MLB The Show 19 Re-Review: Taking Stock

[Steve_OS]

One month (give or take) into The Show and my opinions remain, for the most part,...

Written By: Elliott Jenkins

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[Caulfield]

Quote: Originally Posted by Elliott Jenkins

re:Way Too Many Errors ...Yes, players should be punished for attempting to play Paul Goldschmidt at catcher, but there should be much less of a discernible tax on centerfielders playing in left or right.

I'll admit I dont know how it works in game but IMO even putting left or right fielders in centerfield, there should be ZERO penalties. whatever reaction(range?) and speed attribute ratings they have should be the penalty that matters. If they possess good enough speed and range to play center, that should be all that matters, again IMO. same for putting a left or center fielder in rightfield, if they dont have the arm strength and accuracy to man rightfield, well, user beware. dont need any extra penalties in outfield, ZERO. unless you put a catcher or second/third/first baseman in the outfield

[KnightTemplar]

What? Every aspect that would make you throw this game in a trash can, but it’s still great?

[mariner690]

So I read that hitting and fielding are problematic but “ the game is still great”. Interesting conclusion.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[CujoMatty]

I’m not at all trying to say the errors and base running problems don’t exist. I hate when people belittle others experiences or opinions when they don’t have the issues themselves. This is just my personal take.

Thanks to other OS members figuring out the stealing mechanic ,once i *used the L2 then holding L1 button to steal it’s not only alleviated any issue I had with stealing, it also made it the best, most enjoyable experience I’ve had with baserunning in the show. *I like that it’s not just an automatic steal because the player has 95 speed. You still have to time the jump. *Personally I have *other issues with base-running, mostly AI decision making, but *the difficulty in base stealing isn’t one of them.

as far as errors , in I dunno how many games I’ve played , I really haven’t experienced anything that I thought was egregious in the error department. *I like that *it’s a concern to have Lourdes Gurriel *playing second base. I’m constantly subbing Teoscar Hernandez out in late inning close games *because he’s a fielding liability. I’ve had so many “is his offense enough to deal with his defense” moments with this years game and I love it. *Full disclaimer I do use button accuracy so any throwing errors are on me. *Which leads me to my issue. I wish they didn’t take fielding difficulty out this year. Button accuracy is way too easy. I’ve made 1 throwing error all year.*

I think the negatives you pointed out are actually positives to me. It used to be that I had to really concentrate *while batting or pitching but fielding and base-running was a snore fest and you could just mail it in . Not anymore. *Could they fine tune some of it? Definitely *but I still think it’s much better than before and the added strategy *of defensive *liabilities is helping my enjoyment.*

[KnightTemplar]

Quote: Originally Posted by CujoMatty

I’m not at all trying to say the errors and base running problems don’t exist. I hate when people belittle others experiences or opinions when they don’t have the issues themselves. This is just my personal take. Thanks to other OS members figuring out the stealing mechanic ,once i *used the L2 then holding L1 button to steal it’s not only alleviated any issue I had with stealing, it also made it the best, most enjoyable experience I’ve had with baserunning in the show. *I like that it’s not just an automatic steal because the player has 95 speed. You still have to time the jump. *Personally I have *other issues with base-running, mostly AI decision making, but *the difficulty in base stealing isn’t one of them. as far as errors , in I dunno how many games I’ve played , I really haven’t experienced anything that I thought was egregious in the error department. *I like that *it’s a concern to have Lourdes Gurriel *playing second base. I’m constantly subbing Teoscar Hernandez out in late inning close games *because he’s a fielding liability. I’ve had so many “is his offense enough to deal with his defense” moments with this years game and I love it. *Full disclaimer I do use button accuracy so any throwing errors are on me. *Which leads me to my issue. I wish they didn’t take fielding difficulty out this year. Button accuracy is way too easy. I’ve made 1 throwing error all year.* I think the negatives you pointed out are actually positives to me. It used to be that I had to really concentrate *while batting or pitching but fielding and base-running was a snore fest and you could just mail it in . Not anymore. *Could they fine tune some of it? Definitely *but I still think it’s much better than before and the added strategy *of defensive *liabilities is helping my enjoyment.*

I think the problem is it was a "review". If I went on what he said, I'd never touch the game. Cujomatty you touched on the stealing. I'm in the boat with you. I picked up a lot reading what some of the guys here, who know what they are doing, offered and actually "fixed" it for me. I wasn't even trying to steal because of it. Now, it's 100% better.

