5 Players Who Should be in MLB The Show 25 Diamond Dynasty

A Blog by Greg

The release date for the highly anticipated 19th installment of the MLB The Show franchise is rapidly approaching and fans are excited. Despite San Diego Studios’ (the development studio behind MLB The Show) insistence that the Road To The Show and Franchise game modes will be getting a major revamp for The Show 25, the flagship game mode of the series is still Diamond Dynasty. Since its introduction in MLB The Show 12, Diamond Dynasty has not only been a fan-favorite mode amongst hardcore and casual players alike, but also the biggest “money maker” for SDS due to the virtual currency associated with the mode. Diamond Dynasty allows users to collect virtual baseball cards associated with a variety of current and former baseball players to use in-game. With every new installment of the game, a new crop of legends are added to Diamond Dynasty. Despite the game having over 200 legendary players and every current MLB player available to populate my roster, there are always a handful of former players that I wish could join my virtual squad. With the announcement that Manny Ramirez and Roger Clemens will be usable legends in MLB The Show 25, now seems like the perfect time to go over five players that I believe should be added to the game.

Hideki Matsui

Over the past few years, SDS has made it a point of emphasis to add Yankees’ players from the early 2000s to Diamond Dynasty. Last year, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams made their debuts while Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera were added in MLB The Show 23 and 21, respectively. Additionally, a separate game mode (titled Storylines), chronicling the career and achievements of Jeter, was created for last year’s game. So the question becomes, why isn’t Hideki Matsui in the game? Matsui has never appeared in MLB The Show’s Diamond Dynasty mode as a legend player, despite being one of the most iconic postseason hitters of all time. The game has a dedicated subsection of legend cards dedicated to incredible postseason performances, yet Matsui has never appeared in the almost 8 years that the collection has existed. A Hideki Matsui 2009 or 2004 postseason card would be awesome to any user in need of a power-hitting lefty or someone creating a New York Yankees-themed team. Get Matsui in the game!

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez would quite literally have the perfect MLB The Show Diamond Dynasty card. Not only would A-Rod have elite contact, power, and speed, but it would also come in the form of a shortstop/third baseman! The last time that Rodriguez appeared in the game was MLB The Show 16. Since he was still in the league at that point and a part of the MLBPA, SDS took full advantage of their right to use his name, image, and likeness in Diamond Dynasty. A-Rod had three separate 99 overall flashback cards in the game (one from the Mariners, Rangers, and Yankees), the most of any player in the game. A-Rod was so dominant in The Show 16 that the battle for the best card to use in the game was between his three cards! Every Diamond Dynasty enjoyer’s dream is to have a power-hitting shortstop with elite fielding and speed, and that dream can finally be realized if Alex Rodriguez ever makes a return to the series.

Tim Wakefield

Sadly, SDS has all but removed elite knuckleball pitchers from the Diamond Dynasty mode. Long are the days of adding Phil Niekro and R.A. Dickey to your rotation in order to absolutely torment opposing users. If SDS ever decides to once again embrace the fun side of baseball in Diamond Dynasty, then Wakefield needs to be added to the game. Considering that he tragically passed away over a year ago, it would be a touching tribute to include him in the newest installment and introduce him to an entirely new generation of baseball fans.

Tim Lincecum

It has been over 8 years now since Tim Lincecum appeared in Diamond Dynasty, and that is an absolute travesty. Lincecum had one of the shortest yet most dominant primes of all time and was easily one of the most recognizable players from the late 2000s and early 2010s. The two-time Cy Young award winner and three-time World Series champion was an absolute problem and utilized arguably the wackiest and most iconic pitching motions ever. The last time Lincecum appeared in The Show, he was given a 99 overall card that wreaked havoc due to his abnormal release point and absolutely disgusting pitch movement. A card dedicated to either of Tim Lincecum’s Cy Young seasons would be perfect for Diamond Dynasty and would be a pleasant surprise to any fan of the game who was fortunate enough to watch him pitch in his prime.

Barry Bonds

You all knew this was coming. Barry Bonds needs to make an appearance, in full form, in Diamond Dynasty. It has been over twenty years since Bonds has fully appeared in a baseball video game. In 2005, despite still being an active player, Bonds removed himself from the MLBPA licensing agreement, which forced developers to remove his name, image, and likeness from any video game. In his stead, now iconic generic player names were placed in the games such as Jon Dowd, Reggie Stocker, and Joe Young to name a few. Bonds has actually, unofficially, appeared in Diamond Dynasty before in the form of Reggie Stocker in MLB The Show 16. However, this card was more of an easter egg to fans of the previous MLB The Show installments, rather than a full-fledged card dedicated to Barry Bonds. While most have given up hope that Bonds will ever appear in Diamond Dynasty, with each passing year SDS is adding an increasing number of “steroid era” players. For example, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were introduced in 2023, Rafael Palmeiro debuted in the last edition of the game, and Roger Clemens was just announced to be in the upcoming MLB The Show 25. While it is still certainly unlikely that Bonds will be usable in Diamond Dynasty anytime soon, we can at least hold out hope as a community that one day we will be able to use the greatest hitter in baseball history in MLB The Show.

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