Diamond Baseball

At the plate

Before each pitch you can sit on a pitch type (fastball, breaking or offspeed), a spot in the zone, or both. Guess right and your hit zone grows; guess wrong and it shrinks. No guess, no change.

Slide the yellow hit zone over where the ball will cross: drag on the field on a phone, move the mouse on a computer, or use the arrow keys. Then hit SWING (or click, or press Space) as the ball gets there. Better contact hitters get a bigger hit zone. Timing decides where the ball goes and shows on screen: PERFECT, GREAT and GOOD swings square it up, EARLY ones pull it and LATE ones go the other way. Hit the ball with the top of the zone and it stays on the ground; with the bottom and it goes in the air.

Switch to a power swing for more exit velocity and loft, with a smaller hit zone and a tighter timing window. BUNT squares around for one pitch: a wide, forgiving hit zone that only trickles the ball in front of the plate. Most bunts are sacrifices that move the runners up, fast runners beat a few out, high pitches get popped up, and a foul bunt with two strikes is strike three. Auto bat lets the hitter's own ratings take every swing. Lay off pitches outside the zone and you'll draw walks. With a runner on and the next base open, STEAL sends him on the next pitch.

On the mound

Pick one of your pitcher's three pitch cards (or press 1-3). Each pitch has its own rating: his best pitch moves more and misses more bats than his worst. Tap or drag on the zone to set your spot, then hit PITCH (or Space). A ring closes on your spot: release (tap again) when it lines up with the circle. A PERFECT release hits the spot and adds velocity and bite; a BAD one sprays it. The ring closes faster for wild arms and tired ones. Control, stuff and movement still do the rest. Starters tire as their pitch count climbs (watch the stamina bar); go to the bullpen before they fall apart. Tick Auto pitch to have every pitch called and thrown for you.

Ultimate Team

Your baseball cards from the Rip Shop (Topps Chrome Baseball, Breaker's Delight and Bowman Sapphire) become your team: nine hitters, a starter and two relievers, set in the Rip Shop's Team tab. Parallels, numbered cards, autographs and PSA 10s play better, and inserts add their theme: Lightning Leaders run faster, Homefield Advantage hits for power, Ultra Violet All-Stars make more contact, Shadow Etch has a better eye. Pitchers get the matching arm skill. Three starters from one team add chemistry, and five from one insert set give the team +3. Beat a team to move up a ladder of all 30, weakest to strongest.

Franchise

Take one team through a 20-game season against the rest of the league. Your rotation takes turns, and every other game that day is simmed from team strength. The four best records play a one-game semifinal and a one-game World Series. Play every game or sim the ones you want.

Winnings

Signed in, Ultimate Team and Franchise games pay Rip Shop cash for more packs, PSA grading and Auction House bids. The bankroll is shared with Gridiron.

Ratings from real stats

Every team takes the field with its 2025 lineup: the player with the most starts at each position plus a designated hitter, in their usual batting order, with a five-man rotation and a four-man bullpen. Ratings come from replaying every regular-season play of 2025. Contact blends strikeout rate and batting average, power is isolated power, eye is walk rate, and speed is how often a runner tried to steal plus his triples. Pitchers are rated on strikeout rate (stuff), walk rate (control) and home runs allowed (movement), and stamina comes from batters faced per start. Each is a percentile against the league, shrunk toward average for players with less playing time.

Every simulated rate is tuned to real 2025 league totals: about 4.2 runs per team per game, a .249 average, 21% strikeouts, 8% walks and a home run every 34 plate appearances.

Extra innings start with a runner on second. After three extra innings, the game goes in the books as a tie.