How to Improve MLB The Show

Bryce Harper will appear on the next cover of MLB The Show, but it may no be in Washington Nationals’ gear. (via Keith Allison)

While the aphorism “Good artists copy, great artists steal” might be a bit suspect, there’s no denying that creation is often inspired by or is a direct copy of others’ innovation. The same is true in the video game industry, especially with sports games. You can play an entire season in Bases Loaded? How about creating a team and making money in Baseball Stars? Players can collide into each other in Triple Play Baseball? How about giving you the ability to argue with your manager and risk being ejected in MVP Baseball. Sports game developers try their best to one-up each other when they might sometimes be better off commandeering others’ ideas for inspiration.

Now direct your eyes to MLB The Show. It’s most recent release on March 27 featured American League Rookie of the Year winner Aaron Judge on the cover; Bryce Harper will grace the cover of the 2019 version. The Show is an all-time great sports video game franchise that could be made even better with a few additions that will keep those who play it engaged and add some silliness to keep the game fun. Understanding the tremendous time and dedication it takes to produce a game of this caliber—and anticipating that some of those who play the game will likely complain no matter how great the game is— let’s engage in some wishful thinking. Here are 10 things the folks over at SIE San Diego Studio should take from other games to improve the next MLB The Show. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Add retired players to the management and coaching pool. (Madden/NBA 2K)

This is really a no-brainer, isn’t it? With the recent circulation of a Reddit post noting that you can create an entire batting lineup in MVP Baseball 2005 using current managers, why not create a manager and coaching pool based on players who have retired? As anyone who plays the Madden football or NBA2K franchises could tell you, it’s a trip to have the ability to hire a coach or assistant coach who you were battling against just a season or two before. (Note: This writer once hired Dirk Nowitzki to coach the Knicks in franchise mode. The real life Dirk likely isn’t a glutton for punishment.). In Madden and NBA 2K, retired players are automatically thrown into the coaching pool. If you’re a Minnesota Twins fan, Joe Mauer could truly stay a Twin forever if you hire him as your manager.

The pool should also include “Legends” players to make things a little more interesting. Want a Cubs team managed by Andre Dawson? Or a Mets team with Tom Seaver or Mike Piazza at the wheel? Maybe hand over the reins in San Diego to Benito Santiago! Baseball could use more managers of color.

Ads for fake products (Triple Play Baseball)

Every year, real companies (especially those that sell athletic apparel) work hard to cut deals to get their logos and products in sports games. Maybe The Show should take a cue from EA Sports’ old Triple Play Baseball franchise. Starting with Triple Play ‘98, the game had announcers Jim Hughson and Buck Martinez read ads during dead time, shilling products like Lobster Cola (“All of today’s baseball action is brought to you by Lobster Cola! The world’s favorite crustacean cola. Lobster Cola! Also available in diet.”) and Chork (“This game is brought to you by…Chork! Not quite chicken! Not quite pork! Chork! Made by Scientists! Enjoyed by everyone!”). It’s utterly ridiculous, but video games should have a bit of absurdity in them.

Ability to create female players (FIFA/NBA Live)

The Fox TV show “Pitch” didn’t make it to a second season, but it did help further the conversation of women playing baseball at the major league level. Channeling the spirit of recent NBA Live and FIFA video games that allow you to create male and female players, MLB The Show should feature a similar ability. While Live lets women play street ball and engage in court battles, they still aren’t a part of “The One” mode where they could take their talents pro. The Show could take the next step and include women as part of their ‘Road To The Show” career mode. It should include a diversity of names, hairstyles, and appearances. Imagine the tie-ins The Show could feature with organizations like Baseball For All. And add women play-by-play announcers and color commentators. Jessica Mendoza is an obvious choice, but how about women like Jenny Cavnar and Michele Smith as well?

A Negro League All-Star Team (All-Star Baseball 2004/2005)

This really should have been in The Show from the beginning, and it’s a shock and shame that it has taken this long. While the All-Star Baseball franchise might not have been as popular as other baseball video games, it brought a sentimentality and historic perspective to the game’s development and design. A product of that approach included a team consisting of the best of the best from the Negro Leagues. While outlets work to keep the story of the Negro Leagues alive, and MLB uses Jackie Robinson Day to praise baseball as a sport open to all Americans, a roster full of some of the greatest Negro League players would serve as a reminder that these men were just as good as their major league counterparts.

Spanish Announcers (All-Star Baseball 2004/2005)

One of the many charms of All-Star Baseball 2004 and 2005 was play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman telling you that you could listen to the Spanish broadcast of the game utilizing the “S-A-P” button in the pause menu. While the Spanish language announcing was pretty barebones, it offered the game-player a very different game experience (especially if Spanish isn’t your first language). Imagine an SAP option that includes some of the broadcasters from ESPN Deportes or a Spanish-speaking play-by-play person from one the league’s many team broadcast booths? It may be a small thing, but that little thing could make the MLB The Show that much more rewarding and authentic.

