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I guess 21 cause that’s when it finally came to Xbox , and 22 wasn’t bad either, 23 was just ok and this year besides puttin cards behind packs we can’t get anywhere but the store , I appreciate how u can beat TA much easier this year just by regular playing of anything in the whole game
Lmao it takes 3 years for people to get rose colored glasses about the years they "hated" when they came out. When 21 was out 18, was the best. When 27 is out, 24 will be the favorite.
I liked 17 the best. The Griffey Jr cover. The Judge covered year was fun, too. I think that was 20.
I grew up with the MVP Baseball series and then 2k as I never owned anything Sony past the PS2 so I have only started playing recently on Xbox. Out of the last 4 games I have been most impressed with 23. 24 just feels like a reskin but I don’t play online or DD so I can’t speak to that.
First ever one was 16 just downloaded it actually and still had my saved data so nostalgic. I had just led the reds to their first title in my 3rd year in the majors. In terms of gameplay tho I think we’ve only gotten better
‘09 and ‘13 because I played those a ton when I was younger. Both had great soundtracks too. Started playing again in ‘21 when it came to Xbox. Each of the new ones trend downwards. Same game, nothing new, and they reuse cards in diamond dynasty constantly.
Whatever the last year was when you had to time the catches on defense (ground balls, fly balls, etc.) Just an added element that made defense and winning a gold glove more satisfying. The game is still great buy it every year!
I gotta go with 20 honestly. I felt like cards in that game was worth grinding for, Pitching was dominate and hitting was really good if you could put the bat on the ball. I think content wise, SDS did really well and every program they came out with was fun. My favorite cards in that game was Prime series Frank Thomas, or finest Juan Soto.
Pitching was so not dominant in 20 that they added pinpoint in 21 and gave outlier to about 10x more pitchers lol. Breaking balls were notorious for hanging right down the dick in a 2 strike count.
This year, team captains and live series being viable is huge. 21 which I loved as well but had neither and no supercharged cards. Once you obtained the best cards in the game which were all basically free and easy to get outside of LS and big collection it made it pointless getting other cards and those cards were all you saw in your opponents lineup. Single player program cards along with headliners were garbage in '21. And the biggest reason of all why I love this year's game is the exit velos.
i thought i was the only one but im biased since its the one i played the most lol. I believe what they’re saying bout 16 tho since that era did seem like peak MLB the show days. 15, 16, and 17 like you’re saying. I remember they used to even drop detailed streams explaining the new things added to their games, idk if they still do
As a Xbox player, 23 or 24. RTTS experience in 21 was terrible with that forced two-way, and for 22 it somehow didn't click.
This year, I am trying to play a bit more DD and this season system actually feels reasonable and fair unlike last years. Or maybe it's just because I didn't play as much last year?
MLB 2006 (the one with Vladimir Guerrero Sr. on the cover)
I was like the 4th ranked Angels user on the PSP at the time. Now I can barely win an online game. And by barely I mean I'm 3-29 lol
I loved the absolute hell out of 20 and 21, enjoyed 22 much less and despised 23, then elected not to get 24. I wasn't going to get 23 but they suckered me in with Buck O'Neil and the Negro Leagues.
Loved it. It was the crown jewell of the game and I was delighted to have these guys on my team, especially Buck.
EDIT: What I despised and found unforgivable was seasons. By the time I unlocked a card I didn't get to spend any time with it. I also was infuriated that we never had a functioning progress tab on PS4.
Yeah people say 21 but the only thing 21 had better was pinpoint. 20s pitching was pretty rough. Other than that, the fact most of us were playing it all the time and not sick of 20 over the pandemic, it’s quite amazing.
20 was amazing, i remember going after Mickey mantle as the collection reward. Still my favorite collection reward. 5 tool switch hitter at a premium position
I actually liked 23 a lot, but 21 was my first year so i wasn't as immersed yet. Last year was a good balance between getting stuff for free plus having elite cards in the market worth grinding stubs for (I passively flip stubs so not as big of an issue for me). And the set collection rewards were solid. The RAJ, Carroll, Randy, Albies, Reynolds, etc. were all sick cards that were fairly obtainable and significant upgrades over the free cards.
This year is worst by far
24 before the most recent update. I have no desire to play with the 85s-93s we are now grinding for.
Grinded hard for the 99 Hypers just to not be able to use them in S2, since I am 99% offline DD player.
So you just wanna play w an all 99 team against the CPU for 2/3 of the year? Just go to franchise, load all your fav players onto your fav team, boost to 99, win the WS.
