ST. LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 7: Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago ... [+]
The newest legends class for MLB The Show is enormous, and it might be the most impacting in the series history.
Sony San Diego has already announced and introduced six new legends through the Negro Leagues Storylines feature, but in a reveal video shared on Monday morning, a crop of non-Negro-League legends were confirmed highlighted by retired sluggers Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.
Here is the list of every new legend confirmed and the video revealing them all.
Negro League Legends
- Rube Foster
- Satchel Paige
- John Donaldson
- Hilton Smith
- Buck O’Neill
- Hank Thompson
- Martin Dihigo
- Jackie Robinson*
*- Robinson was previously in the game, but he will be represented as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs this year as a part of the Negro Leagues Storyline feature and unlockables.
New Non-Negro League Legends
- David Wright
- Carlos Pena
- Ian Kinsler
- Matt Cain
- Jake Peavy
- Chili Davis
- Derek Jeter
- Sammy Sosa
- Mark McGwire
Wright, Jeter, Sosa and McGwire have been four of the most requested legends for the game over the past decade. Having all four land in MLB The Show 23–along with the depth and edutainment of the Negro League: Storylines–makes this one of the most high-profile legends classes in the game’s history.
Jeter is the cover athlete for the Captain’s Edition, so the news of his inclusion has been known for awhile. However, the video above that featured Davis, Sosa, Wright and McGwire serves as the first confirmation for those legends.
Sosa and McGwire’s inclusion could be a breakthrough of sorts for players whose careers became stained from the association with performance-enhancing drugs.
Sony didn’t announce three of the other major legends included in this group, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez or Roger Clemens, but perhaps this year’s game will serve as a test case before more greats from the era are accepted in, and revenue is produced from their inclusions.
Perhaps Sony will do something even bigger and release Bonds, A-Rod and Clemens during the Major League season. That seems unlikely, but we’ll stay tuned as we move toward the official release for the game (early access on March 24 and the official release on March 28).
