Important Notes - MLB The Show 23

Important Notes for MLB The Show 23

This guide covers critical warnings, pitfalls, irreversible decisions, and advice that every player should know before diving deep into MLB The Show 23. Whether you're playing Diamond Dynasty, Road to the Show, or Franchise mode, these notes will save you time, frustration, and regret.

Irreversible Choices & Missable Content

#### Road to the Show (RTTS)

Archetype Selection is Permanent per Save: When you create a RTTS player, you choose a primary and secondary archetype (e.g., Power Hitter, Contact Hitter, Flame Thrower). This decision locks you into specific stat caps and perk paths. You cannot change archetypes later without starting a new character. Pitfall: Choosing a Balanced archetype sounds safe but gives no standout stats; specialized archetypes are better for earning Caps faster. Advice: Pick a primary that matches your playstyle and a secondary that complements it (e.g., Power+Contact for hitters).

Equipment Boost Choices: When you unlock equipment slots, the stat bonuses are permanent but you can swap equipment. However, the Perk Points you allocate to each slot are irreversible unless you use a rare Perk Point Reset Token (earned from specific missions or bought with Stubs). Use them wisely—avoid spreading points too thin; max out one or two key stats.

Team Trade Requests: If you request a trade from your current MLB team, the front office may accept or reject it. Once accepted, you cannot undo it. Trading too early (e.g., after one bad season) can land you on a struggling team. Missable Content: Certain team-specific storylines and achievements (e.g., winning a ring with your draft team) are lost if you jump teams.

Collections Are One-Time: Once you lock in a card to a collection (e.g., Live Series, Team Affinity), that card becomes no-sell and cannot be traded or sold on the market. Pitfall: Don't lock in high-value duplicates or cards you might need for later exchanges. Always check if a card is needed for a later collection before locking.

Prestige and Parallel Progression: Earning Parallel XP on a card is permanent. You cannot reset it. Once a card reaches Parallel V, it gains permanent stat boosts. Missable Content: Some cards have Prestige versions (e.g., collecting a set of cards) that provide a better art and slight stat upgrades—these are time-limited and tied to specific programs. If you miss the program window, you may never get that prestige version again.

Seasonal and Event Rewards: Many packs, equipment, and exclusive cards are only available during a specific season or event (e.g., Finest, Postseason). After the event ends, they are removed from the reward path and often become prohibitively expensive on the market. Advice: Always complete as much as possible within each Featured Program or Conquest map before it expires.

Trades and Contracts Are Final (with limited do-overs): Once you confirm a trade or sign a free agent contract, it's locked in. You cannot undo it without reloading a save. Pitfall: Trading away a highly rated prospect for an aging veteran is a common regret; always check trade ratings and prospect potential first.

Rule 5 Draft: You must protect eligible players on your 40-man roster. Losing a promising prospect for nothing in the Rule 5 draft is irreversible—you cannot reclaim them. Missable Content: Certain historical or storyline scenarios (e.g., fantasy draft, relocation) are only available at the start of a franchise. You cannot relocate or change team settings mid-season.

Difficulty Spikes & Grinding Traps

Dynamic Difficulty / Legendary: The jump from All-Star to Hall of Fame is steep—pitch speeds increase by ~10-15%, and plate discipline becomes critical. In DD, Legendary difficulty makes perfect-perfect hits rare. Grind Trap: Trying to brute force your way through Legend difficulty without adjusting your approach (e.g., not using PCI anchor, not reading pitch tunneling) leads to slumps and frustration. Advice: Lower difficulty to All-Star or Veteran when grinding for stats, then raise it when you're comfortable.

Conquest Extreme Maps: The highest-tier Conquest maps (e.g., Showdown Extreme) require near-perfect play on Legend+ difficulty. These maps are designed for endgame squads. Pitfall: Attempting them with a low-90s overall team will waste hours. Grinding Trap: The rewards are tempting but the time investment vs. reward ratio is bad unless you're already top-tier.

M2O (March to October) Full Seasons: Playing a full 162-game season for a single team affinity voucher is inefficient. Better: Use M2O on shortened season (9-innings or a few games) to farm moments and missions instead. Pitfall: Mindlessly playing full games for minimal XP.

Parallel XP Without Strategy: Grinding Parallel XP on a card by playing full games against the CPU at low difficulty yields pitiful returns. Effective: Play 3-inning Conquest games or specific moments that grant double XP for that card type. Grind Trap: Spending 40 hours to get one Parallel IV card when you could have done it in 10 with targeted modes.

No-Duo Grinding for Collections: Trying to collect every Live Series card by pure stubs grinding without flipping the market. It's much faster to invest in market flipping (buy low, sell high) rather than mindlessly playing games for stubs. Regret: Many players burned out chasing collections before discovering flipping.

Warnings & Pitfalls

Stubs Scams: Never buy Stubs from third-party websites (e.g., “Stubs generators”). They are scams that steal your account credentials or console info. Only purchase through the PlayStation/Xbox store or use legitimate in-game earned stubs. Anti-Cheat Note: SDS has automated detection for suspicious stub transactions; buying from resellers can lead to a permanent ban.

