In this Editors' Choice–winning baseball sim game, you can make coaching decisions before and during each play. Statistics presentation is excellent, thanks to an informative game screen, box score, score sheet, and game log. A Web page full of stats is generated from each game, so you can sift through them to your heart's content. If you also buy the All-Time Greatest Teams expansion pack ($24.95 direct), you can see how teams from different eras match up—perhaps pitting the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers against the 1978 New York Yankees. The ability to play a networked game against another manager is a standout.

The game's only real drawback is a plethora of complicated features and controls; we strongly suggest completing the basic tutorial before you play. And sometimes the computer-generated lineups aren't optimal; for example, the game decided to keep A-Rod on the bench in a Yankees-versus-Red Sox matchup. (Well, maybe the digital sub wouldn't try to slap the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove —Ed.) But this is a minor flaw. As far as baseball simulations are concerned, Diamond Mind Baseball is the MVP.