The miracle of technology

EA Sports includes local Class-A team's name, logo, uniform in 2005 video game

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

In "Dynasty Mode" of the new video game, MVP Baseball 2005, players can create an entire franchise, including minor league teams such as the Fort Myers Miracle.

They can even manage those teams for up to 120 years.

And while most people don't have that kind of time on their hands, local sports fans can at least enjoy seeing their hometown team's logo and uniforms in the game.

The Miracle, the Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, return at 1:05 p.m. today at the Lee County Sports Complex, where they will face the Lakeland Tigers.

Last year's video game included Triple-A and Double-A team names and logos.

This year, EA Sports decided to add the wrinkle of the Class A teams.

"We were contacted back last summer," said Tina Gust, assistant director of licensing for minor league baseball. "They had to collect artwork from all of the teams. They had to go in and build all of those graphics.

"They had such success with the Triple-A and Double-A teams that they decided to expand and add the Class A teams. It's exciting for the fans to learn who the affiliates are for their favorite major league teams."v

Although the minor league players in the game have made-up names, they improve from year-to-year in dynasty mode just as they do — hopefully — in real life.

Featuring the real minor leaguers would have been too complicated, said Hernan Tudela, an account executive with Major League Baseball.

"It would get a little tricky," Tudela said. "There's approximately 4,000 minor league players in the system."

The Miracle and the other 89 minor league teams featured in the game also get a small cut of the profits for allowing their names and logos to be used.

Minor League Baseball and the Miracle would not divulge that amount.

"We're not going to get rich off it by any means," Miracle general manager Steve Gliner said. "It's one of those things where all of the teams do it because of the exposure and the coolness of it."

Likewise, the Major League players receive small percentages of the profit.

Only a handful of the current big league players do not appear in the game, most notably San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds and Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar.

Bonds declined to sign the Major League Players' Association licensing agreement, freeing him to make his own video game, trading card and jersey deals.

Millar and other players, including former Miracle catcher Damian Miller, were replacement players during the 1995 strike and therefore were not invited to be members of the players' association.

In their places: made-up players with made-up names but similar games to Bonds, Millar, Miller, etc.

About 50 people worked to create the video game.

Players of the game can build their own ballpark, hone their skills in hitting and pitching contests, set up a home run derby with their favorite current big leaguers and play as Hall of Fame stars.

And for those looking a competitive edge, try this: in "Create a Player" mode, name the player "Sean Paterson."

Paterson might not look like much on the screen, but he just might hit a home run.