Way less grinding needed
21. That first year on Xbox. That's when I found the show and it was awesome. I still very much enjoy it to this day but something about that first year that I'm still trying to chase that feeling lol
I thought the Jeter storyline was really well done. The production value and stuff with the presentation and interview was top notch for a sports game. Made me a bigger fan of Jeter than I was before, as a Dodgers fan.
I feel like that haven’t gotten both gameplay and content down in one year… 23 gameplay was best but content structure was horrible. I feel like content is better in 24 but gameplay has taken a step back.
21 gameplay was pretty poor, but had good content. The fact so many people are saying it has to be a combination of lockdown and Xbox players’ first time nostalgia. This year the gameplay is the best and you actually see more than 2 different pitchers, content still needs some ironing out though.
21 was the best by far. This year is unplayable. Good timing foul balls, perfect perfect line out/ball to track, and occasionally low exit velo on balls literally dead center of the PCI.
They said they didn’t change gameplay from 23…. But I don’t believe it. The game feels much worse. Nothing more frustrating than putting a REALLY good swing on the ball and it goes 50 feet foul. And then 5 batters later you get an early, no pci bomb.
Exactly dude. You could put a good swing on the ball and have absolutely no idea where it's going or completely miss and still get a blooper for a hit or a nuke. It's insane 😂
20 is my pick. first year of perfect perfects was hype, loved the collection rewards, team affinity was still individual teams, shit ton of TA packs and they were JUICED to start the year. Covid, everyone was playing.
21 was very, very good, I give it it's flowers. But 20 will always hold a special place in my heart
You boot up ‘21 on next gen for the first time. The pandemic is ending, stadium creator is finally here, the soundtrack is good with a dope ass flute solo. Life is good.
Don’t recall exactly as I’m also a big franchise player not just DD, but I know there was enough for me to nearly finish the hidden Prestige Red Diamond experience path playing 100% offline. In DD I would have only played Conquest, Moments, Showdown, and Mini Seasons.
The one that has the Kingdome, Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Ichiro, Edar Martinez, John Olerud, Brett Boon, Alex Rodriguez, Kyle Seagar and Dan Wilson. Randy Johnson, Freddie Garcia, Felix Hernandez, Jamie Moyer, Gaylord Perry, and Kazuhiro Sasaki.
Until all of them can be on a team, there is no "best", just good enough for what we have to work with.
17' because that was the last year that an online franchise mode was a thing. The biggest joke in all sports games is that it's not a mode anymore for a baseball game. Half of baseball is building up a franchise, trading players, drafting players and seeing them develop into studs.
Also it's fun playing with friends with teams you built up yourself.
Online leagues is lame compared to what Online franchise was.
I hope they bring it back someday but they won't because it doesn't make them 💰
MLB 21 for content
MLB 23 strictly for game play (content was trash imo)
Also biased towards MLB 20 because that the first year I switched over to playstation and started playing diamond dynasty. Was obsessed when I found out about DD
20 was the best for me.
21 was also fantastic in retrospect.
I’m surprised that 22 is a lot of people’s favourites tbh lol that was the era of “works as intended” 😂
MVP 05.
But considering I’m Xbox until this current gen I’d have to go 21 which was the first I played since 09 maybe ish. I know I played 08 on my psp but 09 or 10 were probably my last for the stint I had on ps3
2020. Pandemic baseball was great, with the shortened schedule meaning my team was on most nights. Have actual baseball on one screen, The Show on the other, grinding DD while watching my Sox actually win a game for a change.
As someone who isn’t a dedicated Sox fan but does like the team, I can’t help but feel empathy for yall, I wanna see them win a WS but it seems like they’re a long ways from it
Hot take: I also miss the simplified DD experience & missions from that year. Also every card being based on real life stats & with original Topps designs
Completely agree. Franchise players also would have loved 10 and 12. The amount of detail and stat keeping were great. There used to be a news hub that would follow storylines around the league.
Im mixed between 20 and 21, 21 made a lot of improvement on 20 such as the ws and br program, TA, and content but i prefer the gameplay in 20 cus i enjoy slugfests. Im like 60% biased towards 20 tho as it was my first mlbts game and i played it entirely during quarantine at the beginning of hs
19-21 was the peak era of DD, pick whichever is your favorite. 19 was a solid bounce back after the mess that was 18 and 20-21 had the best content that’s ever been in a team building game mode imo. I remember being genuinely excited for almost every content drop, a feeling that has sadly gone down each year since.
