Major League Baseball 2K9

Reviewed by K T (March 18, 2009)

Things appear promising enough from the outset: players are treated to their team warming up while introductory commentary is provided by Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips. The reliably ineloquent Jon Miller/Joe Morgan duo has been retired, but readers familiar with Firejoemorgan.com or, more generally, the sport of baseball, will understand in short order this new team is not necessarily an improvement. The stadiums are bright to the point of appearing somewhat cartoonish, but they do sport the trademark features of their real-life counterparts and feel appropriately vast in dimension. Particular players are hit-and-miss in terms of their likeness to their real-life counterparts. I was able to recognize Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez without much difficulty; the crater-faced Manny Ramirez is not so fortunate, apparently having served as a sparring partner for Apollo Creed over the winter. In short, your hopes are strung along at first by a satisfactory visual presentation, with the telecast handled by two well-known baseball buffoons. It feels reasonably similar to a day at the park. Let’s ignore the laughable statistical overlays that pop up when a batter comes to the plate, or when you check the “news” page in your franchise, which provide blatantly false information. As Rays catcher Dioner Navarro comes up to the plate, I’m fairly certain he was not 6th in steals in the American League last year, or whatever ridiculous information the game is telling me. The boxscore from the game I just played also lists Joe Blanton as my losing pitcher, despite the fact that Joe Blanton is not on my team.