Custom Player

## Overview

The **Custom Player** is the user's chance to create their own character for *Backyard Baseball 2001* and *2003.* This feature did not exist in the original *Backyard Baseball,* but had been used before in the original *Backyard Football.* In the game, the player is designed to have one of the 12 heads commonly seen on the generic kids. They are also given a maximum of 24 baseballs to use on their player card for skill ratings, but with Save State Hacking, it is possible to give the custom player maximum skill ratings (in fact, it is even possible for them to get an 11th baseball in the running category).

## League History

A number of custom players have been used in the BBL, some out of necessity, some for enjoyment, and others as the sole custom player throughout the entire league. In the set-up of the BBL, it is possible for each team to have their own special custom player, but only one custom player can exist throughout the league on a specific coach's file. To get a custom player on the other team, sometimes replacement generic kids are used.

### Season 1

In Season 1, custom players were used out of necessity. Generic players were not used this season, so for an 8 team league with 9 players, 72 total players were required. These 72 were made up of 30 Backyard Kids, 31 Pro Kids, 8 custom players, and 7 additional Carlos Beltrans (which left 4 kids undrafted). Knowledge of the custom player customization was in its infancy, so custom players received a maximum of 24 baseballs for their skill ratings, just like in-game. Each coach created a custom player (two, if they owned two teams that season) and there was a special round of the draft dedicated to drafting the custom players. For file building purposes, each custom player had a similarly skilled generic kid to take their place on files not for their specific coach.

The following players were custom characters used in Season 1. Their ratings are listed as batting/running/pitching/fielding.

* Norman Wells, Devil Rays. 10/8/4/2. A power hitting archetype.
* Matt Wheeler, Monsters. 6/8/2/8. Supposed smarter brother of Pete Wheeler
* Goldie Glove, Fishes. 6/7/1/10. With a name like that, she should surely be one of the best fielders. The Goldie Glove Award is named after her.
* Sparkles, Bombers. 3/3/10/8. An ace pitching archetype.
* Lou Zerr, Diamondbacks. 6/6/6/6. Designed to be not very good at anything, but also bad at nothing.
* Ace Wilson, Expos. 4/4/10/6. Another ace pitching archetype. The Ace Wilson Award is named after him.
* Barry DeJay, Braves. 5/10/3/6. Based on color commentator Barry DeJay from *Backyard Basketball.*
* Tom Dubois, Melonheads. 10/3/8/3. Supposed brother of Marky Dubois. A power hitter and a power pitcher.

The most notable custom player performance from Season 1 was Ace Wilson, who pitched every single inning and recorded 123 strikeouts, a record which stood until Season 6. The most successful player from the bunch was Barry DeJay, who batted 0.629 and won the Season 1 World Series with the Braves.

### Season 2

In Season 2, with more knowledge of Save State Hacking available, it was decided to give one custom player that would be used throughout the league who would be identical on every file. That season, the custom player was Manuel "Manny" Sanchez, 9/9/9/9, supposed older brother of Pablo Sanchez. He was great at everything, but never the best. However, this still made him an excellent player, and he led the 13-1 Fishes in HR, RBI, and runs created.

### Season 3

In Season 3, each of the 12 coaches had 2 teams, and they were allowed to create a custom player to put on one of their teams (GSchlim received two customs). The coach could make their player's skill ratings whatever they wanted, but based on their skill, the team would have to select that player in a certain round of the draft. That is, if the coach made an extremely talented custom player, they would have to forfeit their first round draft pick, but if they made a slow, pitcher-only custom player, that would perhaps be worth a 6th or 7th round draft pick. With multiple custom players in the league, a generic substitute had to be used on other coaches' files.

The following players were custom players used in Season 3. Their ratings are listed as batting/running/pitching/fielding.