I guess I'd just like to look over his shoulder when he's playing and watch what he's doing. It was totally subjective, then blaming patches? I dunno. Whether you love the game, hate it, whatever, it was all over the place and really came off more as a personal gripe (to me anyway).

[Armor and Sword]

What never ceases to amaze me....is the wide differentiation of experiences we all get with the same game.

The last two versions of this game (18 and 19) have been nothing short of the best console baseball game experience I have ever had.....and yes there are some quirks here and there. But I am not feeling this review at all. Nor experiencing his frustrations. I love how fielders bobble more balls, misplay fly balls, but also are able to stick with the play and still throw guys out.

The past several years.....everyone was a gold glover. Now? You can clearly see and feel the difference between below average, average, good and elite defensive players. It is really nice to finally have that. And even the elite will make an occasional error. Like they should. I am not seeing a crazy amount of errors...not at all. I don’t get what the reviewer is seeing....because I am simply not experiencing that at all. I have seen comments about every diving catch in the OF is dropped.....ummmm no not at all. I have seen so many amazing web gems...and yes ones that are missed, smothered or dropped....as they should be. But let me put in this disclaimer.....I use auto fielding with manual throwing. SO my experience is certainly a lot different than the reviewer who is clearly using manual fielding. So I cannot really compare my experience to that of a manual fielder.


Hitting for me has been on point since day one. Not seeing or experiencing any frustration. The ebbs and flows of my offense thus far as been so cool and a wild roller coaster ride like IRL. My hit variety has never been better. Bloopers, liners, balls down the line and into the corner bouncing around, bleeders, nubbers, ball physics have never been better on any baseball game ever made. Another disclaimer....I use Timed/Directional which is far more ratings driven than the other interfaces so again....this is probably why experiences vary all over the board. Everyone plays with different interfaces, different levels, and of course I adjust sliders to enhance my playing experience along with a clean screen approach....so we are probably comparing apples to oranges.

Passed balls? Totally disagree with this notion they have reverted. Absolutely not. They are blocking much better, and reacting much quicker. In fact last night I threw out two runners who did not get great reads. One at second and one at third. It had me pumping my fist as I was able to get out of a couple of innings due to mistakes in base running by the CPU. That to me is a huge positive. Also balls back at the pitcher.....SO MUCH BETTER. I think in 70 plus franchise games now I have hit the pitcher 6 times. In years past it was all the time.


Stealing? I have Trea Turner and lead the A.L. in steals. I do not take any extra lead. I pre-load the steal then hold the L1 button and get great jumps most of the time. Counts, timing, pitch thrown, catcher throwing all factor into the results. But I have no problems stealing with real deal base stealers as well as good speed guys when I do it in the right situation. Again...I also tweak my sliders for base stealing (steal success to 6 every year for me and works like a charm along with the right approach and timing).

Seems like the reviewer is talking more about online hitting......I don’t bother with online as it is a totally different game online then offline.

If your an offline player, love baseball, love franchise mode (which needs a lot of love as we all know and don’t need to discuss here), love classic rosters....MLB The Show 19 is the best console baseball game you will ever play bar none.

I dreamed of a game like this back in 1987 as I played table top games like Statis-Pro and Stratomatic baseball with a bunch of my buddies as we replayed seasons together. Or when I was playing Baseball Stars and Bases Loaded on the NES.

This is console baseball nirvana man.


9.5/10 on offline gameplay (simply the best it has ever been)
9.5/10 on audio upgrades this year (amazing audio this cycle...really well done)
9.0/10 on Presentation upgrades (love the new score bugs, Hedi, dynamic storylines)
7/10 on Franchise Mode (this mode needs to be tuned and upgraded but is still functional with 30 team control. But it has been way too long since we got some much needed tuning).


8.75/10 overall. I can’t stop playing.

[Lisac]

Great review and I agree with everything said, add in the framerate issues that still rares its head in every game and this game (in my opinion) plays worse than last yrs