Atari 5200 controllers and baseball

[VideoGameCritic]

As customary at the beginning of "summer", got together with a few friends and set up a TV on the deck for some Atari 5200 Baseball. As usual the game was fun and competitive. Also as usual the controllers were problematic. On Scott's controller the bottom left button didn't work. On Chris' controller he couldn't seem to swing fully. I guess things evened out.

As you might know the standard working condition of an Atari 5200 controller is "broken". This weekend I remembered a trick for "fixing" unresponsive 5200 controllers, which is to run a pencil eraser over the contacts. So I took them apart and tried it. It seemed to do the trick! Both controllers seem to be fully functional now. Realsports Baseball is the perfect game to test controllers on because it really uses the full range of motion. Swinging lets you know if you're getting full left/right action, and when playing the field you move the joystick circularly to select all the fielders

I also discovered a rare glitch in Realsports Baseball while playing the CPU. When I was trying to steal and the batter walked, what seemed to be a dead player appeared between the centerfielder and outfield wall. When I hit the ball next, the "ghost" of that dead guy appeared to run into the stands!

[Teddybear]

Dave,

I'd like to try to find this glitch for myself! Do you remember what game settings you used? (was the CPU home or away.....and the skill settings - for both you and the CPU advanced, intermediate or beginner?) As with most glitches, exact settings could matter.

My hats off to those of you that take apart our beloved CX-52's and perform required maintenance on them. I have no skill or patience for this task. With these damn things there are so many potential troubleshooting issues (wire harness, the control port, carbon build-up, etc) I can only recommend buying (or refurbishing) a controller with gold dot contacts. I have a pair that I've used for about 5 years now that still work very well and without having to do button mashing. Something about how gold contacts do not corrode over time.....whatever it is it works.

[VideoGameCritic]

I'm pretty sure it was the default one-player settings.

[Teddybear]

I tried doing this at the default settings (which are intermediate) and at advanced against the CPU......but had no luck! It may depend on the inning and perhaps the number of outs at the time...

Crazy as it may be.....who in the Hell figured out how to make the initials "RF" appear after the 13th wave on the 2600 Missile Command (by going scoreless) OR the 25th wave of Defender (by placing your ship at a certain height) - wasn't it "BP"?.......I think you are onto something with this VGC!

And I am winging it on these classic Easter Eggs in 2600 history.....no need to correct me!

On this baseball glitch.....It is so "Field of Dreams" with James Earl Jones going into the cornfield.....Atari 5200 style!

[VideoGameCritic]

I really have a knack for stumbling on those easter eggs! I actually did discover the RF thing in Missile Command as a kid. I was able to play a game and my mom called me or something like that. When I came back to the game I saw RF in place of one of the cities, and I was freaking out. That was a time of discovery. I sent a letter to Atari and they responded with a form letter congratulating me on uncovering THE SECRET and encouraged me to look for more. Wish I still had that letter. Would be quite the collector's item.

As for this Baseball glitch, it's really hard because the CPU has to walk you when you have a guy on base, and I don't think he tends to walk too many batters. As to which inning, it was probably the 1st. Not sure it makes a difference.