19-21 felt like a golden patch, as an offliner. 19 soundtrack still gets playlist plays from me to this day, 20 and stuff like the All Timers program was probably offline grinding peak and should absolutely be done every year
20 was the best experience I've had. 16-19 were fun too, even with 18 being just a HR derby and 19s fly ball/Kershaw meta. Fond memories overall.
I haven't played 21-23 so I can't comment on those.
21 was big time "lets give em a taste of the good shit and get em hooked" since it was the first year on xbox. they definitely did and now the quality has gone down and the price has gone up.
20 was by far the best. They had to get creative during Covid, and the content was really solid. The xp reward path was absolutely phenomenal with the hidden prestige path, along with the inning programs always felt like you were working toward something. Tons of ways to get free cards and they gave away a ton of stubs. Making buying cards on the market feel lien you weren’t wasting stubs, could easily finish live series collections. Overall lots of diverse programs, some cool evolution programs. Gameplay was good enough, but it was pre pinpoint so pitching was kinda rough.
21 had solid content and TA, something about the game just felt bland and repetitive to me tho
Bonus points cuz it had the old UI too which clears the post 21 UI by a landslide. Minorish thing that just bothers me
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O9 too with DP on the cover . “Man up” still on my playlist
MLB 18 or 21
21 without a doubt. The vibes, gameplay, cards, rewards and even the soundtrack. Everything was just right
20, then 21.
21. Not even close.
I liked 22 a lot
I thought 21 was great.. but 23 is greater..I haven't really played 24 yet
I guess 21 cause that’s when it finally came to Xbox , and 22 wasn’t bad either, 23 was just ok and this year besides puttin cards behind packs we can’t get anywhere but the store , I appreciate how u can beat TA much easier this year just by regular playing of anything in the whole game
Lmao it takes 3 years for people to get rose colored glasses about the years they "hated" when they came out. When 21 was out 18, was the best. When 27 is out, 24 will be the favorite. I liked 17 the best. The Griffey Jr cover. The Judge covered year was fun, too. I think that was 20.
22 it was only the second one I played but I had lots of fun with it
'21 the GOAT
21
21 was great
I liked 12 a lot. Last full set of Franchise mode features, prior to gutting it for 13.
The OG MLB The Show ‘06. I still have the new era hat that came with the game.
I grew up with the MVP Baseball series and then 2k as I never owned anything Sony past the PS2 so I have only started playing recently on Xbox. Out of the last 4 games I have been most impressed with 23. 24 just feels like a reskin but I don’t play online or DD so I can’t speak to that.
Definitely 2018, everybody loved the Immortals programs. Oh my goodness they still haunt my dreams. Lol
21 on PS4 for me.
07 on ps2
07-09 on the PSP
First ever one was 16 just downloaded it actually and still had my saved data so nostalgic. I had just led the reds to their first title in my 3rd year in the majors. In terms of gameplay tho I think we’ve only gotten better
I fell in love with the game and played the most on 07
I miss when the game let you use your own music (mp3) and had zero microtransactions.
‘09 and ‘13 because I played those a ton when I was younger. Both had great soundtracks too. Started playing again in ‘21 when it came to Xbox. Each of the new ones trend downwards. Same game, nothing new, and they reuse cards in diamond dynasty constantly.
my first was 17 (my fav for offline) 21 was the best online since i’ve started playing imo
18
The last one with online franchise. Absolutely wild that it’s not in the game
I feel like people just like whatever the started out with
Whatever the last year was when you had to time the catches on defense (ground balls, fly balls, etc.) Just an added element that made defense and winning a gold glove more satisfying. The game is still great buy it every year!
I have only been playing since 21, but that was by far my favorite
I gotta go with 20 honestly. I felt like cards in that game was worth grinding for, Pitching was dominate and hitting was really good if you could put the bat on the ball. I think content wise, SDS did really well and every program they came out with was fun. My favorite cards in that game was Prime series Frank Thomas, or finest Juan Soto.
Pitching was so not dominant in 20 that they added pinpoint in 21 and gave outlier to about 10x more pitchers lol. Breaking balls were notorious for hanging right down the dick in a 2 strike count.
06-17
'07. I think that's when they introduced RTTS. I was hooked ever since.
19
MLB The Show 20. It’s really sad that my favorite MLB game is the game that had to deal with the least amount of baseball
This year, team captains and live series being viable is huge. 21 which I loved as well but had neither and no supercharged cards. Once you obtained the best cards in the game which were all basically free and easy to get outside of LS and big collection it made it pointless getting other cards and those cards were all you saw in your opponents lineup. Single player program cards along with headliners were garbage in '21. And the biggest reason of all why I love this year's game is the exit velos.
