Most of the games simply allow you to take charge of your favourite players, to call the plays and see if you really can out manage Whitey Herzog or whoever your opponent is. This 'role playing' element is their real appeal. Almost without exception the games are designed and printed in the States and imported into the country by UK agents or enterprising shops. Prices vary from around 10 to 30 pounds depending on the size of the company and content. The contact list at the end lists some distributors.
Players are often anonymous fictional players or historical All Stars.
Tactical detail necessarily gives way to more strategic possibilities. In any discussion of board games, the Avalon Hill Game Co of Baltimore will always have centre stage. They produce the licensed range of Sports Illustrated games and are the most readily available baseball games in the UK through TM Games - their very capable agent. They cover around half a dozen baseball titles among the whole sports range which also covers gridiron, basketball, golf, boxing etc. The titles cover the whole range of types mentioned above.