* Ned Sommers, Red Sox. 8/7/6/7. He was worth a 5th round draft pick.
* Tommy Pickles, Indians. 6/10/1/10. Based on the Rugrats character. He was worth a 3rd round draft pick.
* Steve Bartman, Hornets. 6/7/3/7. Based on the infamous fan from the Cubs-Marlins 2003 NLCS game. He was worth a 6th round draft pick.
* Splash Gilligan, Athletics. 10/10/3/10. He was worth a 1st round draft pick.
* Inder Weggin, Bombers. 7/9/2/7. He was worth a 4th round draft pick.
* Barry DeJay, Marlins. 5/10/3/6. Based on color commentator Barry DeJay from *Backyard Basketball,* brought back from season 1. He was worth a 4th round draft pick.
* Noah Syndergaard, Mets. 7/7/7/5. Based on the real life Mets pitcher. He was worth a 5th round draft pick.
* Rufus Xavier S., Melonheads. 8/8/1/5. He was worth a 6th round draft pick.
* Melanie Altuve, Astros. 8/9/4/5. Supposed little sister of real life Astro Jose Altuve. She was worth a 5th round draft pick.
* Ryan James, Rockies. 7/7/3/6. He was worth a 5th round draft pick.
* Sparkles, Dodgers. 2/4/10/8. Brought back from season 1, with slightly different ratings. She was worth a 7th round draft pick.
* Maggie West, Fishes. 5/5/4/7. Based on JibboDaHibbo's wife. She was worth a 7th round draft pick.
* Jay Hawk, Giants. 6/5/10/8. Based on crazyei8hts himself. He was worth a 6th round draft pick.

### Season 4

Starting with season 4 onwards, the theme of one custom player for the entire league was put into place. Several options are given to the league, and the coaches vote on which player to use, and that player is thrown into the draft pool where they can be selected by anybody at any time in the draft.

In season 4, the custom player for the league was Danny Green, supposed cousin of Jay Green, and perhaps slightly based off of NBA player Danny Green. He had skills of 6/7/8/10, thought of as a slightly better version of Ernie Steele. He was drafted by the Tigers and set an unbreakable league record of a 0.00 ERA (minimum 28 innings pitched).

### Season 5

In season 5, the league-wide custom player for both the Lulu and Paste leagues was Babe Ruth, based on the Great Bambino himself. His skills were 10/8/8/4, indicative of not only his slugging prowess but his early MLB days as a pitcher. Fittingly enough, in the Lulu league, he was drafted by the Yankees and in the Paste league, he was drafted by the Red Sox. In both league he was among the league leaders in home runs.

### Season 6

Keeping with the theme of legendary ballplayers from season 5, the season 6 custom player was Jackie Robinson, based on the color barrier breaker himself. Jackie had skills of 7/9/5/8 and a stipulation that he must be played at second base. He was drafted by the Red Sox and joined by perhaps a long lost relative of his, Dante Robinson. The Red Sox made the playoffs but lost in the first round.

### Season 7

Season 7's custom player was Shohei Ohtani, based on the Angels' pitcher and designated hitter. Shohei was drafted in the second round by the Braves. In twelve games, he batted 16 for 37 with five home runs and 13 RBI. He also pitched 71.3 innings, with 85 K's and 6 runs allowed.

### Season 8

For Season 8, Vissery was allowed to create the custom player, in recognition of his hard work decompiling the game code and discovering the attributes. Vissery created Ruby Diamond, a short girl with a fantastic arm and a lock to play catcher, since many of the most likely players to play catcher are not well-suited for the role. Her final skills were 6/6/4/7, but she had 100 arm strength and 96 throwing accuracy. She was drafted by the Monsters, who used her catcher lock to displace speedsters Stuart Sullivan and Star Moonbeam from catcher duties. Ruby didn't have a great season at the plate, batting 0.444 with 1 home run and 4 RBIs, but she was a menace to opposing base stealers.

### Season 9

In Season 9, an old favorite returned, as Babe Ruth was invited back into the league. He was drafted by the Athletics with the 7th overall pick, and was used as the team's only pitcher and main slugger. At the plate, Babe led the team with a 0.688 batting average and 11 home runs, and finished second with 25 RBIs. On the mound, he was even more useful, pitching all 84 innings, posting a 1.36 ERA and 0.71 WHIP, and striking out 101 batters.

### Season 10

Since two leagues were in operation for Season 10, this allowed for two custom players for the first time since Season 3. In the 2001 league, the custom player was Ted Williams, who played for the Expos. He was designed to have a better-than-perfect rating in contact and vision. The Expos struggled as a whole, but Ted did lead the team in batting average at 0.545. In the 2003 league, the custom player was Willie Mays, who played for the Royals. Willie fared much better than Ted, batting 0.610 with 7 home runs, 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored.