While nothing compares to the thrills of live baseball, the latest installment in the MLB® The Show™ video game series is helping fans cope with the major league season’s delayed start. MLB® The Show™ 20, which is only available for Playstation 4, offers basic features like online gameplay and home run derby competitions.
It also allows gamers to create their own franchises, play as baseball legends in historic ballparks like the Polo Grounds, and relive career highlights from past superstars.
I’ve owned the game since its release, and dabbled in each mode enough to know which ones will satisfy your baseball appetite. Here are the best parts of MLB® The Show™ 20 if you’re desperately missing baseball right now.
March to October
I’m a die-hard Mets fan, so of course I had to play the team’s season from beginning to end. March to October simulates the entire 162-game regular season, fast-forwarding to pivotal moments that ultimately influence your team’s trajectory and postseason chances.
Starting the season with a win on Opening Day gives your team momentum, as does beating a division rival or completing a sweep on the road.
The game places your team in each of these scenarios and asks you to come through with a victory. If you do, your team will play well over its next stretch of games. But if not, your momentum is halted and your team falls into a funk.
This mode does not ask you to play the entirety of a game, but rather drops you into the action several innings into the contest. For instance, if you’re playing as the Mets and tasked with beating a divisional opponent, you might begin a game against the Phillies with two runners on in the seventh inning. Sometimes you’re winning, sometimes you’re losing, and sometimes the score is tied. The challenge comes from ending the game on top no matter what the score is when you enter.
The reason this mode is so fulfilling is that fans can play through the regular season into the postseason, where they have a chance to earn a World Series championship. We haven’t been able to watch a real Mets game in quite some time, but winning postseason games in my “March to October” filled me with an immense amount of satisfaction.
That’s because MLB® The Show™ 20 does not just imitate batting stances and throwing styles; it also puts each player’s personality on display. The game accurately recreates individual player tics like J.D. Davis’s goofy facial expressions, Jeff McNeil’s fiery intensity, and Jacob deGrom’s steely determination. So when a World Series title is on the line, the outcome has personal stakes. You grow attached to the representations of your favorite players, so much so that you want to give them a championship to celebrate.
First Inning Program: Curtis Granderson
If you lack the patience or inclination to play an entire season’s worth of games, you can always relive moments from the career of one of your favorite players. Currently, MLB® The Show™ 20 allows you to play as Curtis Granderson for a handful of moments, all from his 2011 season with the Yankees.
The length of these challenges can span anywhere from one plate appearance to nine games, and each comes with a different objective.
In one of these challenges, you are given a single at-bat to hit a home run off a lefty. Other moments require you to accumulate a certain number of extra-base hits and RBIs in a given span. For me, the most difficult aspect of this mode is resisting the urge to swing at the first pitch every time.
Occasionally, you can ambush the pitcher by driving the first pitch of an at-bat for extra bases. Usually, however, the game will reward you for having patience and working the count.
Curtis Granderson announced his retirement in January, so his inclusion in the game is a fitting acknowledgement of a fantastic career. He’s long been one of the most universally respected figures in baseball, which is why fans of all thirty teams can enjoy this mode.
My only real objection to the first inning program is that it doesn’t represent Granderson’s early achievements with the Tigers or his late-career exploits with the Mets. As a Mets fan, I would love to relive one of Grandy’s signature leadoff home runs in Flushing or his catch in the 2016 NL Wild Card Game.
Even without that option, replicating the highlights of Granderson’s best season is undeniably fun.
Experimenting with Different Eras
Baseball is a nostalgic game, as fans often speak longingly of their childhood heroes and past summers spent at the ballpark. Those who cherish the sport’s history will appreciate how MLB® The Show™ allows them to control teams from different eras.
Teams like the “Mid-Century Groundbreakers” include legends like Mickey Mantle, while players from more recent years like Al Leiter and Juan Pierre are represented on the “Long Ball Beasts.”
The joy of pitting these teams against each other comes from generating matchups that otherwise couldn’t exist. If you ever wondered how Mike Piazza might fare in an at-bat with Babe Ruth on the mound, this is your chance to find out.
Likewise, the game gives you the option to play with current teams in a classic ballpark, like Philadelphia’s Shibe Park or Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. These stadiums had quirky dimensions and idiosyncratic features, which makes them fascinating battlegrounds for modern players.
We all know that Pete Alonso can crush balls out of Citi Field, but could he go deep to dead center at the Polo Grounds? These kinds of questions can be answered by experimenting in Play Now mode or in any of the online modes.
It’s true that you can always watch an old game on TV or YouTube to get your baseball fix. But what makes video games like MLB® The Show™ 20 so exciting is that you can write your own compelling narratives. You can also determine factors like the length of games and weather conditions: things that are all out of your control in real life.
Searle’s Final Say
Despite a few minor flaws, MLB® The Show™ 20 is a wildly enjoyable game. The attention to detail is simply staggering, and the images are so life-like it’s easy to forget you’re watching digital recreations. Although I recommend the aforementioned modes for maximum enjoyment, you can’t go wrong with any of the options the game presents. Until the MLB season arrives, this game is the best source of baseball-related entertainment on the market.
MLB® The Show™ 20 is available to order through your Playstation online, and Best Buy offers it through curbside pickup at all their stores.
Great review of MLB The Show 20. There are so many more options to explore than what was included in previous versions. Player facial expressions is a great addition for us die hard fans who not only miss baseball but miss our favorite player personalities as well.