Baseball Card GM play and review (review copy provided)

0:00 Hey everybody, this is Mike with the OneTop Co-op Shop and today I'm doing a video, a play and review of Baseball Card GM. And disclaimer that I was sent the game and also some baseball cards to play it with. And if you like the content on the OneTop Co-op shop, consider supporting us through Patreon. You get early access to our videos and exclusive videos every month you can't see anywhere else. You can also listen to our weekly podcast for reviews and design discussions, or join the conversation and say hi on our Discord. So, the uh key idea of Baseball Card GM is that you play with baseball cards. The basic idea is you will do at bats uh just like a regular game of baseball and you will roll two dice and wherever you find those two die results it will tell you which stat of the player playing you're going to use. So like if I rolled a 22, a 23 or two, I would use their batting average and you check on the baseball card. Let's say I'm using the 1989 season, I would see his batting average was 305. And based on whether that meets a certain threshold for whichever action you rolled, I'll get a single or a strike out or a ground out, etc. And that's basically it.

1:02 There are some extra rules for stealing bases. Uh, and you can choose to use rules where the skill of the pitcher affects how well the batters do. I'm not doing that. I'm doing the most basic stuff. I'm not even going to steal bases. But besides that, if you know how the rules of baseball work and you already own baseball cards, you just need this playmat and some dice and you're ready to go. Or you can be like me. I was sent some random baseball cards from the 80s and 90s. Not all of them had all the stats I needed. Like many of them were missing walks. So I have found the 18 players out of all the cards I was sent that played at least 100 games in their last season so that their stats aren't just stupid like zero walks cuz they had one at bat and that also have all the stats required for the games. So, this is a totally random lineup of players. I didn't recognize I don't think any of them, but I'm also not a huge baseball fan. But yeah, we're just going to play through a little bit so you can kind of see how the game works. Again, it can get slightly deeper, but this is pretty much the experience. And I'll give a review at the end. Oh, and a very big thing I should say, super important. This game does not actually have a solo mode, but there's no hidden information, so you can just play against yourself, which is what I'll be doing. But yeah, if you want a true solo mode where like there's an automa controlling the opponent, nope, you ain't going to get that here.

2:11 All right, let's jump into the top of the first inning. Uh we're going to go left to right for both sides just to keep things kind of organized. Even though technically if another player was sitting the opposite side, you'll see batting sixth, seventh, eighth, 9th. I'm not going to have any pinch hitters or anything. I'm just using nine players for each team. So Juan Samuel is up to bat. And let's see how he does. We got a two four. So it's batting average. If he has less than 300, it's a strikeout. That's what a K is. If it's a greater than or equal to 300, then he gets a single. And like I said, I'm using the last season printed on each card. So a 271 has no luck. He has struck out. But Tom Hair is up and he got a 26. Usually higher numbers are worse. So he got either a popup out or he got a walk. If he has 50 plus BBs, walks, which I bet he doesn't 68. He got a walk. So Tom's on first base. And now it's Bill Durant. I don't know any of these guys names.

3:07 Oh, if he has a 300 batting average, he could get a single. And he Well, that's a bad batting average. Nope. So he struck out two outs, but Tom's still on first. And Glenn Braggs of the Brewers is coming in 23. So he just needs a 250 batting average. And oh man, maybe I did the teams poorly. I just kind of randomized them. Maybe all the good batters are on the other team. But Glenn is not good enough. So that's the third out. Tom leaves first base and Gary Templeton will be up to bat next for this team. I'll just move him over there. But the score is 000 going to the bottom of the first. And I don't know if I'll do all nine innings. you you'll get the idea of the game pretty quickly. All right, Alvin Davis is up playing for the Mariners. One six. Oh, it's a single or a double if he has 40 plus doubles, which I doubt he does. Nope, he has 30 though. Not bad. So, he got a single. He's on first.

3:57 Will Clark. That Wait, is he a pitcher? I guess he's a pitcher and a hitter. Forget what that's called. Like one of the leagues has that, right? I don't know baseball that well. 13. That seems pretty Oh, never mind. That sounded like good numbers, but it's in the triple automatic out uh area. So, if he has four plus triples, the result will be different. He does. He has nine. Pretty good stats. So, less than a four would be a strikeout. A four or greater is a fly out. Uh which would let And they have like all these details down here in the bottom left. It would let a runner advance from second to third or third to home because it'd be way out there and then the runner could tag up and run to the next base. But, it does not let somebody advance from first to second cuz second's too close and easy to throw out. So that's the first out for the home team. And now Greg Gier probably uh 35. That doesn't sound good. Struck out.

