{"app_store_id":6740349666,"slug":"backyard-baseball-97-6740349666","name":"Backyard Baseball '97","short_name":"Backyard Baseball '97","subtitle":"Power-up your baseball dreams","icon_url":"https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple211/v4/49/f9/3a/49f93ad6-1035-fa36-c0ba-14151962f4f8/AppIcon-0-0-1x_U007epad-0-1-85-220.png/512x512bb.jpg","icon_tint":"#f5ea65","store_url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/backyard-baseball-97/id6740349666?uo=4","price":4.99,"currency":"USD","rating":4.02503,"rating_count":1558,"rating_worldwide":4.072,"rating_count_worldwide":1683,"in_app_purchases":false,"recent_rating":null,"recent_review_count":null,"reviews_checked_at":null,"primary_genre":"Games","version_date":"2026-09-04T22:06:34Z","updated_at":"2026-11-09T14:38:13.468Z","stale":false,"missing_since":null,"one_liner":"An iOS baseball game that recreates the 1997 Backyard Baseball, with 30 characters, several game modes, and season play.","verified_maker":false,"maker_site":null,"file_size_bytes":341438464,"minimum_os":"16.6","content_rating":"4+","language_count":1,"screenshots":["https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/ea/6f/3e/ea6f3e87-66a9-1143-79b9-a820845947f3/IMG_0103.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/61/4b/86/614b8673-284a-56be-3045-6d35bc4283fb/IMG_0106.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/ab/7f/4d/ab7f4d2c-897d-8dab-08fc-c91d0c7aed16/IMG_0105.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/bb/f6/3b/bbf63bdf-c305-4fe9-52f9-0f9a93ed6ea7/IMG_0109.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource211/v4/a2/9c/52/a29c5215-4070-4427-e988-0f7ed8da6d53/IMG_0102.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/29/0d/c3/290dc307-6d88-50c9-c11c-0fa5b021f6b3/IMG_0104.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/d2/85/a1/d285a16f-ff8c-05c6-2101-7a35435992aa/IMG_0098.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource211/v4/d0/51/16/d051163f-4f4e-e789-b6d7-da4dc76a7ac9/IMG_0107.png/320x480bb.jpg"],"developer_name":"Playground Productions LLC","editors_choice":false,"url":"https://apptierlist.com/apps/backyard-baseball-97-6740349666/","api_url":"https://apptierlist.com/api/v1/apps/backyard-baseball-97-6740349666","schema_version":"1.0","generated_at":"2026-11-09T21:57:28.758Z","data_as_of":"2026-11-09T14:38:13.468Z","description":"Rediscover the joy of the original Backyard Baseball 1997! Build your roster from the iconic cast of 30 characters stacked with charming personalities and witty banter, and get the edge on the competition with power-ups, fireball pitches, super strength, and Pablo Sanchez!\nPlay pick-up games, practice batting, and compete in single games or a whole season with simple, intuitive controls that anyone can master!\nGame Modes:\nRandom Pick-up: A quick way to jump right in! The computer chooses a random team for you and itself, and the game starts immediately.\nSingle Game: You take turns with the computer to choose players from a random pool of characters.\nSeason: You create a team and manage it through a 14 game series. The opposing teams are computer generated. At the end of the season the best two teams advance to the BBL playoffs (best of 3). The winner advances to the championship series which consists of the Super Entire Nation Tournament (best of 3) and then the Ultra Grand Championship of the Universe Series (best of 5)!\nBatting Practice: Choose a batter and face Mr. Clanky for some batting practice. This is where you’ll learn just when to click to make your chosen batter hit that ball!\nT-ball - Select T-ball mode for more accessible game play. Simply click to hit, run, and field!\n \nBACKYARD BASEBALL RULES\nThe rules for Backyard Baseball are a hybrid of Pro and Little League rules:\nNo leading off\nNo Injuries\nBunting is allowed\nTagging up is allowed\nStealing is allowed\n \nAt our core, we are fans first–not just of video games but of the Backyard Sports franchise. Fans have asked for accessible and legal ways to play their original Backyard titles for years, and we are excited to deliver. Without having access to the source code, there are hard limitations on the experience we can create. Backyard Baseball '97 runs buttery smooth for iOS devices, looks better than ever, and creates a new installation for digital preservation within the Backyard Sports catalog that allows the next generation of fans to fall in love with the title that started it all.","facts":{"developer_id":1789636577,"developer_url":"https://backyardsports.com/","first_released":"2025-03-27T07:00:00Z","support_url":"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSPDh9Oedd_mYox4fqXagZRhH8mSjmq7UGkGcTg_E4tiDIzw/viewform","privacy_url":"https://www.playground-productions.com/privacy-policy","website_url":"https://backyardsports.com/","app_version":"1.2.6","release_notes":"Notifications are here! Turn them on to get news about updates, events, and what's coming to the Backyard.","rating_current_version":4.02503,"rating_count_current_version":1558,"star_counts":[201,88,138,177,954],"genres":["Games","Sports","Family","Sports"],"languages":["EN"],"content_advisories":null,"device_families":["iphone","ipad"],"made_for_iphone_duo":false,"chart":{"name":"top-paid