MLB The Show 20’s release is less than two months away, and we finally have a look at the game in action. The first gameplay trailer for this year’s installment in the franchise shows off expected updates like roster moves and new animations, as well as some elements that appear to be entirely new for 2020.
As usual, the trailer has more cuts than a Michael Bay movie — the better to tease fans with brief glimpses — but it’s possible to glean a few things from the footage in conjunction with the livestream schedule that developer SIE San Diego Studio posted Wednesday on the PlayStation Blog.
The first livestream, set for 2 p.m. ET on Feb. 6, will focus on defense. The developers will discuss a new “extreme catch indicator,” which appears to be the visual feature shown off from 0:41-0:45 in the trailer: the usual baseball icon denoting the landing spot for a ball hit in the air, except with a striped red ring around the circumference. And at the 0:55 mark, we get a look at Sony San Diego’s revised button accuracy fielding method, with an indication from a visual overlay that “fielder skill matters,” as the livestream schedule says.
Of course, there are some shots of new faces in new places — a clean-shaven Gerrit Cole, striking hitters out in a Yankees jersey; the Phillies’ Didi Gregorius, sliding into second for a double; and Anthony Rendon blasting a liner for the Los Angeles Angels.
Finally, the MLB 20 trailer highlights some of the new all-time greats who will be joining the series’ roster of baseball legends. We’ve got Gary Sheffield, who played for Miami’s team when they were known as the Florida Marlins; Red Sox slugger David Ortiz; and two of the greatest closers ever — Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, the only unanimous Hall of Fame selection in baseball history, and John Franco in his “Mets in Black” jersey.
MLB The Show 20 is scheduled to launch March 17 on PlayStation 4, and it could be the last entry in Sony’s long-running simulation baseball series to be exclusive to PlayStation. The cover will be graced by Chicago Cubs star Javier Báez.
