Third baseman Bobby Bash came to bat, hitting home plate with the tip of his bat so hard the camera shook. Throughout the season, Bash has been my best base stealer (though he is stocky) and one of the best home run hitters in the league. I don't know what would have happened had he not been on the roster, but this is the last game of his career.

The managerial elements of the "Super Mega Baseball" series have always been weak, limited to pondering pitching changes and pinch hitters. But the outstanding new franchise mode in "Super Mega Baseball 3" allows players to tinker with rosters over multiple seasons, wrestle with salary caps, and make far more situational decisions during individual games and present players like Bash, who will be introduced later. The game will also feature a bash-like player. Coupled with several new systems on the field, "Super Mega Baseball 3" adds a lot of depth and careful decision-making on and off the field.

While you cannot trade directly with other teams in franchise mode, you can sign free agents or kick players off your team. In the off-season, young players join the league and older, veteran players leave the league. At the end of my season, he will go straight into retirement at age 38. It's a big blow to me (and honestly, I'm a little heartbroken to see him go), but at least now I can look forward to finding his replacement in free agency with the $7.5 million I'll have floating around from his retirement.

After each game in franchise mode, a handful of players will appear to be eligible for development, and you can spend cash to tweak their skills. For example, add a few more points of hitting power or give a pitcher a little more accuracy or velocity. There is also a slight possibility that during development, players will develop situational traits.

Traits can be good, such as increasing the probability of contact when batting against left-handed pitchers, or bad, such as slightly decreasing a pitcher's accuracy when he is behind in the count. These attributes are small tweaks to a player's ability in a particular situation, but they have a big impact from a managerial standpoint. I will substitute a particular batter in a situation where that player has an attribute that is useful, or I will get a pitcher out early if he is facing a slugger with an unfavorable attribute. I feel like a real manager when I switch pitchers because southpaws aren't good at it, or when I increase my pitch count against pitchers whose fastballs drop off a bit when they get nervous.

Player development also goes a long way in providing continuity and character to a team. I decided to acquire an A+ slugger for my franchise team, the Owl Bears, for the grand sum of $30 million. With each game, I grew more frustrated that I was paying a lot of money for a guy who was sitting on the bench nursing a sore finger. This man was three times the price of Bobby Bash and gave me only half of his performance. I finally released him mid-season and instead bolstered my bullpen with his salary.

And that's when I signed a young starting pitcher, Ned Cummings, just 20 years old. He was a true rookie, with a C- rating, very little velocity, no accuracy, and could only throw a few innings before his stamina ran out and he was rattled. Throughout the season, however, I spent money on several occasions to improve his arm.

He is now a C+ player, still not great, but he can throw more innings in games and his salary is still low. I plan to continue to develop young Ned and maybe someday, after a few seasons, he will be a star. In "SMB3," the dream of gathering the most talented players out there and developing them into championship contenders, just like in the movies, has become a reality. With the addition of wild pitches, passed balls, and third-rounders, the game is even livelier than its predecessor. There are more surprises and sudden battles for the ball in an average game, and a more robust base stealing and pickoff system keeps your eyes on the runner instead of focusing solely on the batter while he is on the mound.

I guess I'm one of the few who prefers to play with a mouse and keyboard over a controller, but a lot of attention has been paid to the M&K controls, and most controls are well integrated into the WASD and QE keys, making them almost as intuitive as using a controller It is a pleasure to be able to operate it almost as intuitively as using a controller.

Online competition, which first appeared in SMB2, returns again with a great pennant race mode. And in SMB3, everything is customizable again, from the league's divisional structure, to game length and season duration, to player looks, uniforms, and team logos. Go Owl Bears

"Super Mega Baseball 3" is the best in the series. The on-field baseball simulation has never been more vibrant, and player development, attributes, and free agency allow you to make real managerial decisions both on the field and during the season and off season.SMB 3 may look almost identical to SMB2 on the surface, it is an entirely new game.