Is it really a problem?
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The Glaring Historical Bias in MLB The Show: Why SDS is Losing Touch with Baseball's Legacy
It is time to talk about the provable bias by the developers at San Diego Studio (SDS). It has become abundantly clear that if your team isn't one of their few "darling franchises," your history simply does not matter to them.
Team legacy should be the guiding motivation when releasing Legends and Flashbacks, but SDS is failing on two major fronts: missing icons and misrepresented history.
First, let’s look at the gaping holes in the roster. A baseball simulation without Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove is missing its foundation. Leaving out inner-circle Hall of Famers of this caliber means SDS is operating with zero historical credibility.
But the real proof of their bias lies in how they handle the Legends they do have. Look at how they treat the Cincinnati Reds. When SDS releases top-tier cards for Scott Rolen, Dave Parker, and Ken Griffey Jr., they actively avoid releasing their Reds versions. Instead of honoring their time in Cincinnati, SDS defaults to other uniforms, completely ignoring the historical footprint these players left on the franchise.
The ultimate blind spot? 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1975-76 Big Red Machine—one of the greatest dynasties in sports and the last National League team to win back-to-back World Series titles until the Dodgers did it last year. What did SDS do to commemorate this massive milestone? Absolutely nothing.
What SDS Should Have Delivered:
If they actually respected baseball history and listened to their audience, here are three cards that should have easily headlined a dedicated historical program:1975 MVP Joe Morgan (Awards Series): The literal engine of the Big Red Machine. A 99-overall card reflecting his back-to-back MVP seasons with elite plate discipline, speed, and pop is a no-brainer for a 50th-anniversary celebration. 1976 World Series MVP Johnny Bench (Postseason Series): The undisputed greatest catcher of all time, who hit .533 to sweep the Yankees. Instead of generic content drops, a maxed-out defensive and power anchor honoring his '76 performance should be the gold standard for catcher cards. 1940 World Series Champion Harry Craft (Historical/Milestone Series): The disrespect for Reds history isn't just about the 70s. Releasing a 1938 or 1940 Harry Craft card—a true Reds Hall of Fame center fielder who helped secure a championship—would prove SDS actually researches franchise legacy instead of just recycling the same coastal-market players year after year.SDS has lost touch with the history of the game. Legends and Flashbacks shouldn't just be content filler; they should be a direct, respectful reflection of the greatest players and teams from the past, across all 30 franchises.
Listen to your audience. Respect the history, honor the milestones, and stop prioritizing a handful of favored markets over the rich, 150-year legacy of baseball.
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@victoryphoenix_PSN who is Harry Craft and how does he possibly belong in the same post with the other named players?
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The Glaring Historical Bias in MLB The Show: Why SDS is Losing Touch with Baseball's Legacy
It is time to talk about the provable bias by the developers at San Diego Studio (SDS). It has become abundantly clear that if your team isn't one of their few "darling franchises," your history simply does not matter to them.
Team legacy should be the guiding motivation when releasing Legends and Flashbacks, but SDS is failing on two major fronts: missing icons and misrepresented history.
First, let’s look at the gaping holes in the roster. A baseball simulation without Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove is missing its foundation. Leaving out inner-circle Hall of Famers of this caliber means SDS is operating with zero historical credibility.
But the real proof of their bias lies in how they handle the Legends they do have. Look at how they treat the Cincinnati Reds. When SDS releases top-tier cards for Scott Rolen, Dave Parker, and Ken Griffey Jr., they actively avoid releasing their Reds versions. Instead of honoring their time in Cincinnati, SDS defaults to other uniforms, completely ignoring the historical footprint these players left on the franchise.
The ultimate blind spot? 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1975-76 Big Red Machine—one of the greatest dynasties in sports and the last National League team to win back-to-back World Series titles until the Dodgers did it last year. What did SDS do to commemorate this massive milestone? Absolutely nothing.
