On this page
On a day meant for celebration and reflection, not all is well in Diamond Dynasty.
Jackie Robinson Day Program Brings Players, Collection
April 15 is the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic first appearance with the Brooklyn Dodgers, marking the first time a Black player suited up in Major League Baseball, and the celebration of Jackie Robinson Day is also occasion to celebrate and honor Robinson and other Negro Leagues titans of the time in both real life and MLB The Show. This year, Diamond Dynasty's content revolves around a Jackie Robinson Day Program, Event, and Collection.
The program is fairly simple, but expansive: Players can complete Moments, Missions, a Showdown, and a Conquest map for progress on its XP reward path, which yields seven Diamond-tier players — five of whom are Negro Leagues legends, with Black hurler Dontrelle Willis taking a sixth spot ... and Kris Bryant being the seventh, by virtue of his winning Rookie of the Year, now known as the Jackie Robinson Award — for full completion. The Event is a Robinson-centric one, with players building rosters of Negro Leagues and Awards Series players but also players 35 years of age and older and 75+ Speed, and progress in the XP reward path netting players a 90 OVR Biz Mackey with eligibility at every defensive position; it runs through April 21st.
The Showdown and Conquest map are also straightforward: The former pits players against Robinson's Dodgers and others and, like the World Baseball Classic Showdown, holds rewards for each win en route to its final challenge, while the latter — a 42 map that outlines Robinson's number — has rewards for each Stronghold conquered and a 90 OVR Turkey Stearnes at its finale.
In total, the Jackie Robinson Day program brings 42 new cards to Diamond Dynasty, an unusually substantial number for what is generally a smaller program. And while that raw amount of content is good, the somewhat controversial parts of the program's structure are the inclusion of a Collection that incentivizes obtaining most or all of these players, and Packs that provide some of them that aren't free to unlock via grinding in game — arguably monetizing the interest in Robinson and other Negro Leaguers included in Diamond Dynasty and inarguably putting the best version of Robinson, the 94 OVR obtained by locking 42 players into that aforementioned Collection, at the end of a path that requires substantial investment of time or money to unlock. Especially given that the history of Robinson programs in Diamond Dynasty has been smaller, monetization-free ones, that choice was bound to ruffle feathers.
A more expansive Jackie Robinson-centric program in Diamond Dynasty is a good thing, as he is one of the more consequential figures not just in baseball but in 20th-century American history. That gripes about content featuring him are even possible on Jackie Robinson Day — when his legacy should be celebrated and what he endured and stood for should be contemplated — is a misfire from San Diego Studios, simply put.
Multiplayer 2 Program, New Ranked Rewards Add Turner, Yelich, Santander
The end of the first Weekend Classic on Tuesday coincided with the release of the new Ranked Season and Multiplayer 2 Program, which bring 92 OVR versions of Trea Turner, Christian Yelich, and Anthony Santander to the fore.
Turner and Yelich are the two World Series-level rewards in Ranked and are obtainable via making the climb to an 800 rating in Ranked play before the end of the season, which arrives on May 12. (Players can also buy Turner and Yelich from the market and obtain unsellable and cosmetically gaudy versions of them at the 1,000-point G.O.A.T. tier in the Ranked ladder.) Santander is the last of five player rewards on the Multiplayer 2 program's XP reward path, which will also conclude on May 12, and comes as one of the most historically popular switch-hitting options in DD.
This Multiplayer 2 program is completable as of now, before any additional Missions are released, but it's a sure bet it will be easier to tackle and make progress in as those supplements become available in weeks to come.
SDS Sends Message On Exploits, Cheaters
Somewhat more prominent than the Jackie Robinson Day content on social media today, however, was SDS sending out a tweet addressing cheating in MLB The Show:
We’re aware of players using exploits, cheats and unauthorized tools to gain an unfair advantage; which is against our Terms of Service. We have systems in place and are taking action wherever possible. Ensuring a fair experience for all players remains a top priority, and we’re actively working to address these issues throughout the season.This is, on its face, a good and appropriate message to send, especially after the first Weekend Classic likely revealed the prevalence of cheaters to both players encountering them and to developers via in-game telemetry. But with this launch of MLB The Show leaving many dissatisfied with the game and Diamond Dynasty within it, that tweet has become a lightning rod for all manner of other complaints in the comments, and the lack of specifics beyond "taking action wherever possible" leaves much room for speculation and frustration to bubble.
At this point, announcing specific actions after they are taken might be a smarter decision than a simpler, less aggressive "we see you in the comments"-style acknowledgment.