Market Price Manipulation: The diamond dynasty market is player-driven. Be aware of buy orders vs. sell orders. Low supply cards (e.g., high-tier Finest) can spike in price when a new collection drops. Pitfall: Selling a card right before a collection that requires it - you'll regret missing out on 100k+ stubs.

Server Disconnections: In online play (Diamond Dynasty Ranked Seasons, Battle Royale, Events), a disconnection counts as a loss even if you were winning. Advice: Hardwire your console; avoid playing during peak server load (evenings/weekends). On PlayStation, a system-level crash may cause a 10-minute ban from matchmaking.

Equipment Durability in RTTS: Equipment wears out over time. Playing with low-durability gear reduces your attributes drastically. Pitfall: Forgetting to repair or replace equipment before a key game (e.g., playoffs) can tank performance. Warning: High-end equipment costs many stubs or training points to repair.

Team Affinity Progress Resets Partially: Team Affinity progress for certain programs (e.g., Season 1) does not carry over to Season 2. If you miss completing a TA Season 1 reward, you cannot earn it later except through the market. Pitfall: Assuming you can slowly grind TA over the whole year; you must finish each season's TA before the next one starts.

Online Etiquette & Anti-Cheat

No Rage Quitting Early: Leaving a ranked season game before the 5th inning (or after 5 if the home team is losing) counts as a loss for you and gives the opponent a win. It also wastes both players' time. Better to play through or forfeit gracefully.

No Bunt Dancers: Spamming bunt to distract the pitcher is considered bad form. While not prohibited, it often leads to retaliatory brushback pitches or toxic messages. Avoid it.

No Pausing Repeatedly: You are allowed a limited number of pauses per game (usually 3 per inning, 5 total). Using them to intentionally delay the game is unsportsmanlike. Regret: You may get reported for griefing.

No Exploiting Known Bugs: For example, the “R2 cheesing” glitch that prevented pitch tunneling was patched in Version 1.03. Using any current exploit (e.g., pick-off loop) can get you banned if reported. Play fair.

Automatic Detection: SDS uses server-side stats monitoring to detect abnormal performance (e.g., hitting 1.000 against legend difficulty with a bronze team). Warning: Using modded controllers or aimbots is easily caught. Banwaves occur periodically.

Reporting System: You can report players for toxicity, cheating, or idling via the in-game menu. False reports are rare, but serial reports can flag accounts for review.

Account Sharing: Lending your account to someone else who then uses cheats will get your account banned. Do not share login credentials.

Save Management Advice

Multiple Save Slots Are Your Lifesaver: In all modes (RTTS, Franchise, March to October), manual save before major decisions (e.g., free agent signings, trade negotiations, draft picks). Why: If a trade backfires or you mess up a contract offer, you can reload a prior save. Auto-save overwrites your last manual save if you aren't careful - make distinct named saves.

Cloud Saves / Cross-Platform: MLB The Show 23 supports cross-save between PlayStation and Xbox (via The Show Network account). Advice: Enable cloud saving to avoid losing progress due to console failure. On PlayStation, manually upload saves to the cloud after each session.

Corrupted Save Data: Rare but possible. If you encounter a save that won't load, do not delete it immediately—contact SDS support. There may be a patch fix. Prevention: Save often and cycle through 3-4 slots.

RTTS Character Delete: Deleting a character from the main menu is irreversible. You lose all progress, equipment, and perks. Regret: Many players accidentally delete their main character when cleaning up old saves. Always double-check before selecting "Delete."

Things Players Commonly Regret Not Knowing Earlier

Market Flipping is King: The fastest way to earn Stubs is not playing games but flipping cards on the market. Buy low (place buy orders just above the highest bid), sell high (place sell orders just below the lowest sell). Focus on cards with high volume (e.g., gold Live Series players). Regret: Playing 100 games to earn 20k stubs instead of making 50k in 30 minutes flipping.

Showdowns Are over Maxed: Showdown (Diamond Dynasty) rewards are often better per minute than full games. Even if you fail, you still earn some progress. Regret: Avoiding Showdown because it seems hard; practice with starter lineups until you master it.

Equipment Transfers Between RTTS Characters: If you have multiple RTTS players, you can transfer equipment via the main menu loadout. Regret: Buying the same diamond bat twice because you didn't know you could share it.

You Can Change Camera Angles Mid-At-Bat: If you're struggling with a certain pitcher's release point, you can change the batting camera to a zoomed-in view (e.g., Strike Zone 2) during the pause menu. Regret: Getting fooled by pitches because you stuck with a poor default camera.

Pressing R2/RT Reveals Pitch Location in Batting Practice: In practice mode, you can hold R2/RT to see the pitch location before it's thrown. Use this for pitches you struggle with. Regret: Wasting hours in the batting cage without this tool.

Ranked Seasons Tier Locking: Once you reach a higher tier (e.g., World Series), you cannot drop back to lower tiers even if you lose. This means you'll face elite competition for the rest of the season. Advice: If you're not ready, consider not advancing beyond the tier that gives good World Series rewards for your skill level.