MLB The Show 23 review: Negro Leagues tribute makes it the best sports game

Greatest players in the game of baseball and those who labored hard to keep their stories and memories alive, MLB The Show 23 It must be a vision of a perfect world. Its centerpiece game mode, an exploration of the Negro Leagues — one of the greatest shames and greatest stages of prewar American sport — brings true justice to those whose word-of-mouth adventures have been met with a cocked eyebrow or condescending smirk for almost a century.

It really takes an interactive museum exhibit, which Storylines: The Negro Leagues is, to understand what the stars of baseball’s segregated leagues accomplished in their time. “What they went through” is a topic explored by more competent authorities in film and book. What did they do? did hasn’t been embraced — in the same fashion as Willie Mays’ basket catch or Hank Aaron’s 715th home run — until now, simply because there is no visual record of it. MLB The Show 23This is the proof.

And it’s delightful. Oh, for sure, many of these scripted moments are easy for anyone to pull off if they’ve been playing MLB The Show for two or three years and know anything about baseball. But come on: Pitching as Satchel Paige, with all of his infielders kneeling at the mound like he’s reading a bedtime story — With a runner at first basePerhaps I should add: That’s a blast. It’s awesome, even if you know you can’t help but make the batting order of NPCs look silly with Satchel’s “bee-ball” and “dipsy-do” deliveries.

Storylines. The Negro Leagues relies too much upon pitching than on hitting in order to enjoy the scripted moments it offers. It is possible that Storylines will continue in MLB The Show’s future games and will focus on the exploits big-time hitters such as Josh Gibson. Still, I have modeled my created players on Cuba’s Martín Dihigo since the game first allowed two-way (pitcher and hitter) characters in MLB The Show 21. The man was simply amazing to even meet in videogame, let alone take over his pitching style. When I discovered that Dihigo used a steep 12-6 curveball instead of a changeup for his off-speed pitch, just like my created players have for upwards of three years, I yelped with joy — and the satisfaction that I’d actually gotten something right.

MLB The Show 23 could easily communicate Dihigo’s skill as a pitcher or hitter through a slate of 99-rated attributes read off the back of his player card. What is more important, though, is how the game relates the day-to-day barnstorming survival of players in the Negro National League, when even future Hall of Famers had to put wrinkles into the game to give fans their money’s worth and bring them back — with a friend — the very next day.

This showmanship wouldn’t translate without MLB The Show 23’s bedrock gameplay. If you’re going to pitch or bat in scripted events, you need a tight and well-designed game running underneath. It’s as consistent coast-to-coast as Budweiser from Seattle or Miami. Developer SIE San Diego Studio put in some new crack-of-the-bat sounds, which you’ll definitely notice when you click one deep into a cavernous power alley in San Diego, or to the center field triangle in Fenway Park. It is amazing to me how MLB The Show feels so consistent from year to year while still offering new experiences or a bit more polish.

But the real secret weapon is the Negro Leagues Mode and Bob Kendrick as its Narrator. He’s the president of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and an innate storyteller. A great podcast host, too. Just by sitting down for one of his history lessons, you’re going to unlock so many great players and cosmetics for use in MLB The Show’s Ultimate Team-like Diamond Dynasty mode, you can’t help but come out of it with a 90-rated team looking sharp as hell.

Now I’m nearly 50. I used to be the Cooperstown Daily Newspaper reporter. Buddy, I used tobacco to smoke when I played T.ball. My father, as well as my childhood friends, have bonded me to baseball. Still, MLB The Show 23I was able to learn something new about the sport and find a way that it would be fun to do.

MLB The Show 23 Launched March 28, 2008. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox OneAnd Xbox Series X. Sony Interactive Entertainment sent a code to review the game. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.