I saw this game online somewhere, and thought it was so unique I had to get it, despite my generally not playing sports games that don’t involve cheating or body count. And for as creatively designed as it is, I’m surprised there’s so little info about it online.

All-Pro Baseball is a tactical baseball sim from way back in 1969, endorsed by the National Baseball League. It’s probably the only baseball board game that’s ever caught my interest, let alone kept it long enough to learn how to play.

I’m pretty sure the previous owner of my copy didn’t know the board was supposed to fold the other way, but it sure looks nicer in the box this way.

Learning the rules for this game can be a bit of a chore, since the rulebook isn’t as clear or organized as it could be, but once you know how to play, it’s a very straightforward baseball simulation. Both teams get nice little pawns with their positions printed on them, along with an elevated baseball icon which, in a neat touch, the ball piece actually latches onto to indicate which player is in possession of the ball.

Players take position like you’d expect, but fielders must be at least 3 spaces from their respective bases. Each time a new batter goes up to bat, the defensive team can reposition their dudes however they want as long as they keep to that rule. The batter can also be positioned as a right-handed batter (knocking the ball into left field by default) or left handed (smashing it into right field). There’s no rule to stop you from having an entirely left-handed team, which is probably why the fielders can change positions each time a new batter goes up. Otherwise the short stop would be out of a job.

It’s a really nice-looking game once you get everybody placed.

When the ball is hit and lands on the indicated space, the nearest fielder can move 3 spaces to collect it. If he fails to reach the ball in 3 spaces, he can only move 1 space per turn until he retrieves it; only then is he allowed to roll to move, but anytime the ball is caught or otherwise retrieved, defensive team has to roll the die to see if they get an error. If they do, the runners move to the next base and the next batter steps up to the plate. If not, they can run with the ball to get to base or tag a man out, or they can throw it to a teammate (simply hand the ball off from one man to another–this is professional baseball after all!), though the rules are vague about whether you can move and throw on the same turn. As far as I can tell, the man with the ball is the only one that gets activated during your turn.

Meanwhile the offensive team take their turn, rolling the die and scrambling Charlie Brown style toward the next base. It gets pretty tense whenever the die rolls are low and both teams are inching slowly toward their goals as if they all got blue blind paralytic drunk before the game started. Most of the time runners can move back and forth with their move, unless they’re 1 space from a base, in which case they are sliding and can’t reverse.

Overall the design of the game is a vibrant work of art…but the real highlight is the Selector gizmo.

This thing has no less than 18 different pitch options for the defensive team to choose from. Once they make their selection (hiding it from their opponent), they say “ready.” The defensive team then chooses what kind of swing their batter will perform, and says “ready.” When both teams are ready, the offensive team opens the little sliding door to see what the result is. Did the ball fly into the outfield? Did it land right next to the pitcher? Was it a foul or a ball? Did someone try to steal a base? Did the pitcher see it coming and go for a pitch out? Did the batter get hit by the ball? Did the pitcher get punched by the batter? Is the hot dog guy still around? Did Dad spill his beer in his lap? Did the mascot collapse from heat exhaustion again? Will the paramedics get there in time?

In hindsight, even with so many combinations, there are only so many places the ball can be programmed to land, and I think another die roll of some kind would have helped make the ball’s destination harder to predict. But it works well for what it is, and there’s no denying that it’s a unique little feature for a sports game. Much better than a crackly miniature record player.

The biggest downside is if the Selector Gizmo ™ breaks or is missing, you’ll have to figure out a substitute. Boardgamegeek has an excel spreadsheet with all the combinations and results, so if you need to you can make a papercraft replacement, or even a deck of cards.

The game box is also ridiculously huge. Like, non-boardgame-shelf-standard huge. So you may want to store it on its side somehow to prevent yourself from bonking your head on it while walking past your game shelf.

It would be nice to see a revised edition of this released nowadays. While it is a pretty simple game, the unique design and skill-based gameplay makes it fun enough to spend an afternoon with. Unfortunately it’s relatively rare to come by these days, and the price for a complete copy ranges from $80 to nearly $200 on ebay. If you and your friends are fans of baseball and board games, though, it’s probably worth it.

Time for bed. Uncle Mac out.