Product Review: Baseball Mogul 2023

If there is anything that can stir up discussion at a sports bar, it’s often some criticism of the manager of a team, the front office, or both. Many fans feel they can make better calls than the manager, or build a team better than the GM or President of Baseball Operations.

Testing those boasts isn’t easy. Mark Attanasio isn’t about to let any random fan take a crack at revamping the Brewers just to make a point to fellow fans. That said, there is something that might still allow you to prove your point… or end up eating a lot of humble pie.

Baseball Mogul has been around since 1997. With the latest version, Baseball Mogul 2023, you can play with not just major-league rosters for all 30 teams, but also a number of their prospects.

The Good

Baseball Mogul has a superb ratings system that generally reflects performance, including the ability to replay a given season based on performance. It also allows one to adjust ratings for players and create new ones. Players also will be able to manage the minor-league system– figure out who to promote, draft, and, if necessary, trade. A player of this game also gets a chance to negotiate extensions or contracts, and even handle arbitration.

As the manager, players have realistic issues with which to deal as well during the gameplay over a season. Do you have just one lineup, or do you adjust for lefties or righties on the mound? Players get tired, so who gives Willy Adames or Christian Yelich a day off? Will you move Ryan Braun back to third, or find a free agent? Relievers get tired, too. How do you manage the workload of Devin Williams, Peter Strzelecki, and the others? Are your starters holding up, or is it time to send Ben Sheets or Corbin Burnes out on short rest?

Play-by-play in the game is just as important, for those who choose to manage. Do you bring the infield in to keep a run from scoring? When do you bring the reliever in? At a bare minimum, a fan gets an appreciation of the decision-making gauntlet through which Craig Counsell passes in a given game.

The simulation isn’t just for 2023 – you can start with any team in the American or National League (sorry, we’re out of luck with regards to the Federal League of 1914-1915, and with the Negro Leagues) since 1901. You can even go multiple years. See if you can match the 2018-2021 run, or even beat it, or see if you can exceed what the Brewers did in the 1980s, or avoid the doldrums of 1993-2002.

What Could Be Better

The Computer GMs of the other 29 teams will make trades with each other, and they aren’t necessarily logical. So, don’t be surprised if a player you know is on one team is dealt. Roster management is a lot more simplified than in reality. You don’t have to deal with waiver claims, the Rule 5 draft, or some of the more esoteric manipulations of the 40-man roster. In fact, you can stash prospects for as long as you want.

The financial modeling is also quite solid, but simplified. Fan excitement doesn’t climb if you ink Burnes to an extension, which it certainly would in reality–although maybe we overestimate the real impact on the organization of that additional goodwill.

In addition, the prospects list is not complete, and an occasional glitch can be found. For instance, Brewers prospect Eric Brown Jr. gets mixed up with a different Eric Brown who would be in his 70s, and Jeferson Quero, who is third on the MLB.com Pipeline Top 30 for the Crew and fourth on the Brewer Fanatic Top 20, is missing.

Some of the managerial decisions are pretty simplified as well. There is no “shifting” the defense. Players can try to hit the ball or handle the pitching–but that can be time-consuming. The game also could be better at handling a Hernan Perez or Javier Baez. Players who play 25-30 games at multiple positions in the course of a season often end up sitting on the bench. There also are some glitches, particularly when it comes to implementing MLB’s new “runner on second” extra-inning rules. This will throw some things off.

Finally, aspiring GMs who may try to avoid the horrendous 2002 season or who want to build a team for a season will be frustrated by the fact the game starts on March 1, as opposed to November 1 of the previous year, thus locking players into a not-so-ideal roster situation.

Overall

Brewers fans will find Baseball Mogul to be an excellent way to spend the months where there is no baseball as a fun pastime, but it can even entertain during the season. While its graphics may not be killer, and it looks pretty dry, it can run on just about any Windows PC, and when it comes to the strategy that goes into a game, series, season, or an entire dynasty, this game is the best choice out there.
Baseball Mogul 2023 is available from SportMogul.com.