message and umpire's call is clear: "YER OUT!" (1st out), "YER OUT!" (2nd out), or "THIRD OUT." If a fielder misses the ball or it falls short, ball will bounce to a stop. Fielder will have to go after the ball. Press fielder to make him react, then press DISC to move him toward the ball. After a foul ball, the ball will automatically return to the pitcher. After a fly ball is caught, baserunners will automatically return to tag up. Any fielder, except the pitcher when he is on the mound, can run with the ball to TAG OUT a baserunner. Press fielder to put him in control, then use Disc to move him toward runner. Any player can throw directly to any other player. If any fielder throws from anywhere other than his normal position, he will automatically return to position after the "throw." Remember, outfielders can be repositioned for a new game strategy (see above). BATTING When ball is returned to the pitcher, batters automatically come up to bat. All batters on the screen are right-handed. Batters cannot step out of batter's box. What do you have in mind? A bunt? A line drive? Or a fly ball? Whatever it is, watch the pitch...When you think the "ball" is in a good position to hit, press any of the four Side Buttons. Press Lower Right Side Button for a bunt, Lower Left Side Button for a line drive, and either Upper Side Button for a fly ball. Remember, you don't have to swing if the pitch is bad. After 4 bad pitches, you take a walk. Time your Swing! You'll get a strike if you swing at a ball over the plate too early, too late or at too wild a curve. Also, if you don't hit a called strike. Try to place the ball. Hit to right or left field by connecting with pitch at the proper time. A little practice with the bat will improve your placement. When you hit the ball, START RUNNING! Press RIGHT SIDE of Disc at once to run to 1st base! And while holding down the Disc, press either Upper Side Button to OVERRUN 1st base! Here comes the ball -- you swing -- and it's a HOME RUN! "HOME RUN" appears on the screen...you hear roaring cheers and whistles while you run...They all love you! Cheers are wilder and longer when other baserunners score too! RUNNING As soon as the ball is hit, press RIGHT side of Disc. The right side sends runners forward, left side sends them back along the base path. Stealing a base! Press Disc to lead-off your runner, watch for the pitch, press Disc and start running. If fielders are slow to react or make an error, don't be afraid to take the next base! But watch out -- the other team can throw to the base you were on and to the base you're going toward...and get you tagged out in a RUNDOWN! IMPORTANT! With runners on base, Disc controls the LEAD runner only. When LEAD runner steals, other runners stay on base! No double steals possible! On a hit, with a man on base, pressing Disc will advance the LEAD man -- the man on base. The hitter will take 1st automatically. But remember, LEAD runner is the man you control. If you stop the LEAD runner between bases and send him back to the base he was on before, he MAY COLLIDE with the other runner coming behind -- for this one WON'T STOP! Should they collide, the LEAD runner is OUT! If batted ball hits you, keep running! You won't be out! Break the tie! If score is still tied after 9 innings, keep playing until one team takes the lead! (Home team still bats last.) STRATEGY TIPS € Win by stealing! You'll be surprised how much it can do for you! € When fielding, activate the fielder nearest the ball. Move him after the ball, get his throw off fast! If he misses or the ball rolls out of his reach, get another fielder after the ball! € When batter bunts, move pitcher or catcher extra fast to pick the ball up! € Keep an eye on the pitch! Let the bad pitches to by, take a walk! € When you hit the ball, start running at once! Overrun 1st! € Avoid errors! When a throw is in the air heading for a particular fielder, don't change your mind and have another fielder receive it! It won't work! Ball will to out of control -- and you'll lose lots of time trying to get your play together again! € Practice catching fly balls by following the shadow! Watch how the computer's smart players do it! € Change tactics -- reposition your fielders! ---------- ©1986, 1998 Intellivision Productions, Inc.