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OVERALL: 8.5
(my WSB2 score: 8.0)

3D Baseball, overlooked by everybody everywhere thus far, is the best baseball game on the Saturn, in my opinion. Before all the World Series Baseball 2 fanatics cry blasphemy, let me say that I used to be the BIGGEST WSB2 junkie. I played over two-hundred full games of that Sega classic, including a full 162-game season, and I loved every minute of it. It definitely deserves its status as the standard against which Saturn baseball games are compared. But I think Crystal Dynamics has a little number here that easily surpasses WSB2 in options and realism, while holding its own with Sega's vaunted gameplay.

VISUAL APPEARANCE: 7.0
(WSB2: 9.0)

3D Baseball looks pretty good, but it's not slick or detailed. All the players are polygonal models with basic textures. The game is hurt by the lack of a MLB license, though, so instead of having all 28 stadiums in gorgeous detail (a la WSB2), you only get 4 fictitious stadiums, which are not very colorful and have rather uninspired designs. But there's nothing in the game that looks ugly. Except for maybe Willie McGee's player photo.
(So, yes, the games DOES have a MLBPA license, with 700+ actual players)

ANIMATION: 9.0
(WSB2: 7.5)

This is where 3D Baseball really shines. Crystal Dynamics did a fantastic job on the motion capture for the players; there's a ton of variety and character in all the motions, and occasionally you have to stop and wonder if it isn't really Jose Canseco digging into the plate with his wacky open stance. Some great animations:

+ 2 kinds of slides: feet first and head first.
+ swipe tags: Even if the ball beats you to the bag, the fielder's still gotta slap the tag on you to get you out.
+ collisions on a close play at home - I was amazed when I saw this; unfortunately, the catcher held onto the ball and I was out.
+ rundowns: The runner makes realistic short turns and the fielder runs after him with the ball in his bare hand ready to tag or throw.
+ batter frustration: Occasionally, after a strikeout, the batter will pound his bat onto home plate and grunt in disgust. It's soooo satisfying when you're the one who struck him out.
- double play pivot: Unfortunately, on a 6-4-3 double play, the second baseman doesn't jump over the oncoming baserunner to make the throw (a la WSB2)

SOUND: 6.0
(WSB2: 8.5)

The sound effects are serviceable, but nothing special. There is no organ music, or a P.A. system, or any vendors shouting. Do we really need them? I dunno.

ANNOUNCER: 9.0
(WSB2: 7.5)

3DB has the most colorful play-by-play announcing I've ever heard. Van Earl Wright has a unique and "SportsCenter"-esque style - he has interesting and varied homerun calls, he insults players when they make out, and he makes each batter's name, even Pat Listach's, sound dynamic. Some excerpts:

"He took it... DEEP! ... over-the-wall-in-left-... field!" "Siddown, pal, grab some pine." "HE'S the all-time stolen base leader, he's RICKey HENDerson."

CONTROL / GAMEPLAY: 8.0
(WSB2: 9.5)

In a nutshell, the fundamentals are precisely the same as WSB2, but the action isn't quite so honed. The one thing in which WSB2 is so clearly superior to every other baseball game in history is its smooth, tight, fast and arcadey gameplay... and the best way I can describe 3DB's gameplay is just a more relaxed version of the former. Not as sharp, but still solid.

Fielding:
You can dive for the ball (which is quite easy and always very satisfying), and after you catch it you can throw to the base or run there. The cutoff man feature is a bit more robust; you press a button to toggle whether your infielder cuts off a throw or lets it go through to home plate. In WSB2, a long throw will ALWAYS hit the cutoff man, and a short one will ALWAYS go through.

Hitting:
Like in WSB2, hitting in 3DB is all timing, but what's new is the option of guiding the ball with the shift buttons, so you can do some situational hitting.

Pitching:
Pitching is familiar too - down for fastball, up for change and left/right for curve. You can control the flight of the ball.

ONFIELD REALISM: 9.5
(WSB2: 6.5)

It's subtle, but the intangible things occurring on the field that only a baseball fan would notice really make this game stand out over WSB2's mockery of the sport's fundamentals.

Scoring from second on a single:
Perhaps the thing that irked me the most about WSB2. It was IMPOSSIBLE, or at least virtually so, to make it home safely from second base on a single, unless you were running on the pitch, and even then it wasn't a good chance. Everyone in that game had atomic cannons for arms. It's why they call it scoring position, guys; a runner on second should be just a base hit away from scoring.
Well, in 3DB, he is. And it's not automatic, either; on a sharp single hit directly at an outfielder charging in, you'd better think twice about giving your runner the green light.

Stolen bases:
Ooooh, yum. Absolutely the best stealing implementation I've ever had the pleasure of using - both realistic and tense. The WSB "stealing bug" is known far and wide - lead two clicks of the left shift button, press Y when the pitcher goes to the plate, and second base is yours. In 3DB however, you have to WORK to swipe your bags. To steal second base, you have to have a guy with decent speed, take a good lead, and anticipate the pitcher's move. If you wait until you're sure the pitcher's going to deliver to home rather than first, you're dead meat. Also, catchers with good arms like Ivan Rodriguez will cut you down more often than not. Also, left handed pitchers are more likely to catch you with a move to first if you break too early. And ALSO, did I mention that super satisfying headfirst slide animation under the tag? Huh?

SHIFT buttons while hitting:
As previously mentioned, the SHIFT buttons will determine whether you pull the ball or go the opposite way, but do so with caution; as Crystal Dynamics says in their online strategy guide, if you try to pull a pitch that's too outside, you'll probably hit a weak grounder, and if you try to take an inside pitch to the opposite field, you'll get jammed and probably pop it up.

Fielder shifts:
3DB offers you these infield setups: Normal, Double Play, Corners In, Half-Way, In, Righty Pull, Lefty Pull, and Guard Lines, and these outfield setups: Normal, Deep, Shallow, Shade Left, Shade Right, Gap Right, Gap Left, and Guard Lines. WSB2 forces you to move ALL of your fielders uniformly in one direction.

COMPUTER AI: 8.5
(WSB2: 6.5)

+ rundowns: as in the big leagues, if they get you in a rundown, you're toast.
+ your runners on a flyball: will go a quarter-way, so they can easily make it back to tag up. In WSB2, the runners always took off with contact, so you had to pull them back explicitly on popups.
+ no automatic strikeouts of computer batters: like in WSB2.
+ computer fielders: are savvy about throws to home; they'll know if a throw home is pointless and cut off the ball to keep your other runners from taking extra bases.
- computer fielders: will often, but not always, unwisely go for the lead runner on sacrifice bunts.
- relief usage: The computer'll make pitcher substitutions at odd times, but never senselessly.

STATS / GENERAL MANAGER: 8.0
(WSB2: 5.5)

3DB gets a pretty good score in this area, but compared to WSB2's (5.5), it excels.

+ good stat tracking: Tracks stats in all standard areas - not as comprehensive as Triple Play '98 (PSX), but more so than WSB2.
+ trades: A feature sorely missed in WSB2. Build your dream team.
+ adjust stats: So you're not permanently stuck with 1995 stats only.
- no create player

CONCLUSION

Well, after all this, it's still not the deepest simulation game ever made. But it's far deeper than World Series Baseball 2, and its got some pretty good action. If you're a more serious baseball fan, then you might want to give 3D Baseball a try.