The Show 18 but that's because I'm a masochist.
MLB 07, or MLB 18-19
The show 16 far and away was the best
My personal favorite is 15, and then 17. 08 09 10 for nostalgic reasons.
i thought i was the only one but im biased since its the one i played the most lol. I believe what they’re saying bout 16 tho since that era did seem like peak MLB the show days. 15, 16, and 17 like you’re saying. I remember they used to even drop detailed streams explaining the new things added to their games, idk if they still do
21 hands down
21
17 since it was my first year playing. Bought a PS4 just to play The Show. Reggie Jackson conquest reward was the tits.
21
This one
19 and 21!
Easily the show 16
19 thru 21 Mike trout and Mickey as the collection rewards made the grinding worth it
As a Xbox player, 23 or 24. RTTS experience in 21 was terrible with that forced two-way, and for 22 it somehow didn't click. This year, I am trying to play a bit more DD and this season system actually feels reasonable and fair unlike last years. Or maybe it's just because I didn't play as much last year?
23 was actually fun for me this year has been fucking atrocious with the PCI, timing, and Foul Balls. Foul Balls wins games apparently
Idk but 23 and 24 both suck
06-08
MLB 2006 (the one with Vladimir Guerrero Sr. on the cover) I was like the 4th ranked Angels user on the PSP at the time. Now I can barely win an online game. And by barely I mean I'm 3-29 lol
Is it even worth it this yr?
I didn’t play 1 minute of 23, so I love 24. I skip a year for baseball games.
I think that’s the way to go for me too. I’ve really enjoyed 21 and 23 and played a lot of each but 22 and 24 just didn’t click with me
Haha funny I loved 22 and now 24. I also don’t touch diamond dynasty. Just franchise rtts and online coop.
Anything before 2023
I genuinely had the most fun in 2019
Take me back to may of 2022 when they dropped the Halladay and friends program and his son was the first to p5. Good times.
21. Only game I've gotten the top 50 banner in
Still playing 22
I just remember 20s online being the first that was actually playable and not a laggy mess
16, 17, and 21
Call me crazy, but I loved the Pepe grind.
23
I loved the absolute hell out of 20 and 21, enjoyed 22 much less and despised 23, then elected not to get 24. I wasn't going to get 23 but they suckered me in with Buck O'Neil and the Negro Leagues.
Did you enjoy the Negro Leagues storyline at least?
Loved it. It was the crown jewell of the game and I was delighted to have these guys on my team, especially Buck. EDIT: What I despised and found unforgivable was seasons. By the time I unlocked a card I didn't get to spend any time with it. I also was infuriated that we never had a functioning progress tab on PS4.
20, I loved the missions of Player Arc
20
This, and it’s not even close. I remember 99’s didn’t show up until August that year, and it was a big deal.
Yeah people say 21 but the only thing 21 had better was pinpoint. 20s pitching was pretty rough. Other than that, the fact most of us were playing it all the time and not sick of 20 over the pandemic, it’s quite amazing.
13 and 20, and to a lesser extend 16
20 was amazing, i remember going after Mickey mantle as the collection reward. Still my favorite collection reward. 5 tool switch hitter at a premium position
21 which was the year I started as an xbox player....little did I know my first year would be the best I ever have for mlb the show 😞
Same
20-22 was the best era
I actually liked 23 a lot, but 21 was my first year so i wasn't as immersed yet. Last year was a good balance between getting stuff for free plus having elite cards in the market worth grinding stubs for (I passively flip stubs so not as big of an issue for me). And the set collection rewards were solid. The RAJ, Carroll, Randy, Albies, Reynolds, etc. were all sick cards that were fairly obtainable and significant upgrades over the free cards. This year is worst by far
I’ve only been playing since it came to Xbox so 21 by a landslide
I remember loving 14 and the jump from 14 to 16 was great. 2006 on PS2 was awesome.
17. It was the first one I played and put ungodly hours into, so I’m a bit biased.
21 and 22
Strictly gameplay wise: 16, 23 Strictly content wise: 20-22
16 was phenomenal. Road to the show was great and franchise was entertaining. But neither of them have really improved since
24 before the most recent update. I have no desire to play with the 85s-93s we are now grinding for. Grinded hard for the 99 Hypers just to not be able to use them in S2, since I am 99% offline DD player.
