Community Forum

I would really like to see SDS increase the progression points we earn from defensive plays in RTTS.

Personally, I enjoy playing defense, and I usually prefer to have Fielding Opportunities set to “All Plays.” The problem is that doing so can make games take significantly longer, while the progression you receive from those defensive opportunities feels very small compared to the amount of time you are putting into them.

Because of that, I constantly find myself debating whether I should turn Fielding Opportunities off or reduce them, even though I actually WANT to play defense.

That shouldn’t be the incentive.

If I am choosing to play every defensive opportunity, I think the game should reward that time investment more appropriately.

Fielding is a major part of baseball. Making a diving stop, turning a double play, throwing out a runner, making a difficult catch, getting an outfield assist, or successfully completing a tough defensive play should feel meaningful for my player’s progression.

Right now, the reward for fielding simply feels too small.

I would like to see SDS:

• Increase the amount of progression earned from successful defensive plays.
• Give additional progression for difficult or high-impact plays.
• Reward things like double plays, assists, diving catches, robbed home runs, outfield assists, and other exceptional defensive plays more heavily.
• Add a 2x Fielding Progression/Fielding Bonus, similar to the bonuses we already have for Batting and Pitching.
• Make playing with Fielding Opportunities: All Plays feel worthwhile instead of making me feel like I am slowing down my RTTS progression.

I don’t want fielding removed or shortened. I actually want MORE reason to play it.

The problem is that when playing defense adds a significant amount of time to each game while giving very little progression in return, the game unintentionally encourages players to skip it.

If SDS made defensive opportunities more rewarding, I would gladly keep Fielding Opportunities on “All Plays” throughout my career.

If batting and pitching can receive a 2x progression bonus, fielding should have one too.

Defense is part of baseball, and RTTS should reward us for actually playing it.

Hey,

Can you explain a little more what you mean by “Manager Challenge”?

If you mean RTTS giving your player a performance objective, such as “get a hit,” “drive in the runner,” or “strike out the batter,” usually for extra progression, rewards, or tokens, then that is still in the game through Dynamic Challenges and Boss Challenges.

If you mean something different by “Manager Challenge,” I’m curious what feature you’re referring to.

Then we actually agree on the most important part.

You want to play one player with the story elements turned off.

I want to play one player with a deeper career storyline and meaningful choices.

I have said multiple times that I support giving you the option to turn all of that off.

So yes, we absolutely can have both.

Where I disagree with you is when you say story elements don't belong in RTTS simply because it's a sports game. RTTS is a created-player career mode, so I think career decisions, rivalries, relationships, contracts, draft moments, and other story elements fit the mode perfectly.

But if SDS gives you a “Gameplay Only” option and gives me a “Full Career Story” option, then everybody wins.

And since you said you didn't read my last post, that's basically what I was saying the entire time.

You keep saying, “I want to play baseball, and I want to do it quickly without interruptions.”

And that’s exactly why I keep bringing up Franchise mode.

RTTS is not simply “control one player and play baseball.” It is supposed to represent that player’s CAREER. You even said it yourself: “Just one player and their career.”

Well, a career includes more than stepping onto the field, playing your appearances, and immediately simming to the next game.

Getting scouted is part of a career.

Getting drafted is part of a career.

Talking to your manager is part of a career.

Competing for a roster spot is part of a career.

Getting promoted or demoted is part of a career.

Contracts, trades, free agency, teammates, rivalries, awards, injuries, and career-changing decisions are all part of a professional baseball career.

That is exactly what RTTS should be trying to simulate.

I completely agree with you on one thing: you should be able to turn the story elements off. I have never argued otherwise. If SDS adds a “Skip Story,” “Minimal Story,” or “Gameplay Only” setting, I’m 100% for it.

But where we disagree is the idea that because YOU don’t want those elements, they somehow don’t belong in RTTS.

If your ideal experience is: play appearance → skip everything → play next appearance → repeat, then there are already other ways to enjoy MLB The Show primarily for the on-field baseball.

RTTS should offer something deeper because it is the mode centered around living through the career of a created player.

And honestly, I agree with your criticism of meaningless dialogue. If a conversation has absolutely no impact on anything, then SDS should either improve it or get rid of it.

But my solution is not to remove storytelling.

My solution is to make the storytelling MATTER.

If I talk to a scout, let my answers affect how teams evaluate me.

If I talk to my manager, let it affect playing time or my relationship with the organization.

If I make a career decision, let it change what happens later.

If I develop a rivalry, let that rival continue progressing through his or her own career.

If I reach free agency, make my decision actually feel important.

Give choices consequences.

And then give players like you the option to turn all of it off.

That’s the difference.

You want RTTS to let you play one player’s games.

I want RTTS to let me experience one player’s CAREER.

There is room for both. But stripping out the career/story elements from a mode called Road to the Show just because some players want to get to the next game as quickly as possible would make the mode shallower, not better.

If all you care about is getting into games as quickly as possible with none of the career experience in between, then go play FRANCHISE MODE!

I agree that there should absolutely be an option to skip the storyline and dialogue for players who just want to get straight to the games.

Where I strongly disagree is with the argument that RTTS shouldn’t have a storyline because “it’s sports, not an RPG.”

If all you want to do is play baseball games with no interest in your created player’s career, relationships, decisions, progression, or story, then Franchise mode already exists for exactly that purpose. You can play game after game, control a team, manage rosters, and focus almost entirely on baseball.

RTTS is supposed to be something different.

Road to the Show is literally about creating a player and experiencing that player’s journey. You start as an amateur, get drafted, work through the minors, make the Majors, deal with coaches, contracts, free agency, career decisions, rivalries, teammates, and everything else that comes with building a professional baseball career.

That is a story.

Your created player is the character, baseball is the setting, and RTTS is the career mode where you are supposed to experience that character’s journey.

So saying “I just want to play baseball” is fine, but I don’t think RTTS should be stripped of career-story elements to accommodate that preference when there is already an entire mode built around simply playing baseball.

The real issue isn’t that storylines exist. The issue is when the dialogue is repetitive, meaningless, or has no impact on your career. That should be improved.

Give us meaningful choices. Let decisions affect relationships, draft position, playing time, trades, contracts, rivalries, free agency, endorsements, and how our career develops.

And at the same time, give players who don’t want any of that a “Skip Story” or “Minimal Story” option.

But removing or watering down the storyline from RTTS because some players only want to play the games would be taking away one of the biggest things that should separate RTTS from Franchise mode.

If I wanted nothing but baseball games, I’d play Franchise.

I play RTTS because I want to experience my created player’s career.

The pitches boost work. It gives me 2x on swings and misses. The other two boost didn't work.

One thing I really miss in Road to the Show is the type of storyline we had with Mia Lewis in MLB The Show 24 & 25.

Having a recurring friend/rival progressing through baseball alongside my created player made RTTS feel like an actual career instead of just a series of games. Mia had her own journey, and seeing our careers develop at the same time gave me another reason to stay invested in my player.

MLB The Show 26 added some great things to the amateur portion of RTTS, especially the high school and college experience, but I was disappointed that there wasn't a recurring character or storyline that continued alongside my career.

For MLB The Show 27, I would love to see SDS combine the best parts of both ideas.

Let us start in high school and college, but also give our player a best friend, teammate, or rival whose career develops alongside ours. They could get drafted by another organization, make the minors, get called up, compete with us for awards, become an All-Star, face us in the playoffs, or even meet us in the World Series.

The character's career could change depending on our choices and performance, so every RTTS playthrough could be a little different.

Mia Lewis showed how much a recurring character can add to RTTS. Please bring that kind of storytelling back and expand on it for MLB The Show 27.

RTTS shouldn't just be about getting your attributes to 99. I want to feel like I'm actually living my player's baseball career.