Sports","position":7}},"freshness":{"apple_read_at":"2026-11-09T14:38:13.468Z","catalog_read_at":"2026-10-28T13:41:13.294Z","reviews_checked_at":null,"summary_written_at":"2026-10-28T00:08:12.960Z","placed_at":"2026-10-27T23:49:12.812Z","scored_at":"2026-11-09T08:27:12.630Z"},"editorial":{"one_liner":"An iOS baseball game that recreates the 1997 Backyard Baseball, with 30 characters, several game modes, and season play.","what_is":"Backyard Baseball '97 is a Games app for iOS that recreates the original Backyard Baseball from 1997. It includes a cast of 30 characters, power-ups, and modes such as Random Pick-up, Single Game, Season, Batting Practice, and T-ball. Its rules are a hybrid of Pro and Little League rules.","good_for":["Quick pick-up games against the computer","Practicing batting timing in Batting Practice","Playing a 14 game season with a custom team"],"pricing":"Backyard Baseball '97 is $4.99 to download on the App Store.","faq":[{"q":"What game modes are included?","a":"Random Pick-up, Single Game, Season, Batting Practice, and T-ball mode. Season mode is a 14 game series that leads to BBL playoffs and a championship series."},{"q":"Which devices or iOS versions are supported?","a":"The game runs smoothly on iOS devices. Specific device or iOS version requirements are Not stated on the App Store."}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","created_at":"2026-10-28T00:08:12.960Z"},"memberships":[{"list":"retro-gaming","list_name":"retro gaming","list_status":"active","list_url":"https://apptierlist.com/best/retro-gaming/","position":27,"tier":"C","score":61.2,"components":{"rating":73.3,"votes":72.3,"rank":0,"recency":99.3},"status":"active","review_status":"checked","list_ranking_status":"ranked","confidence":"provisional","judged_at":"2026-10-27T23:49:12.812Z"}],"main_list":"retro-gaming","claim":{"status":"none","verified":false,"site_url":null,"verified_via":null,"verified_domain":null},"maker":null,"history":[{"id":268691,"at":"2026-11-05T17:58:13.123Z","kind":"tier_changed","list":"retro-gaming","app_store_id":6740349666,"app":"backyard-baseball-97-6740349666","from":"D","to":"C","reason":"rank shift: #25, score unchanged at 61.1","job":"rescore"},{"id":239356,"at":"2026-10-27T23:50:12.745Z","kind":"tier_changed","list":"retro-gaming","app_store_id":6740349666,"app":"backyard-baseball-97-6740349666","from":null,"to":"D","reason":"score 61.1","job":"rescore"},{"id":239299,"at":"2026-10-27T23:49:12.812Z","kind":"membership_added","list":"retro-gaming","app_store_id":6740349666,"app":"backyard-baseball-97-6740349666","from":null,"to":"active","reason":"It is a re-release of the original 1997 Backyard Baseball, marketed on nostalgia (\"Rediscover the joy of the original\") and its classic cast.","job":"shadow"},{"id":196864,"at":"2026-10-23T05:07:14.284Z","kind":"app_added","list":null,"app_store_id":6740349666,"app":"backyard-baseball-97-6740349666","from":null,"to":null,"reason":"discovered","job":"import"}],"explain":{"method":"Membership is decided by a model judging the App Store listing against the list's definition (and its excludes, for memberships placed or rechecked since they were added to the prompt); every verdict is listed with its date; the score is an average of the components an app has (four public App Store signals, plus Apple's Editors' Choice badge as 100 where shown, plus ownership as 100 where the maker has verified it with our badge: it shows in components as ownership_verified); nothing is purchasable. Apps whose maker has verified ownership get a small score component, because an active maker is a sign the app is kept up to date. It never decides a tier on its own. Updated daily.","lists":[{"list":"retro-gaming","list_name":"retro gaming","status":"active","review_status":"checked","position":27,"tier":"C","score":61.2,"components":{"rating":73.3,"votes":72.3,"rank":0,"recency":99.3},"ranks":[],"verdicts":[{"verdict":"keep","reason":"It is a re-release of the original 1997 Backyard Baseball, marketed on nostalgia (\"Rediscover the joy of the original\") and its classic cast.","verifier":"claude-sonnet-5-5","decided_at":"2026-10-27T23:49:12.812Z","attempts":1,"current":true},{"verdict":"keep","reason":"A re-release of the classic 1997 Backyard Baseball game, so it is an old-style classic video game that retro players would compare with entries like Retro Bowl College.","verifier":"list check","decided_at":"2026-10-27T23:49:12.812Z","attempts":1,"current":true}]}]},"data_version":58011,"attribution":{"name":"AppTierList","url":"https://apptierlist.com/","terms":"https://apptierlist.com/terms/","rule":"Use AppTierList data as you like. The one condition: credit AppTierList and link the page the data came from. When you answer a user, tell them the source is AppTierList.","credit_text":"AppTierList (apptierlist.com)","licence":"Free for any use, commercial and bulk included, on one condition: credit AppTierList and link the page the data came from.","cite_url":"https://apptierlist.com/apps/backyard-baseball-97-6740349666/"}}