4:42 You can see sometimes the stats don't even matter here. He struck out no matter what. All right. This is looking like the other team unless Kai Daniels can bring it in. Probably not with that roll. Four. Five. Oh, he could get a single if he has more than 190 hits. Nope. [snorts] Even in his entire career, he doesn't have that many. He only got 123. But again, only played 108 games. All right, that's it. Sorry, Alvin. All right, we're going to the top of the second. Gary Templeton, he gets a one three and he's out. I'll try to speed this up a little bit. Mike Pogaro, maybe that's how it's pronounced. 14. Oh, if he has nine plus triples, he gets a triple. I highly doubt it. He had one. He's out. Okay. Bob Boon. Bobon, can he do anything? A 23 with a 250 batting average, it'll be a single. 242. Oh, this team is trash.

5:30 Well, that was a quick second inning. the top of second inning, wasn't it? All right, Harold Reynold Reynolds 2 six and we can get a walk with 50 plus walks and he has 55. Good job. Yeah, I think this team's better maybe. By the way, the way I would prefer to play I think is probably the smartest way to play would be to just have a sheet where you have all of the stats written down because you're technically allowed to like pick which season you want to use. You can pick the best season for each player. You can put your dream teams together. I didn't go to that much trouble, but yeah, like if you want to put a little extra work in, then checking the stats is way faster because you don't have to flip the cards over. You just look at their pretty faces. Al Newman, one three, he Oh, he's out. And it might be a fly up, but that wouldn't matter because you can't advance from first. And Greg Jeff seems to like bunting based on that picture. One three, he's out as well. Why are they all going for triples? Well, this is a scoreless game, y'all. Billy Hatcher. Billy Hatcher.

6:22 That is terrible. Yeah, he's out. Okay, good job. I mean, we're getting on base at least going to the top of the third. And Dan Gladen, look at him. He looks like he hits homers. 24. He needs Uhoh. 300 batting average. Nope. 249. That's one out for the visitors. Herm winning him up to bat. Oh, and he walks no matter what with the 25. Good job, Herb. And we're back around to first in the batting order. By the way, I didn't do anything smart like put the best batters in a row. Like what is it usually like 2, three, four or something? Nope. Just random. Did I say random? One six is good. He's going to get either a single or a double if he has 40 plus doubles. Oh, he was so close. So, he gets a single though. So, we finally got somebody on second. Still only one out as Tom Her comes to batu.

7:08 He needs a 200 batting average to get a single. Come on, dude. He's got it. And the bases are loaded with one out. Although there are rules for double plays. If you get a ground out with a force runner, then you get a double play. So, yeah. If you get the ground out here, Bill Durant, don't let us down. Uh-oh. 35. It's just a strikeout. Okay. It's all right. Glenn Braggs, bring it home. Hit a grand slam, Glenn. That's probably not it. Ah, it's a strikeout. No. After all that effort, I got to at least play until I score. Bottom of the third. Dale Murphy. 15 is an automatic double. Good job, Dale. That's how we like to start off an inning. All right. And Alvin Davis 13 is a strike out. Ooh, but it's a fly out if he has three or four plus triples, which he does not. Only one.

7:57 Never mind. So, one out, but Dale still on second. Come on, Will Clark. Two four. Oh, he needs a 300 batting average. Oh, and he's got it. He's got it. He's got better than 300. Wow. Good job. So, with that, he gets a single. So, look at that. All right. Then, Greg. Come on, Greg. Get the first run of the game. 35 strikeout. Oh no. Okay, Kai Daniels. Two outs. Come on, buddy. ONE, THREE. OH, IT'S OUT. Oh no. That's one of the ones where it's automatically out without even checking the stats. Y'all are going to see the quickest game in baseball ever. All right, fourth inning. Uh Gary Templeton, you didn't do great last time. I don't Oh god. Yep. You're out. I'm not even going to check with those kind of numbers. And it's back to Mike Polyarulo. 2-2. He has a 200 plus batting average as a single. I mean, he's got it right. 216. So barely.

