[4] It was a sophisticated sports video game for its time, displaying a split-screen format, with the playfield viewed from two camera angles, one from the outfield and another close-up shot of the batter and pitcher, while giving players the option of selecting relief pitchers or pinch hitters and with an umpire looking on attentively to make the game calls.

Before play begins, the player can choose which city/state to represent from a list containing Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Pittsburg (probably a typo for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Chicago, Montreal, St. Louis, Boston, Milwaukee, New York City, California and Texas (all of whom had major-league baseball franchises in 1983).

The game was a blockbuster success upon release in Japanese arcades,[4][7] at one point enjoying a level of popularity comparable to Space Invaders according to Sega.

Sega were expecting to repeat some of the game's Japanese success in North America, due to baseball being a popular sport in the region.

[17] Champion Baseball II was released the same year, with identical graphics but allowing two players to compete with each other.

Game Machine listed the sequel on their October 1, 1983 issue as being the top-grossing new table arcade unit of the month.