R.B.I. Baseball/Gameplay

For all modes of play:

At bat

 * : While waiting for the pitch, use the direction pad to position your batter inside the batting box.
 * : Press and hold the A button to swing your bat. If you do not hold the A button long enough, you may bunt the ball instead of swinging at it.
 * : Press the B button to initiate stealing a base. You must first hold the direction pad in the direction of the base you would like to steal. For example, if you have a runner on second, and would like to steal third, first hold, then press.
 * : Once you start stealing a base, you can cancel the request by asking the runner to return to his former base. Again, you must press the correct direction first. Using the above example, if you would like the runner to return to second, first hold, then press.
 * Pinch Hitters: To call upon a pinch hitter, pause the game while a member of your team is at bat by pressing . Then press to bring up the roster. You may select a pinch hitter for the first eight members of your team, and he will remain in the roster for the rest of the game. If you select a pinch hitter for a pitcher, the pinch hitter will remain for the rest of the inning, and then you must select a relief pitcher to substitute at bat for the rest of the game.

Running Bases

 * : Runners will automatically move to the next base once a ball touches the ground. Press the B button to request that the runner continue running, or to request that a runner run before the ball has landed. You must first hold the direction pad in the direction of the base you would like to reach. For example, if you have a runner headed to first, and would like to run all the way to second, first hold, then press.
 * : As mentioned above, runner automatically move to the next base, unless it's a fly ball, in which case they wait to see if it's safe to run. You might decide that you don't want to wait and send a player ahead. But if it turns out that the ball was caught, you'll need to send him back to the base before he is tagged out. If you were headed to second base when the ball was caught, send the runner back to first by holding, and then pressing.

Pitching

 * : Before the pitch is thrown, use the direction pad to move the pitcher from side to side on the mound.
 * : Before you press A, use the direction pad to determine the speed of the ball. Hold to throw a knuckle ball, or hold  to throw a fast ball. Any other direction, or no direction will result in a normal speed pitch. Throwing many fast balls or knuckle balls will wear a pitcher out faster. Once the ball is thrown, use  or  to control the path of the ball on the way to the batter.
 * : Once a runner is on base, press the B button to switch from the batter/mound view to the infield view where you can attempt to tag out runners who are stealing bases.
 * Relief Pitcher: To change up your pitcher, pause the game while a member of the opposing team is at bat by pressing . Then press to bring up the roster. You may select a relief pitcher to replace your current pitcher. Once a pitcher has been relieved, he can not return to the mound for the rest of the game.

In the field

 * : Before the ball is caught by any player, use the direction pad to control the general direction that the players run in. Since there is no one outfielder that you are in control of at any time, all of them move in the direction that you press.
 * : Once the ball is in one of your players' hands, press and hold the direction that corresponds to the base you would like to throw to, and press A. If you don't press any direction, the ball will be thrown to first base.
 * : Once the ball is in one of your players' hands, you can run to any base by holding the direction that corresponds to the base you would like to run to, and pressing B.