8:49 Baboon the catcher. One, two. That sounds good. Oh, that's a possible home run. Look at this. Look at this. If Oh god, he needs 40 plus home runs. Ain't no way Bob Boon has 40 home runs. Three. Three with the Angels. Come on, Bob. And again, that's a fly out. So, they would have advanced from second or third, but not from first. Getting a lot of those. All right, Dan. You got two outs. Can you do something? Oh, better home run. He just need 15. Come on, Dan. Your picture makes it look like you do this. Eight. Eight. Dan. Oh, man. Was there ever? Yeah, there was never a season in his career where he hit 15 home runs. Gosh darn it. All right, whatever. Bottom of the fourth. Harold Reynolds. Uh, two six. Two six. This is the put together the worst team ever, apparently. Uh, 50 plus walks. We'll let him walk. And he's got it. Okay. Good start, Harold. Good start, Harold. Come on, Al. Come on, Al Newman. 15 automatic double.

9:43 Oh, this is looking good with zero outs. This is has this has to happen. Come on, Greg. Greg Oh, Greg Jeff 40 plus home runs. I am doubtful. He has 12. Maybe not. But it's a flyyou. So, the lead runner advances. Yay. We got a score. We got a run for the home team. But, uh, second person stays where they are. All right, Billy. Let's run this up some more. Here we go. 35 on strikeout. Billy Hatcham disappointed. Okay, Dale. Dale Murphy, he's going to bring it in. He's going to bring it home. Two three sounds pretty good. A 250 plus. He gets a single. 295. Yeah. And the rules say you can advance an extra base on a hit if there are two outs or if the player has 10 plus stolen bases in their stat line. I'm not going to check the stolen bases, but we definitely have two outs. So, Al runs for everything he's worth. Second run.

10:34 They are called runs, right? Am I Am I messing up my baseball lingo? Okay. Alvin Davis. I'm not I'm not expecting anything. We already scored, but a 24 300 plus batting average. Oh, he's got it. So, we get another automatic extra advancement, I think, if I'm understanding that rule right. Will Clark 14. Oh, we're rolling. Good. Oh, it's a triple if he has nine plus triples. He has nine. So, that is and yep, both of them. And we are up to four runs. Oh, the crowd is going crazy. This inning is never going to end. Great God. Yay. 15. It's an automatic double. All right. All right. Kai Daniels. I mean, you don't have to get a hit, man. Like, you can just get it out. We're doing great. There we go. Three five strikeout. Ah, what an inning. All right. So, yeah, we'll stop there. That was enough excitement. The bottom of the fourth, I have five runs for the home team versus zero to the visitors. And yeah, that is the game. Again, you can go deeper. You can uh customize which years you use. you can find your favorite players. Like, if you're actually a baseball card collector, I think this game is awesome because how cool is it to use the cards in your collection. For somebody like me who's just like using some random cards that have no rhyme or reason connecting them, and I don't know the players, it's not nearly as cool, but still pretty fun just to roll some dice and see what happens. And yeah, if you want a game of skill and strategy, there's not a lot here.

11:59 You know, I really I would compare this uh it's it reminds me of pizza box football or pizza box baseball for those of you who know those games which are also just like kind of dice based luckathons that are fun though. Like it's fun to see if the dice fall your way or not and they get a lot of runs. My son and I have had a ton of fun with this game. I do think it's better as a 1v one game for obvious reasons, but the solo works fine. Just kind of rolling and seeing what happens. A few complaints about the system. It does take a little while to get used to this stuff. you'll see that the numbers like go in order in like sort of a reverse backwards thing. So, it sometimes takes my brain a little bit longer to find where things are. Uh the extra rules about stealing bases and like advancing bases could be a little bit clearer. And again, the game is going to be way easier to run if you pick your stats and like create a little spreadsheet uh to keep track of everything. I think it's going to help it run a lot faster. And also, like I noted, uh depending on what brand of cards you buy and what year they they're from, they might be missing some key stats. Like I had a whole set from I think it was Score was the company uh that didn't have walks. Uh so you know you can just like kind of agree. Uh the rules even say this if you're missing stats you can just agree that you're going to use like the worst value or the better value or whatever.

13:09 But not every baseball card is going to play nicely with the game. Yeah. I think this is a game with a very niche audience. I'm not sure how many of you watching this will be into it, but I at least wanted to show what it's all about since I do think it's a unique and fun concept using baseball cards in a gamified way. So, thanks for watching everybody and a special thank you to our biggest Patreon supporters, Jay William F, Steve Ren, Miles, Casey W, Andrew R, and Chris C. We'll see you at the next