What SDS Should Have Delivered:
If they actually respected baseball history and listened to their audience, here are three cards that should have easily headlined a dedicated historical program:1975 MVP Joe Morgan (Awards Series): The literal engine of the Big Red Machine. A 99-overall card reflecting his back-to-back MVP seasons with elite plate discipline, speed, and pop is a no-brainer for a 50th-anniversary celebration. 1976 World Series MVP Johnny Bench (Postseason Series): The undisputed greatest catcher of all time, who hit .533 to sweep the Yankees. Instead of generic content drops, a maxed-out defensive and power anchor honoring his '76 performance should be the gold standard for catcher cards. 1940 World Series Champion Harry Craft (Historical/Milestone Series): The disrespect for Reds history isn't just about the 70s. Releasing a 1938 or 1940 Harry Craft card—a true Reds Hall of Fame center fielder who helped secure a championship—would prove SDS actually researches franchise legacy instead of just recycling the same coastal-market players year after year.SDS has lost touch with the history of the game. Legends and Flashbacks shouldn't just be content filler; they should be a direct, respectful reflection of the greatest players and teams from the past, across all 30 franchises.
Listen to your audience. Respect the history, honor the milestones, and stop prioritizing a handful of favored markets over the rich, 150-year legacy of baseball.
First of all, who is Harry Craft? Second of all, I could not care less if a card wasn't a certain team. A card is a card, not "celebrating over 150 years of baseball" or whatever nonsense.
If SDS really cared about baseball history, then in 2019, a "150 years of organized baseball" program would be released.
According to your agenda.
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At the end of the day, they have internal metrics that probably back up that guys like Mike Schmidt weren't used all that much and Yankees cards get used more than Royals cards so lets make Damon a Yankee in what will probably be his last card of the year.
The second half of this year is very clearly focused on the type of player that will watch a 'best cards released in September' type of video and for those types the team is irrelevant.
Its obvious the live content team despises the idea of theme teams (team specific or otherwise), as they have gotten rid of team affinity and stopped bothering with captains entirely. Even the events are pretty generic in restrictions. They have just gone absolutely all in on switch hitters.
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The mere fact you don't care about Baseball and its legacy says more than any words could. You have the same problem as SDS they think the only thing that matters is the past 15 years. And Yes, it does matter to recognize the foundation and what makes the game what is today even if people don't recognize a player who is contributor to that greatness. Who is Harry Craft... A great player from an era of baseball you don;t care about, Just like Edd Rousch, Henie Groh, Cesar Gerinomo and Davey Concepcion. Use google.
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Victoryphoenix,
One of the hands down best posts I have read here. Well thought out and written. SDS should go to school on that feedback.
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The mere fact you don't care about Baseball and its legacy says more than any words could. You have the same problem as SDS they think the only thing that matters is the past 15 years. And Yes, it does matter to recognize the foundation and what makes the game what is today even if people don't recognize a player who is contributor to that greatness. Who is Harry Craft... A great player from an era of baseball you don;t care about, Just like Edd Rousch, Henie Groh, Cesar Gerinomo and Davey Concepcion. Use google.
I understand that you are upset that the Reds have been forgotten about by SDS this year and rightfully so.
But let's not pretend that everybody should know who your great uncle Harry Craft is or that he played for the Reds. He played 5 seasons before WWII.
Edd Rousch ended his career 95 years ago (1931).
Heinie Groh ended his career 99 years ago (1927).
César Gerónimo was a good player
Davey Concepcion is probably the one with the best case.If you truly cared about baseball legacy, then maybe don't only list players from the Reds.
That would be like if I got mad that people didn't know who Chick Hafey, Jessie Haines or even Joe Medwick is. Or that they don't know who Tom Herr, Darrell Porter or Bob Forsch from the 82 Cardinals World Series team were.
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At the end of the day, they have internal metrics that probably back up that guys like Mike Schmidt weren't used all that much and Yankees cards get used more than Royals cards so lets make Damon a Yankee in what will probably be his last card of the year.
