Clutch Hitter

The bases are loaded and it is the top of the ninth. You are down by three runs, and a grand slam here would win the game and get you in the World Series. All of the pressure is on you. If you hit this ball out of the park, you can be the hero of the whole town (and maybe star in a few commercials), but if you mess it up, you may find yourself traded to a new team. Do not let the pressure get to you! Another good thing, since you will be playing this game on the Game Gear, you will be able to take all of this great action anywhere!

In this game, you can be any team you want from the 26 professional baseball teams in existence. Once you have picked your team, you play the role of the manager. Therefore, you can pick who your starting pitcher will be, and, if he starts to lose his edge as the game progresses, you can go to the bullpen for a relief pitcher.

When you are pitching, you can put in pinch hitters for your weak batters, especially when it is the last inning and your pitcher is at bat. Learn how to make the appropriate substitutions, and you will be unbeatable.

Unlike most baseball games, you do not have to play a full 9 inning regulation game every time you play. In Clutch Hitter you have the option of playing either a five, seven or nine inning game. This will be helpful because you can finish a game even during short trips.

The game play is similar to most other baseball games, but there are a few new twists. When you pitch the ball, you pitch away from you (into the screen), but when you hit the ball, the ball comes towards you (out of the screen) like RBI Baseball. When pitching, you can choose from four different pitches. You can throw a fastball, slowball or a curveball to either the right or the left. Make sure not to curve the ball too much, as you may hit the batter and give him a free trip to first.

Keep the pitches low and leave the other team swinging!!!

In the Spring of '91, Sega tested the "Clutch Hitter coin-op in a San Francisco-area arcade. Four hours and numerous quarters later, Fanatic Fan was exhausted but smiling: he had found the ultimate baseball video game!

Flash forward several months. First the good news.Jike the arcade version Clutch Hitter for the Game Gear is a great baseball challenge with sharp, colorful graphics. At the plate, you hit with a behind-the-batter view. When you pitch, the view switches behind the pitcher's mound. Once a ball is hit you go to a 3/4 overhead view from behind homeplate. Three views in one little game!

Sega also has licensed the Major League Baseball Player's Association, so all the pro players are in the game - but they only had room for their initials. You better know your team intimately because lots of players have the same initials (such as Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds of the Pirates).

The biggest negative about Clutch Hitter is that you can't jump or dive for balls. This makes fielding tricky - sometimes impossible. Weak grounders squirt through for singles. Singles become doubles. It's a manager's nightmare!

If Sega had allowed diving and jumping for balls, I would have screamed from the roof tops that Clutch Hitter is the best handheld baseball game ever made. It's still the best around, but I'll keep my enthusiasm in the dugout until the sequel.