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[Voost Kain]

It's official. Bryce Harper is signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, and he's wearing the team's uniform in the new and now final cover of MLB The Show 19. You can see it in the featured image above.
The reveal video was shown during Sony San Diego Studio's Twitchstream:

That piece of info was the biggest news but it was widely expected around the baseball world.
Thursday's stream also revealed four new legends, and as a Chicago Cubs fan, I was thrilled for two of them. Kerry Wood and Mark Prior will be included as legends in the game when it releases. Also, Cy Young and Rogers Hornsby are included as well.

Aside from the Harper reveal, the major focus of the stream was the new Moments mode. This new feature challenges you to relive some of the most iconic moments from the careers of legends like Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr., and Willie Mays. There are also team Moments for the Chicago Cubs and some cool overlap with Diamond Dynasty, but I'll get to more of that in a second.
What I like about Moments in MLB The Show is that it is playable within and outside of Diamond Dynasty. I also like some of the presentation wrinkles added to the retro moments like the black-and-white TV filter for Ruth's sequences.

My major takeaway from Thursday's stream, as it pertains to Diamond Dynasty, is flexibility. Again this year, Sony is allowing you to progress through the mode playing the aspects of it that you enjoy. Unlike other collector's modes in the sports video game genre that pigeonhole you into certain aspects just to receive specific rewards, Diamond Dynasty will allow you to exclusively play any aspect of the feature without missing out on the benefits.

On the stream, the developers also announced the removal of souvenirs, immortal cards and the ticket counter for this year's game. They promised there would be more top-level players, so perhaps there was no longer a need to distinguish immortal players from the other legends.
A small tidbit seemed to have leaked during the stream, and that's the ability to have multiple Diamond Dynasty squads. It hadn't been mentioned previously in the earlier streams, though this was the first to put any major focus on Diamond Dynasty.

For those that are fans of the MLB, this is looking to be one of the biggest "MLB: The Show" games yet. With is nice to see, as usually when there's not much in the way of competition companies barely move the needle, but it seems Sony's MLB team has several new features and other cool stuff to make this a big treat for MLB fans.

Now if only EA would do something like this for Madden, you know, fix things, listen to fans, innovate, etc.

 

[Musky_Cheese]

For those that are fans of the MLB, this is looking to be one of the biggest "MLB: The Show" games yet. With is nice to see, as usually when there's not much in the way of competition companies barely move the needle, but it seems Sony's MLB team has several new features and other cool stuff to make this a big treat for MLB fans.

Now if only EA would do something like this for Madden, you know, fix things, listen to fans, innovate, etc.

Thank you for posting.

I’m excited for this years “moments” mode. Gives me something to play between Road to the Show.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Thank you for posting.

I’m excited for this years “moments” mode. Gives me something to play between Road to the Show.

I buy every year for RTTS. I always start a franchise thinking I’ll play a few then sim a few. I never make it very far but damn this is just such a good sports game

 

[Musky_Cheese]

I buy every year for RTTS. I always start a franchise thinking I’ll play a few then sim a few. I never make it very far but damn this is just such a good sports game

I always restart fresh every year instead of importing. I make it to the majors with a positional player and a pitcher.

I don’t play the other modes. I ain’t buying card packs either.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Should have been Mookie.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Should have been Mookie.

Hell Yeah

 

[StormCell]

I hope they don't double down on the RttS changes where they try to lock you into being an underdog talent coming up through the minors. It was pretty annoying.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Should have been Mookie.

Mookie would not have been eligible due to there being a 3 year window where if they appear on another game cover, they have to to wait for the duration. He appeared on RBI Baseball within that window. He would be eligible next year, however.

All licensing stuff.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Mookie would not have been eligible due to there being a 3 year window where if they appear on another game cover, they have to to wait for the duration. He appeared on RBI Baseball within that window. He would be eligible next year, however.

All licensing stuff.

Wow I had no idea about that. I remember him being on RBI Baseball but I didn't know about this. Mookie is awesome, I hope he's featuring next year as a two time MVP and newly minted WS MVP.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Mookie would not have been eligible due to there being a 3 year window where if they appear on another game cover, they have to to wait for the duration. He appeared on RBI Baseball within that window. He would be eligible next year, however.

All licensing stuff.

I would have gone my whole life not knowing this restriction existed, if not for this post

 

[REDRZA MWS]

For those that are fans of the MLB, this is looking to be one of the biggest "MLB: The Show" games yet. With is nice to see, as usually when there's not much in the way of competition companies barely move the needle, but it seems Sony's MLB team has several new features and other cool stuff to make this a big treat for MLB fans.

Now if only EA would do something like this for Madden, you know, fix things, listen to fans, innovate, etc.

Except they aren’t bringing online franchise back. Thanks SDS!

 

[Catphish]

Has there been any discussion as to what "March to October" is?

I'm hoping it's some kind of reinstitution of season mode, but I'm thoroughly prepared to be let down, since SDS doesn't seem to give two shits about offline players anymore.

 

[mckmas8808]

How did they know he was going to the Phillies? Or is this just a good Photoshop?

 

[a multicultural team of v]

How did they know he was going to the Phillies? Or is this just a good Photoshop?

Found a picture of the unmodified original

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Has there been any discussion as to what "March to October" is?

I'm hoping it's some kind of reinstitution of season mode, but I'm thoroughly prepared to be let down, since SDS doesn't seem to give two shits about offline players anymore.

March to October trailer