This is the sad truth of the matter. In the end SDS and Sony are a business. Legends likeness rights cost money. They have around 232 legends in the game currently. While I may not like it, I can understand that they don't want to spend money on players that would not be used.
Here are the pre-WWII players in the game that are not Negro Leagues players
Honus Wagner (1900)
Babe Ruth (1922)
Lou Gehrig (1927)
Rick Ferrell (1936)
Hank Greenburg (1935)That's it. I'm sorry if Harry Craft, Edd Rousch or Heinie Groh don't make that cut.
If you want that type of Historical Depth, then Out of the Park Baseball is about the only option. Unfortunately, most people are not interested in a strictly sim-based game. But if you want to see Harry Craft in a game then that is the game to play, but even then, he is probably not in their DD equivalent mode.
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At the end of the day, they have internal metrics that probably back up that guys like Mike Schmidt weren't used all that much and Yankees cards get used more than Royals cards so lets make Damon a Yankee in what will probably be his last card of the year.
This is the sad truth of the matter. In the end SDS and Sony are a business. Legends likeness rights cost money. They have around 232 legends in the game currently. While I may not like it, I can understand that they don't want to spend money on players that would not be used.
Here are the pre-WWII players in the game that are not Negro Leagues players
Honus Wagner (1900)
Babe Ruth (1922)
Lou Gehrig (1927)
Rick Ferrell (1936)
Hank Greenburg (1935)That's it. I'm sorry if Harry Craft, Edd Rousch or Heinie Groh don't make that cut.
If you want that type of Historical Depth, then Out of the Park Baseball is about the only option. Unfortunately, most people are not interested in a strictly sim-based game. But if you want to see Harry Craft in a game then that is the game to play, but even then, he is probably not in their DD equivalent mode.
You forgot to add Harry Cheek. Truly a dropped ball from SDS.
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The blatant disregard for the Cincinnati Reds is just one glaring symptom of a much larger problem at San Diego Studio: a complete detachment from baseball’s foundational history. It has become abundantly clear that the developers only care about the last 15 years of the sport, treating the previous century of baseball as an afterthought.
A game that claims to be the definitive baseball simulation is an absolute joke when it omits the titans who built the game. How can SDS justify the absence of Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, Dizzy Dean, or the Waner Brothers? SDS has abandoned a massive roster of legends. The lack of a beloved modern icon like Kirby Puckett, alongside brilliant defensive masters like Ray Schalk, Buck Weaver, and Mickey Cochrane, proves they are completely phoning in their historical content.
There are clear, actionable ways to fix this and actually educate the player base:
Yearly Franchise Deep Dives: SDS has already proven they can build incredible, educational content with the Negro Leagues Storylines. They need to apply that exact same framework to MLB franchises. Every year, the game should feature a deep-dive Storyline into the rich history of one National League team and one American League team, complete with historical stadiums, uniforms, and the eras' defining players.
NPB Legends Series: Baseball is a global game with a rich international history that SDS ignores. Introducing a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) series featuring the legendary Sadaharu Oh and other Japanese baseball icons would be a massive addition that respects the game's worldwide legacy.
SDS needs to stop operating with such a narrow, modern-day, coastal-market bias. They have a platform that could celebrate the full 150-year history of professional baseball, but right now, their historical omissions mean they are operating with zero credibility.
I have no problem with honoring the 82 Cardinals, If I remember I was rooting for the Brewers in that series, Series like 75, 82, 2001, 2004... Should be celebrated. I want all of baseball to be celebrated not just my familial connections. But I will advocate for Harry Craft or any member of the Reds first, I'm a partisan.
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I mean, I think its absurd that the 86 Mets only have one representative in game (funny enough the 62 Mets somehow got two cards last year) but sadly the average Diamond Dynasty player isn't interested in a history lesson. Legends cost money.
I do think they drop the ball with guys like Doerr...add him to the game but then lock his HoF card behind a Headliner pack that no one will buy or ever see in any of their rewards since headliner packs are random.
As far as Puckett, I think its fair that either SDS or MLB doesn't want him in the game.