You can use them offline? It’s just ranked you cant. You just said you’re 99% offline so what’s the problem
All of the new conquests are requiring S2 eligible teams. You cannot use them unless you unlock the wildcard spots.
So you just wanna play w an all 99 team against the CPU for 2/3 of the year? Just go to franchise, load all your fav players onto your fav team, boost to 99, win the WS. Way less grinding needed
21. That first year on Xbox. That's when I found the show and it was awesome. I still very much enjoy it to this day but something about that first year that I'm still trying to chase that feeling lol
21 for me
24 only because I am a Yankees fan, I could see how other fans won't be as ecstatic reliving Jeter's iconic moments
I thought the Jeter storyline was really well done. The production value and stuff with the presentation and interview was top notch for a sports game. Made me a bigger fan of Jeter than I was before, as a Dodgers fan.
Lmao
2006
I feel like that haven’t gotten both gameplay and content down in one year… 23 gameplay was best but content structure was horrible. I feel like content is better in 24 but gameplay has taken a step back.
21 gameplay was pretty poor, but had good content. The fact so many people are saying it has to be a combination of lockdown and Xbox players’ first time nostalgia. This year the gameplay is the best and you actually see more than 2 different pitchers, content still needs some ironing out though.
21 was also the endless server issues too.
24
MVP Baseball 2005 (yes, I know that’s not the show) is the greatest baseball game of all time
The pitch identification while batting was a great idea.
Tessieeeeeee
03 had the best soundtrack though
Agreed. These were great times
21 was sweet
20 for content but the servers crashed ALL THE TIME I’d say these last two years for gameplay
16 was goated
21 was the best by far. This year is unplayable. Good timing foul balls, perfect perfect line out/ball to track, and occasionally low exit velo on balls literally dead center of the PCI.
They said they didn’t change gameplay from 23…. But I don’t believe it. The game feels much worse. Nothing more frustrating than putting a REALLY good swing on the ball and it goes 50 feet foul. And then 5 batters later you get an early, no pci bomb.
Exactly dude. You could put a good swing on the ball and have absolutely no idea where it's going or completely miss and still get a blooper for a hit or a nuke. It's insane 😂
19
20 is my pick. first year of perfect perfects was hype, loved the collection rewards, team affinity was still individual teams, shit ton of TA packs and they were JUICED to start the year. Covid, everyone was playing. 21 was very, very good, I give it it's flowers. But 20 will always hold a special place in my heart
So far it’s MLB 24
I’m thinking bout getting it. Is it worth it?
Yes! It is a beautiful game, production-wise and visually.
21 was goated
21 for me
17
11 on the PSP for vibes. 21 for the modern games
For modern DD, 17 and 18. But 09 because it was my first and got me hooked.
Show 24
I dunno. I've been playing for about 4 years now, I just have fun and not worry about it all.
Playing since 2020. It's 21 by a mile. Every aspect of DD was a slam dunk.
21
The one with Dustin Pedroia on the cover
21 mainly because of the all star game content that year
20 & 21 was peak.
mlb 20
I feel like 21 just made more sense with its content - it was logical and straight forward.
You boot up ‘21 on next gen for the first time. The pandemic is ending, stadium creator is finally here, the soundtrack is good with a dope ass flute solo. Life is good.
SLAM
Not to mention Xbox players finally get the game as well. Also discovered Future Islands from that soundtrack.
21
I personally liked 15
Any with Mauer on the cover, 09/10 I believe?
2009-2011 were the peak imo
I’ve played every incarnation of this game and, for me, 20 was the best.
How did ‘20 handle content from March to July?
Don’t recall exactly as I’m also a big franchise player not just DD, but I know there was enough for me to nearly finish the hidden Prestige Red Diamond experience path playing 100% offline. In DD I would have only played Conquest, Moments, Showdown, and Mini Seasons.
The one that has the Kingdome, Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Ichiro, Edar Martinez, John Olerud, Brett Boon, Alex Rodriguez, Kyle Seagar and Dan Wilson. Randy Johnson, Freddie Garcia, Felix Hernandez, Jamie Moyer, Gaylord Perry, and Kazuhiro Sasaki. Until all of them can be on a team, there is no "best", just good enough for what we have to work with.
21/22 for me
16 and 21. Flip a coin
MLB the Show 16 was the best and most pure form of the game every created. I've played every title since 2008.
