Backyard Baseball '97
Rediscover the joy of the original Backyard Baseball 1997, now updated for modern systems! Build your roster from among the iconic Backyard Kids, aim for those home runs, and various game modes. Relive the magic of this classic baseball game!
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Backyard Baseball '01 on Steam
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Backyard Baseball 2001 is the second Backyard Baseball game, and the fourth overall game, in the Backyard Sports franchise. Build your roster from iconic Backyard athletes and legendary MLB players. Strike out opponents, hit homers, and earn hilarious Power-ups. Play ball!
Backyard Baseball '01 is a sports, casual and baseball game
developed by Mega Cat Studios
and published by Playground Productions.
Released on July 08th 2025 is available on Windows, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 677 reviews of which 629 were positive and 48 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.7 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 9.75€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Backyard Baseball '01 into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
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Windows
- OS: Windows 10 32bit
- Processor: 2.0+ Ghz
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5670 1GB DDR3 Sapphire
- Storage: 200 MB available space
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
I played this game as a kid and it was so much fun. I'm amazed by how solid of a baseball game it is now as an adult. They don't "dumb it down" for kids and yet it's really approachable because it's mostly all with the mouse and you can easily change the challenge level. It's fun to play, takes into account real baseball knowledge and strategy, and the characters have a lot of heart. I'm so glad I came back to play this classic again!
I never played the original, but wow I bought this on a whim and it's really fun! I have never played baseball and only started watching the MLB during the 2025 post season. This game allows me to truly emphasize with the players. I mourn every groundball that gets hit to first base. Also, the founder of the company behind the re-release is a school teacher that grew up playing the original backyard sports series. It's really a work of passion led by those who truly love the game. Buy this even when it's full price! (You'll only save 25% on sale anyways).
Pros: * Comes across as a labor of love because it is far better-made than any sports game aimed at children from a quarter-century ago has any right to be, with surprisingly full and sound mechanics that make it a genuinely satisfying arcade baseball experience * 28 kid versions of real-life bygone MLB stars to select - it was 31 in the original version but Frank Thomas, Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. declined to return. Luckily they are still in the game, visually changed to more generic kids but with the same player ratings, meaning you can hit nuclear Griffey homers even though he now goes by the alias "Luke Lopez" * Nostalgic to play as the MLB teams of that era after decades of relocation and rebranding (one notable exception: the Cleveland Indians have been changed to the Guardians, other renamed/relocated teams like the Montreal Expos are left as-is) * Strong replayability with good staying power - no match ever plays the same way twice and the game stays charming and engaging, I have 14 hours at the time of this review (and countless more from my childhood) and still remain always eager for more Neutral: * All the effort put into almost every facet of the game, then its creators saw fit to only record a handful of voice lines of players taunting during matches, then programmed them to be repeated absolutely constantly at high volume * HEY BATTER BATTER BATTER, SUH-WING BATTER * WE WANT A BATTER, NOT A BROKEN LADDER * The above phrases will be seared into your brain permanently if you play this game for any length of time, but fortunately they can be turned off (using the "chatter" setting under options, the existence of which is why I'm not putting this under cons), and I suggest you do so to preserve your own sanity Cons: * Some technical problems with this version: sometimes there is noticeable lag when pitching, plus occasional graphical errors such as the ball sometimes appearing to split in two briefly as it approaches home plate when batting. Not ideal, but not game-breaking * The AI is very far from perfect - not surprising for a game of its age, but opposing players too often take unnecessary outs by doing foolish things like leaving base when they have no real opportunity, or trying to steal home for no particular reason, and it's easy to abuse these weaknesses intentionally * Not much difficulty - again not surprising given its age and original target audience, but even on maximum difficulty settings (difficulty set to hard, fully manual pitch tracking when batting, errors enabled) the game is only really challenging if one intentionally selects a team of inept players * In-game player ratings can be deceptive because they are presented as four simple 1-10 categories (batting, pitching, running, fielding) when in fact each of the four stats is governed by multiple subcategories rated on a 100 point scale, but these are undisclosed. For example, one Backyard kid is rated 10/10 in batting, but underneath that she has a perfect hidden contact rating with a poor hidden power rating. She is also unusually slow, meaning she mostly sends out weak hits that can become double plays and is usually thrown out at first herself, making her "perfect" batting rating feel like an outright lie The verdict: In my opinion this is the apex of the Backyard Sports series and an example of how much quality even sports games for kids could have once upon a time. I'm delighted to see it on Steam, once again made available through legitimate channels, and it's easily worth $10 and the time to try it even if one does not have the nostalgia factor from playing it back in the day. Pablo Sanchez is a legend but he's far from the only thing Backyard Baseball '01 has going for it. It's legitimately good.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Backyard Baseball '01 is currently priced at 9.75€ on Steam.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 9.75€ on Steam.
Yes, Backyard Baseball '01 received 629 positive votes out of a total of 677 achieving a rating of 8.69.
😎
Backyard Baseball '01 was developed by Mega Cat Studios and published by Playground Productions.
Yes, Backyard Baseball '01 is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 is not playable on MacOS.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 is not playable on Linux.
Yes, Backyard Baseball '01 is playable on Steam Deck, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
Yes, Backyard Baseball '01 is playable on Steam Machine, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 does not support VR.
Backyard Baseball '01 is a single-player game.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 does not currently offer any DLC.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, Backyard Baseball '01 does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, Backyard Baseball '01 is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Backyard Baseball '01.
Data sources
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 19 September 2026 12:12 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 20 October 2026 14:40 UTC |
| Steam price | 26 October 2026 20:20 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 18 October 2026 08:00 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Backyard Baseball '01, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Backyard Baseball '01
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Backyard Baseball '01 concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Backyard Baseball '01 compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
33
Developer
Mega Cat Studios
Publisher
Playground Productions
Release
08 Jul 2025
Platforms