Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run

Infobox VG
title = Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run


developer = Rare
publisher = Nintendo
distributor =
designer =
engine =
version =
released = ^NA June 1996
genre = Sports game
modes = Single player, multiplayer
ratings = ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
platforms = Super Famicom/SNES
media = 32-Mbit cartridge
requirements =
input =

"Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run" is a baseball video game developed by Rare for the Super NES that is named after the baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr.

The game features the 28 MLB teams in existence at the time. You can play in a franchise mode, exhibition (single-game) play, and a home run derby mode, which particularly suits Griffey.

The game's title is derived from the final play of the 1995 American League Division Series featuring the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. On a play that is sometimes credited with "saving baseball in Seattle," Griffey scored the game's winning run all the way from first base, on a close play in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Due to the lack of a Major League Baseball Players' Association license, Griffey is the only player in the game to use his actual name. However, one of the fun and largely unknown parts of this game is identifying other MLB players based on the phony and sometimes pun-laden names given to them by developers. For example, the prolific and temperamental Albert Belle is transformed into "Frank Liberty" (Liberty Bell?). One team is composed entirely of comic book authors and illustrators, such as S. Ditko, F. Miller, and A. Moore.

Trivia

*The game was programmed by a British company, Rare, but was never released in the UK due to the non-existent interest in baseball in the UK. It was also one of the first video games to use computer generated, 3-D animation.
*Furthermore, the development team never played baseball in their life before the game (or indeed after it).Fact|date=February 2007
*There are several secret codes or controller keystrokes that can be entered at various times in the game. One of them unlocks an option to play with two teams that were nonexistent at the time - the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and another team representing what would become the Arizona Diamondbacks, although both teams were named right around the same time that the game was designed.
*Originally, the game's designer - Oliver Davies - created pun names for almost every player but some of these were then changed for more colourful names such as Bolt Lightning, Sly McGee, etc.
*When playing as the pitcher, not pressing any buttons for a period of time will force the umpire to stand up, turn around, tap on the glass tv screen, and say, "Play the game kid!"
*After completing the 162 game season, the player is given an opportunity to face The Nintendo 64 Team (a special team that consists of batters and pitchers with maxed out stats.) If defeated, a cryptic message is shown telling the player that if he “plays hard” he will be rewarded with the chance to play as the Nintendo 64 Team. Oliver Davies, when questioned about what the message meant, said “It’s possible to play as the special teams, but I don’t remember what you had to do to unlock it.”

External links

* [http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/sns/a9g.shtml Nintendo Database]