One of the most exciting parts of baseball season is almost here.
On April 5th, MLB The Show will be released for everyone, providing baseball fans with the newest edition of the celebrated video game.
One of the game’s most popular modes is Diamond Dynasty. The fantasy team mode gives users a chance to play with cards ranging from today’s stars to Deadball Era legends like Honus Wagner, creating endless possibilities for your team’s roster.
While I certainly enjoy the mode, there are still areas where it can improve. Here are my three wishes for Diamond Dynasty on MLB The Show 22.
An offline seasons mode
Currently, the only way to play three-inning games against the computer is in Conquest. While it feels satisfying to conquer the maps and defeat real-life teams, it definitely can get stale at times facing computer opponents much weaker than your team. At a certain point, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates with a lineup full of 99 overall hitters stops being fun.
So, why not find a way to make it a challenge while keeping the games offline and limited to three innings?
An offline seasons mode against other users’ Diamond Dynasty teams seems like an easy solution here. FIFA Ultimate Team and Madden Ultimate Team both do versions of this, so it seems like a no-brainer for Diamond Dynasty to join them.
If I have a team full of 99 overall cards, I should be able to challenge myself against the computer also using 99 overall cards, while still having the flexibility of knowing I only need to commit to a three-inning game. If they follow the model from FIFA and Madden, users would earn weekly rewards based on factors like their total wins and the computer’s difficulty.
Conquest is a fun game mode and certainly worth keeping, but the offline users for this game should have a chance to feel like their Diamond Dynasty squad is being challenged against the computer without needing to play nine-inning games. EA Sports already offers a version of this mode, so there’s no reason that MLB The Show can’t do it too.
Don’t save your 99 Ken Griffey Jr. for November
On MLB The Show 21, Diamond Dynasty certainly took its time to unveil one of the most beloved players both in real life and in the game. The 99 overall Ken Griffey Jr. was not released until November, which is quite a long time for a game that was released in April.
While it’s clear that Diamond Dynasty was trying to keep fans engaged after the end of the World Series, saving such an iconic player for that late into the game cycle seemed like a missed opportunity to release him earlier in the year when more people were playing the game.
By November, plenty of people have moved on to playing FIFA, Madden or NBA2K as their primary sports game and an iconic player like Griffey Jr. just isn’t enough to convince people to switch back to a game they had been playing since April.
I’m not arguing that the 99 Griffey should’ve been released in April and understand that fantasy modes need to gradually increase player overalls to keep people engaged for months. However, it seems like they could’ve easily just made him available in August or September, when plenty of other 99 overall cards were already on the game and MLB was still in its regular season.
Releasing new 99 overall cards in November is cool and a good way to try to keep the game fresh. This time, just don’t make one of them Junior.
Create more events that are very hitter-friendly
One of the most enjoyable parts of MLB The Show is the annual moonshot event. Every year, people use pitchers with low ratings against the best hitters in the game and the result is a very predictable explosion of offense.
However, due to the nature of the events mode, the glory of the moonshot event only lasts for a week or two. So, why not have things like the moonshot event more often?
I’m not suggesting that events should always be a three-inning home run derby, but it also feels like hardly anyone would complain if more of the events were heavily skewed towards producing offense.
Having more events focused on offense also makes sense given that you’re only playing for three innings. Using a 99 overall starting pitcher for just two or three innings isn’t exactly enjoyable, so why not create more events where you’re relying on some random pitcher with an overall rating of 73? Besides, if people want to give their 99 overall starting pitcher a chance, they’ll just play the nine-inning games on ranked seasons.
Hitting online is pretty challenging for lots of people. Let’s make it easier by giving people more chances to enjoy some three-inning games where they get to smack some homers with their favorite hitters.
BSL Analyst
Rose Katz is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland’s journalism school, where she worked for The Diamondback as the online managing editor and a sports blogger. As a student, she spent almost all of her time on campus in The Diamondback’s newsroom or at Xfinity Center, Ludwig Field and Maryland Stadium. Rose gained intern experience with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).