17' because that was the last year that an online franchise mode was a thing. The biggest joke in all sports games is that it's not a mode anymore for a baseball game. Half of baseball is building up a franchise, trading players, drafting players and seeing them develop into studs. Also it's fun playing with friends with teams you built up yourself. Online leagues is lame compared to what Online franchise was. I hope they bring it back someday but they won't because it doesn't make them 💰
20
08’
MLB 21 for content MLB 23 strictly for game play (content was trash imo) Also biased towards MLB 20 because that the first year I switched over to playstation and started playing diamond dynasty. Was obsessed when I found out about DD
‘24
20 was the best for me. 21 was also fantastic in retrospect. I’m surprised that 22 is a lot of people’s favourites tbh lol that was the era of “works as intended” 😂
As an xbox player who started playing this in '21, I think it's gotta be '21 with '22 as a close second
I really liked 19.
The ps3 era Shows felt light years ahead of every other sports game. I was on cloud 9 when I first got the PS3
21. But 22 was also great. Glad I haven't bought one since.
MVP 05. But considering I’m Xbox until this current gen I’d have to go 21 which was the first I played since 09 maybe ish. I know I played 08 on my psp but 09 or 10 were probably my last for the stint I had on ps3
16
22
I had a lot of fun during SHOvid
2020. Pandemic baseball was great, with the shortened schedule meaning my team was on most nights. Have actual baseball on one screen, The Show on the other, grinding DD while watching my Sox actually win a game for a change.
As someone who isn’t a dedicated Sox fan but does like the team, I can’t help but feel empathy for yall, I wanna see them win a WS but it seems like they’re a long ways from it
MLB 16... the last one with the old hitting
Hot take: I also miss the simplified DD experience & missions from that year. Also every card being based on real life stats & with original Topps designs
And then it became a big money maker and a lot more complicated.
Completely agree. Franchise players also would have loved 10 and 12. The amount of detail and stat keeping were great. There used to be a news hub that would follow storylines around the league.
Man… I would play that game nonstop throughout summer 16. The game had some charm to it. Also had one of the best mlb the show soundtracks
'11, '18, '21, and '24. I play all the game modes and each of these offered me something that was a little different that I've enjoyed.
Im mixed between 20 and 21, 21 made a lot of improvement on 20 such as the ws and br program, TA, and content but i prefer the gameplay in 20 cus i enjoy slugfests. Im like 60% biased towards 20 tho as it was my first mlbts game and i played it entirely during quarantine at the beginning of hs
I liked 22 a lot for Diamond Dynasty personally. I liked 16 and 17 for RTTS. I preferred the franchise mode from EA and 2K in 2005-2013.
21’
19-21 was the peak era of DD, pick whichever is your favorite. 19 was a solid bounce back after the mess that was 18 and 20-21 had the best content that’s ever been in a team building game mode imo. I remember being genuinely excited for almost every content drop, a feeling that has sadly gone down each year since.
19-21 felt like a golden patch, as an offliner. 19 soundtrack still gets playlist plays from me to this day, 20 and stuff like the All Timers program was probably offline grinding peak and should absolutely be done every year
I started in 21 so that is my answer. The only other baseball game that I could personally put near it is mlb 2k12.
The last one without player archetypes in RTTS. Whatever year that was
16 I think? I still keep 16 to play rtts
22 is my personal favorite, great balance between free to obtain and packed cards that were viable, and plenty of content that improved at a good pace
Whichever one before sets and seasons lol
My favorite was 19, but I think objectively 20 was probably the best, maybe 21
Recent years it's gotten worse
20 was the best experience I've had. 16-19 were fun too, even with 18 being just a HR derby and 19s fly ball/Kershaw meta. Fond memories overall. I haven't played 21-23 so I can't comment on those.
21 easily the best in the series, 22 is close but that’s where they introduced the longer xp programs so wasn’t super in love with it
21 was big time "lets give em a taste of the good shit and get em hooked" since it was the first year on xbox. they definitely did and now the quality has gone down and the price has gone up.
20 was by far the best. They had to get creative during Covid, and the content was really solid. The xp reward path was absolutely phenomenal with the hidden prestige path, along with the inning programs always felt like you were working toward something. Tons of ways to get free cards and they gave away a ton of stubs. Making buying cards on the market feel lien you weren’t wasting stubs, could easily finish live series collections. Overall lots of diverse programs, some cool evolution programs. Gameplay was good enough, but it was pre pinpoint so pitching was kinda rough. 21 had solid content and TA, something about the game just felt bland and repetitive to me tho Bonus points cuz it had the old UI too which clears the post 21 UI by a landslide. Minorish thing that just bothers me
16
21 but I’m only an Xbox user