We are proud to present part 1 of our 2 part interview with the MVP Baseball 2004 production team, led by Brent Nielsen.

Operation Sports: Can we edit players this year?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Let’s just put an end to the varying rumors on this issue, shall we? Unequivocally, YES. Jersey numbers, position, ratings, and equipment can be edited for all players. In addition, name, appearance, and age are editable for non-MLB players only.

Operation Sports: If we can play minor-league games, will there be real teams and how many will there be?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Absolutely. Not only will there be real teams because MVP 2004 boasts an Official Minor League license, but you can actually play as those teams in Play Now, Exhibition and Dynasty Mode play. Correct season lengths, standings, and playoff formats for all AAA and AA leagues (Pacific Coast, International, Southern, Eastern, Texas). Split-season in Southern and Texas Leagues! Full minor league stats are kept at all levels, but only for one season at a time – once you start a second season, minor league statistics for Season One are not kept.

Operation Sports: Will MVP 2004 have various weather conditions like rain & snow? Will it change during the game?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: There will be rainouts and re-scheduled double-headers in Dynasty Mode (through the sim engine) – of course, you have the ability to turn rainouts off in the options of Dynasty Mode if you so desire. Sorry, no snow outs this year. The user also has the ability to change the wind speed and direction for games in Exhibition and Play Now.

Operation Sports: Did you tweak the starters stamina and rotation?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: We spent a good deal of time addressing issues with stamina and early pitcher subs from MVP 2003. This year the pitcher sub system is much more elaborate thanks mainly to the addition to mound visits and pitcher warm ups. The logic is very solid here and differs by pitcher meaning Pedro will be allowed to go much deeper into games than say Joe “Number 5” Starter. We also put into ALCS Game 7 logic where the Red Sox manager leaves Pedro in too long and the Sox lose the game and continue their streak of futility. Just kidding on the last part.

Operation Sports: Will we be able to change a player's position this year? For example, a catcher who now plays 1st base?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Yes, using our edit player feature you can change everything about you want for any given player. We also have secondary positions for every player.

Operation Sports: Can we edit the players (attributes/names/numbers/positions) assigned to AA/AAA?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Absolutely. If you want to replicate your AAA or AA team down to the last detail, you can do it with our Edit Player feature.

Operation Sports: Are we going to have any pop-ups behind the plate?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Yes. We have an infinite number of hit types and pop-ups behind the plate are just one type. And fouls straight back, and so on, and so on…

Operation Sports: Have the Homerun/ground rule double problems been fixed (i.e. balls hitting the foul pole being called ground rule doubles).

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Absolutely. One of the first things we fixed this year.

Operation Sports: Has bunting been fixed so you don't always get thrown out by pitcher?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Yes. Bunting has been overhauled this year. The pitcher won’t always get you out (unless you bunt it right back to him) but you should watch out for the charging 1st and 3rd basemen.

Operation Sports: Are contracts represented in dollars or "points"?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Contracts will be represented using the same “points” scheme as last year. Currently, a decision by the MLBPA prohibits us from expressing contracts in real dollars.

Operation Sports: Will dynasty mode have waivers?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Not for this year. Look for this in 2005.

Operation Sports: Will we see more trades at the trade deadline, and will teams out of the race be looking at dumping salary (and playoff race teams picking up more players than other teams)?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Yes. We have implemented a system that allows trades to increase as you get closer to the trade deadline. Of course, you always have the option to turn the deadline off if you want to put a different spin on your Dynasty.

Operation Sports: Can we turn off CPU trades in season/franchise mode?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: You have the ability to turn CPU trades OFF and this, in conjunction with turning Fair Trades ON allows you to control every trade in your Dynasty.

Operation Sports: Will the batters hot and cold zones change from year to year in this year’s game?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: No – the hot and cold zones are not going to change, although they have been updated based on information from our scouting gurus. Look for this as a 2005 feature.

Operation Sports: Will Bonds be in the game, or will they try to get him in the game?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: No. Unfortunately Barry Bonds will not be in our game this year. He has opted out of the MLBPA licensing agreement and we are not allowed to include him in the game. There is, however a pretty decent (and editable) LF on the Giants.

Operation Sports: Is there a create-a-team option?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Not this year. C’mon, we had to leave something for next year’s game!

Operation Sports: Will there be in-game saves?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: While there won’t be actual in-game saves this year, we have expanded greatly on our intervention options for MVP 2004. Last year you could intervene during a sim and jump into the game and finish playing it out. This year we still give you the ability to intervene, but we have added the ability to jump back out of a game to the sim options, as well as the ability to manage your team and simulate the game by each at bat with a set of manager macros. So, you can sim a few innings, manage a few innings, jump into the game for an inning or two, jump back out and sim or manage – whatever you want your Dynasty playing experience to be, it’s at your fingertips.

Operation Sports: Will we be able to save replays?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Not this year.

Operation Sports: Are players actually going to improve/decline over time?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: Yes. We have completely revamped our Player Progression system and several attributes will be affected – note that age plays a big part in this, so you won’t see any 40 year old players getting faster on the basepaths! Additionally, the vast majority of minor leaguers will need several years of seasoning before they’re ready for the bigs.

Operation Sports: What awards are they going to give out at the end of the seasons in the franchise?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: AL/NL MVP, AL/NL Cy Young, AL/NL Rookie of the Year, AL/NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, AL/NL Rawlings Gold Gloves, AL/NL Louisville Silver Sluggers, All-Star Game MVP, World Series MVP.

Operation Sports: Can you elaborate on the trade engine?

MVP Baseball 2004 Team: We have overhauled the entire trade AI and made it much more realistic for MVP Baseball 2004. You are able to trade minor league players and major league players in the same deal and perform uneven trades with the other teams around the league. Age, salary, and contract status are all taken into account as well as ability. Plus you can turn CPU Trades on or off whenever you choose.