Story Mode Option (Madden/NBA 2K/FIFA)

You could look at MLB The Show’s “Road to the Show” mode one of two ways: it’s either too barebones and needs a more fully realized story, or it’s the perfect mix where one can give oneself a backstory and not have one imposed upon you. MLB The Show ‘18 had your player drafted in the late rounds of the amateur draft; not much was expected from you, leaving it up to you to surprise the franchise that picked you. But what if there was a story to that journey? FIFA has already done this it with Alex Hunter, the character you play in that game’s story mode, and it works like a charm. Madden’s Longshot, while a chance worth taking by EA Sports, leaves a lot to be desired. NBA 2K’s story modes and cut scenes are hit or miss depending on the year (I’m looking at you, Spike Lee).

But imagine what a good story mode in MLB The Show could feature. A player questioning whether he was good enough to make the bigs while treading water in the minors. You could include cutscenes with teammates and managers, on the field during practice, or in the dugout during games. There are a ton of options if The Show’s developers play their cards right.

Sandlot/Schoolyard/City Mode (All-Star Baseball 2005)

With youth participation in baseball outside of organized games and travel teams declining, it’d be nice to remind each other of a time when pickup baseball flourished. That’s right, folks, there was a time when kids, armed with their own gloves and bats, would go on a pilgrimage to the nearest sandlot, park, or schoolyard and play a game of baseball. Eighteen players were available. Two captains would be named, and pick from the remaining players to form teams. No bases drawn? Draw ‘em yourself in chalk. Those days are fading, but not from All-Star Baseball 2004 and 2005. Their “Pickup” mode allowed you to choose players and gave you the option of playing in a sandlot, a city park or a schoolyard. An addition like this could only enhance the experience of The Show.

Pre-designed original stadiums and Expansion Teams (All-Star Baseball 2004/2005)

MLB The Show players have clamored for the ability to create a stadium, relocate a franchise or start a new one entirely. Even if building a “Create Stadium” mode would present the folks at Sony with a great technical challenge, it shouldn’t preclude making a franchise/expansion mode. Once again, let’s look to the All-Star Baseball franchise for inspiration.

The game’s “Expansion” mode had a pre-set list of team nicknames, mascots, cities and pre-designed original stadiums created by developers from which players could choose. After you made your selection, the computer would automatically add another expansion to set up the expansion draft. Fun ensues when building a team from the ground up. This writer once picked an expansion franchise for Juneau, Alaska and named it the Alaska Glaciers. And yes, there were sometimes flurries when the Glaciers played home games. Which reminds me: The Show should add snow to its weather options.

Extreme Big League Challenge (Triple Play 2001)

Baseball gamers of a certain age may fondly recall the Extreme Big League Challenge mode of Triple Play Baseball 2001. Why, you ask? Check out this, and this, and this. “Challenge” mode allowed you to play the precursor to the batting mini-game in MVP Baseball 2005. You could hit around a construction site, a medieval castle, a regular ballpark (Cashman Field in Las Vegas) or in a living room (after being shrunk down to size). Hitting certain targets would produce some funny commentary from the broadcasters (“He just hit a guillotine!” “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t live so close to ballparks.”). The mode kept bringing you back to the game because the novelty never really wore off. With the emphasis on sports games being as realistic as possible, there needs to be room for little arcade-like fun in between the life-like simulation.

Pretty is What Changes

by Steven Goldman

Take notice, baseball. Few things endure just as they've always been, casual pursuits least of all.

Ability to realign divisions and leagues (NHL 19/NBA 2K)

Some of the best parts of the NBA 2K franchise and EA Sports’ NHL franchise involve the customization you’re allowed before you even get to game play. Two notable examples of that can be found in the Franchise mode of NHL ‘19 and the My League modes of NBA 2K: the ability to move teams to different divisions and realign divisions out right. In NHL ‘19, you could make sure all of the teams in the northeast were in one division or move the Minnesota Wild to the Metropolitan Division, just for the heck of it. You could also do what this guy did and put all of the Canadian teams in the same division. NBA 2K’s My League mode not only includes the ability to realign divisions, move teams, and add expansion teams; it also allows you to vote on newly proposed rules at the end of each season, just as teams do in real life.

For MLB The Show, why not have an option to go old school and have a two-division National League and American League with the winner going to straight to the League Championship Series? What about splitting the leagues into four divisions and having the winners of each make the playoffs without the need for a wild card? Maybe you want to move the Astros back to the NL and the Brewers back to the AL. The possibilities are endless.

Some readers may complain that a few things were left off this list—the ability to set ticket prices and promotional days, or carry over roster sets, or use face scan/image upload, for instance—but if The Show’s creators follow these 10 suggestions, I think they could cement the game as the best baseball sim of all time (and get people to stop pining for MVP Baseball 2005). The Show is the best baseball simulation around but much more customization and absurdity is needed. Baseball’s a weird and quirky sport. Let’s make the game reflect that, too.