MLB The Show 23: New Features, Updates to Top Modes and Latest Trailers

As MLB fans consume as much spring training as their schedules allow and wait impatiently for Opening Day to arrive, looking forward to a new instalment of MLB The Show is typically a welcome respite.

The Standard Edition, priced at $69.99, features Jazz Chisholm on the cover. Both Collector's Editions feature Derek Jeter cover art for the first time; it's also the first time a Yankees player has graced the cover since Aaron Judge in 2018.

The $99 Digital Deluxe Edition features an assortment of packs (one Captain's Choice Pack; one TBA Uniform Choice Pack; five Gold Choice Packs; 20 Show Packs and one Ballplayer pack) and 30,000 stubs; the $99 Captain Edition has fewer packs (one Captain's Choice Pack; one TBA Uniform Choice Pack; two Gold Choice Packs; five Show Packs and one Ballplayer Pack and 10,000 stubs) but includes physical items like a New Era MLB The Show 9FIFTY limited edition cap and a limited edition steel book.

One of the most exciting developments for the '23 edition of the game is a new game experience, Storylines, featuring eight legendary Negro Leagues players: Hilton Smith, Jackie Robinson, Martín Dihigo, Rube Foster, Buck O'Neil, Hank Thompson, Satchel Paige and John Donaldson.

Another new element, Captain Cards, allows a player to designate a position player and a pitching captain in lineups for the first time ever.

The World Baseball Classic will also be featured in MLB The Show for the first time ever in 2023.

Users are excited about the 180-plus legends available to find in this year's version of the game, a trailer for which dropped in the week before the game's release:

For returning game modes, Franchise Mode will see some tweaks including a revamped MLB draft including the new CBA rules. Road to the Show features the return of on-field training, but the new Ballplayer Hub is rubbing some players the wrong way (more on that in a minute).

The game (both the Standard Edition and Collector's Editions) officially releases on March 28 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox One Series X/S and Nintendo Switch, but many players have gotten early access. And some haven't been thrilled with certain changes, largely those made to Road to the Show.

The biggest problem users have with the '23 edition of the game, via an extensive Reddit thread, concerns changes made to the team management screen.

"The team load out screen wasn't the greatest last year, but it at least made sense and was easy to navigate," OP wrote. "This year's is some of the worst UI design I've seen in any application, on any platform. The amount of wasted space is truly astounding."

"The Show UI went from being the best in all sports games to the worst in the last 3 years," another user wrote. "We used to have fully customizable menus with our favorite teams, that was one of my favorite features."

However, many other players said that while they found the new team management screen jarring at first, they got used to it after a bit of gameplay.

In a thorough review as a result of his opportunity to participate in the Tech Test for MLB The Show 2023, Operation Sports' Cory Dell was largely optimistic about this year's release. He specifically lauded changes to gameplay that have made it more "tight and crisp," eliminating some issues with lagging from previous seasons.

"I'm pretty happy to report that my time with the Tech Test was enjoyable, and that the gameplay changes were certainly noticeable," Dell wrote.