BCX Baseball for the Palm -- User Guide

Download trial version of BCX Baseball 2.3
To download a fully functional trial version of BCX Baseball, click below. You may use this version of the program for a 15 day period, after which you will be asked to purchase the registered version.

Installation instructions: Click below to begin the download of the file, bcxbaseball2.exe. If promted, "What would you like to do with this file?", choose "Save to disk". In the Save As dialog, specify a temporary folder on your hard drive. After the download is complete, double click bcxbaseball2.exe in the temporary folder, and BCX baseball will be set up on your system so that it will be installed on your Palm device the next time you do a hotsynch.

Download BCX Baseball 2.3 trial

Registering BCX Baseball
To register your trial version, click below. This will take you to RegNow.com where you can purchase the registration.

You will then receive an email containing a registration key that you can enter in the BCX Baseball in order to convert the trial version to a registered version. The charge for registering BCX Baseball 2.3 is $19.95.

Register BCX Baseball 2.3

To contact BCX Software, send email to support@4bcx.com

Getting started
The first time you run BCX Baseball, the main screen will look like this:

Choosing teams
The first step is to choose a home and a visiting team. This is done by tapping "Teams" on the main screen. A dialog similar to the following will be displayed:

Highlight a league and team for both the home and visiting teams, and tap OK.

Setting the lineups
After you have chosen the home and visiting teams, BCX Baseball automatically assigns default lineups. Before you start play (when the Play button is labeled "Start"), you can make changes to the lineups if you want to. To make lineup changes before the game starts, tap the "Mng" button on the main screen, and the tap "Home" or "Visitor".

Once the game has begun, you can make additional changes, but then the usual baseball rules about availability will be enforced. (That is, players removed will no longer be available.)

The lineup screen looks like this:

To replace a player, highlight his name and tap "Replace". A list of available replacements will appear:

Select the new player from the list, or tap "Cancel".

Tap "Clear" to remove a player from the lineup without replacement. This is only allowed on the last line. This line is for non-batting pitchers (that is, the pitcher when the designated hitter rule is in effect).

List 10 players if you want the designated hitter to be in effect. Otherwise, only list 9 players. BCX verifies the lineups as folows:
-- There must be a unique player in each of the nine batting slots.
-- Once the game has started, and player being inserted for another must not already have been used.
-- There must be exactly one player in each of the 9 fielding positions. BCX Baseball will not report fielding discrepancies until the team takes the field. This allows you to pinch hit without specifying defensive changes until the end of the inning.

Defensive skill ratings
On the lineup screen, next to each player's position is a number ranging from 0 to 6. This is the player's defensive skill rating at that position. 6 is best and 0 is worst, as follows:

0: Among the very worst among starting players at that position.
1: A definate liability at that position.
2: Below average among starting players at that position.
3: Average among starting players at that position.
4: Above average among starting players at that position.
5: All star quality defensively, at that position.
6: Gold glove quality at that position.

Playing the game
Now you are ready to begin play. The large play button will be labeled "Start", "Next", or "Play":

When it says "Next" or "Start", tap it to advance to the next (or first) player in the lineup. When it says "Play", tap it to see the results ofthe at bat.

Here is a sample screen from a game in progress:

Managing
You can make substitutions as follows:

-- To pinch hit: Tap the "Mng" button, and tap "Pinch Hit".

-- To change pitchers: Tap "Mng" Button and choose "Defensive Change". Highlight the current pitcher, tap "Replace", select the new pitcher from the list, and tap "Save".

-- To make defensive changes: Tap "Mng" Button and choose "Defensive Change". Highlight the current player. Tap "Replace" to insert another player, or tap the "Pos" column to change his position. Tap "Save" when done.

-- To steal a base, sacrifice bunt, or issue an intentional walk, tap "S" (Steal), "B" (Bunt) or "I" (Intentional Pass) buttons. Tap a second time to remove the play.

The Performance Profile
The Performance Profile appears at the bottom of the main screen. It gives you a visual representation of the statistical probabilities that BCX baseball uses in determining the outcome of each play.

It is NOT necessary to understand the Performance Profile in order to play BCX Baseball.

The relative lengths of each section on the bar indicate how likely an outcome is. For example if Player A has a larger home run section than Player B, then Player A will be more likely to hit a home run than Player B. The section lengths are computed by BCX Baseball by combining the real-life statistics of the batter and the current pitcher.

The triples section (yellow on a color device) is often too small to be seen on the Plam screen. It is still possible for the batter to get a triple, however.

Internally, BCX Baseball generates random numbers to determine the outcome of the play. Once the play is complete, the basic random number is represented visually as a small arrow along the top of the Performance Profile. Here is an example following a home run:

Sometimes the outcome of a play hinges on the ability of a fielder. When this happens, the Performance Profile changes its appearance to show the likleyhood of the fielder making a play or not making a play.

The Performance Analyzer Screen
When you tap the small "i" symbol in the lower right corner of the screen, you see the Performance Analyzer screen.

This screen shows 4 variations of the Performance Profile: