San Diego Studios just held their second Feature Premiere live stream for MLB The Show 23. This stream was focused on gameplay and was one of the biggest Feature Premieres they have done in recent memory. There are many changes coming to gameplay in MLB The Show 23. Many of the changes seem to be based on community feedback from the last few years. The game’s hitting, fielding, ratings, quirks, and even Diamond Dynasty are getting some major changes.
Fielding Overhaul
The biggest change to gameplay in MLB The Show 23 is fielding will be a lot more challenging. The fielding rating this year will affect a lot more of how your player performs in the field. Now, the rating will control how fast a player takes off after a fly ball in the outfield. This means that if you have an outfielder with a low fielding rating, it will be more difficult to get to those fly balls. This will allow more of them to fall for base hits. The rating also affects if your player commits non-throwing errors. This is like dropping a fly ball or mishandling a ground ball.
Of course, if you have an outfielder with high speed, you could have a bad take off and still track down the ball for the out. However, the fielding rating will now also determine how fast your throw animation is after making that fly ball out. This means if a runner tries to advance, it could take longer for you to get the throw off to get the ball into the infield.
This fixes a problem I have had with MLB The Show for some time now. I have always felt outfielders had too much range. Any outfielder could be thrown out there and play like a perennial Gold Glover. Now, the fielding rating will actually matter in the game. You will have to be more strategic with who you put in your lineup.
Throw Meter Changes
The throw meter is also getting major changes this year. For a while now, using the throw meter was too easy. You could literally close your eyes and make throws most of the time. Now, the region in the meter that you will need to hit to make a good throw will move depending on how difficult of a throw you are attempting. The size of this region will still be based on the fielder’s arm accuracy rating.
There is also a unique change when throwing to first base. If you throw to first base and hit the yellow region instead of the green region, you may still have a chance to get the out. If your first baseman has a good enough fielding rating, they will be able to dig the throw out of the dirt and get the out. If you hit the red region however, it will still result in an error.
Quirks
Up front, passive quirks have been completely removed from MLB The Show 23. Previously, there had been active and passive quirks in the game. However, passive quirks did not really do anything. They did not affect gameplay in any way. They were only applied to a player if they had a certain rating. For example, if a player had a high enough power rating, they would get the Bomber passive quirk. This quirk did not do anything but show what was already shown in the ratings screen. Now, the only quirks you will see are the ones actually affecting your at-bat.
There are also four new quirks being added into MLB The Show 23. These new quirks are:
- Pickoff Artist: increases success rate of pickoffs
- Table Setter: performs better when no runners are on
- Break Outlier: pitcher loses less break when tired
- Bad Ball Hitter: excels at hitting pitches outside the strike zone
It was also confirmed that quirks will still stack this year. Meaning if you have multiple quirks that could affect the at-bat, then the bonuses from all of those quirks will be applied.
Clutch Attribute Changes
This is the biggest change to me and the one I am most excited about. The clutch rating will finally mean something in MLB The Show 23. In previous years, it was very vague about what the clutch rating actually did in the game. This year, we will finally know exactly what it is doing.
This year, when there are runners in scoring position, the batting clutch rating will replace the contact rating for batters. This means players with a high clutch rating will perform better in key situations and produce more RBIs. On the flip side, pitching clutch will replace the H/9 rating for pitchers when runners are in scoring position. These pitchers will be able to shut the door on these scoring opportunities.
This change is going to affect every part of MLB The Show 23. Players in Diamond Dynasty and Franchise will have to be much more strategic with their lineups. Players will want to maximize the chance that players with high clutch come to the plate with runners in scoring position. Players will also want to make sure they have at least one high pitching clutch relivers to help them get out of those bases loaded situations.
RTTS players will also have to rethink how they increase their attributes throughout their career. If they go just for contact or H/9 and ignore clutch, they will be vulnerable in the most critical situations. It cannot be overstated how big of a change this will have on MLB The Show 23.
Swing Analysis
Swing analysis in MLB The Show has been broken and inconsistent for some time now. It was not always accurate and would show up after your swing. It also did not show what attributes contributed to your swing. This is all changing this year.
Now, swing feedback will show up in real time. Also, the relevant attributes will be shown as part of the feedback. You’ll also see the swing timing, PCI placement, as well as contact type, exit velocity and launch angle. Swing timing was moved to the left side of the feedback to indicate that it is the most important part of determining what happens in the rest of the swing.
Gameplay Styles
There are three gameplay styles in MLB The Show: casual, simulation, and competitive. The competitive gameplay style has been completely reworked from the ground up this year. Competitive gameplay is the style used for both the online and offline modes within Diamond Dynasty. The main focus of this gameplay style is to showcase the skill of the player.
The main difference will be that there are a lot less foul balls in MLB The Show 23. It will be much easier to strike out batters when they swing at bad pitches. This is part due to the outer part of the PCI being reduced by 50% in competitive gameplay compared to casual and simulation gameplay. This means it will be harder to get a piece of balls outside of the zone.
Rules Changes
There are several new rules that will go into effect in MLB this season. Some of those will also be reflected in MLB The Show 23. The first one that will be in the game is the new shift restrictions. This means now there must be four infielders with their feet on the dirt, and there must be two on each side of second base.
The pitch clock in head-to-head modes has already been in MLB The Show for a while now, and there will be no changes to it this year. The pickoff limit and larger bases will both not be included in game this year.
The biggest rule change though actually happened last year when the universal DH was introduced to MLB. Now, the universal DH is finally coming to Diamond Dynasty. Players will be able to put any player they want as the DH. This includes two-way players like Shohei Ohtani. Two-way players will now have secondary positions that will allow them to play as a pitcher, fielder, or DH for the first time.
Tech Test
What do you think of all of these changes coming to MLB The Show 23? If you want, you can test them out for yourself for free. Starting tomorrow until 2/21, you can play the technical test for MLB The Show 23. All you need is to be 18 years or older in the US or Canada and have an internet connected console. If you meet those requirements, you can download the tech test and play the game for an entire week for free before it comes out. Streaming and screenshotting the game is also allowed during the tech test.