In addition to the next big ol' pile of Golfshrine stuff I picked up, I threw in this curiosity that I spotted on one seller's eBay shop - a special Wheaties edition of of EA Sports' Triple Play 99. Now, by 1998, cereal boxes bundling whole-ass computer games was the hot new thing, in the wake of Chex Quest and Cap'n Crunch's Crunchling Adventure. Wheaties, ever the purveyor of cereals with aspirational sports heroes on the box, at one point included (or had a mail-away for?) this special sampler version of EA's newest baseball sim.
Wheaties Triple Play is an abbreviated version of Triple Play 99, featuring two modes of play, and two teams. You can pit the 1998 American League All-Stars (featuring the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, and Cal Ripken) against the 1998 National League All-Stars (featuring Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, and... Curt Schilling), in either an exhibition game, or in Home Run Derby. The resulting game does still include the full version's 3D Acceleration support, but my PCem instance isn't configured for that right now.
And I can say this: either Curt Schilling kind of sucks at batting, or I kind of suck at batting. Or maybe both.
What worries me more, though, is the willingness with which I impulse-bought this when I saw it. I mean, it was $6, but $6 could buy me a light lunch or a sweet treat. I bought an outdated baseball game - no, I bought a demo of an outdated baseball game. Am I becoming a Sports Game Guy? Will I eventually become one of those kinds of people who can tell you exactly the differences between Madden '98 and Madden '99? What will become of me when my Dad Blood next decides to hunger?
The moral of the story though: eat your Wheaties, and maybe you, too, can bankrupt the state of Rhode Island become an all-star baseball player.