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MLB The Show 23 will explore the stories of the Negro Leagues

For the first time in franchise history, MLB The Show 23 will feature stories that dive into the history of the Negro Leagues.

Ozzie Mejia

February 6, 2023 11:25 AM

Sony San Diego

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Once upon a time, professional baseball was segregated. Black people were kept to an entirely separate league away from Major League Baseball. These were the Negro Leagues. While its foundation was one mired in racism, the Negro Leagues introduced audiences to some of baseball's most prolific players. Those players, as one might imagine, endured tremendous adversity. For the first time, MLB The Show will look to explore some of these players and their stories, as MLB The Show 23 will feature stories of The Negro Leagues.

MLB The Show 23 users can explore the tales of the Negro Leagues through a new game mode called Storylines, which will focus on a specific player. Aiming for accuracy, the team at Sony San Diego is teaming with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to carefully craft each featured player's tale.

"MLB The Show 23 (Storylines Season 1) introduces eight Negro League Players and their stories, narrated by [Negro League Baseball Museum President] Bob Kendrick," Sony San Diego Product Development Communications and Brand Strategist Ramone Russell explains on PlayStation.Blog. "With this multiyear partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum our goals align with the museums to educate, enlighten, and inspire by celebrating the rich history of the Negro Leagues. Every new launch of MLB The Show represents a new Season, with it we'll introduce a new group of Negro League Legends and their stories to pay rightful tribute to these mostly unknown baseball superstars. MLB The Show 23 represents the inaugural season and next year's game would be season 2."

Storylines will include those of Negro League stars Buck O'Neil, Hilton Smith, Hank Thompson, John Donaldson, Jackie Robinson, Martin Dihigo, Rube Foster, and Satchel Paige. Sony San Diego has yet to show gameplay for this new feature, though Russell notes that the studio will dive deeper into the Negro Leagues with a special presentation this coming Thursday on the Sony San Diego Twitch channel.

Look for MLB The Show 23 to release on PlayStation, Xbox (including on Game Pass), and Nintendo Switch on Tuesday, March 28.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?