New Jackie Robinson Day Program on MLB The Show 24

With Major League Baseball celebrating Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 and honoring the legacy of the player who broke MLB’s color barrier and became its first African-American player with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, MLB The Show is doing the same with the Jackie Robinson Day program in Diamond Dynasty.

And this year’s version is rather robust, tying into the series’ ongoing introduction of and education about Negro Leagues greats — like Robinson — who were starring in major leagues even though MLB was not open to them.

Jackie Robinson Day Program Structure

Unlike most other programs in Diamond Dynasty, this Jackie Robinson Day program is seemingly meant to be simple and easy to complete, enabling players of all skill levels to add Robinson and other Negro Leagues stars to their squads. The program’s reward path includes 4,200 Season XP — a clever nod to Robinson’s famous league-wide retired jersey number of 42, which all MLB (and MLB The Show) players wear on April 15 each year, honoring the anniversary of Robinson’s debut with the Dodgers — four The Show packs, one Barrier Breakers pack, and four cards from the Kansas City Monarchs team that Robinson starred for prior to joining the Dodgers organization.

Those cards are a 90 OVR Buck O’Neil, a 91 OVR Hilton Smith, a 92 OVR Hank Thompson, and a 93 OVR Jackie Robinson with a primary position of shortstop, not the second base he played more often at the MLB level.

To obtain all of these rewards, players will have to get 50 program stars. But all that takes is completing a single moment requiring players to get on base once in a game on Veteran difficulty for five stars, accrue 4,200 Parallel XP with any players for 10 more, and either complete a new Conquest map or a series of simple online missions — the hardest of these is 42 strikeouts in online games, which could take several Ranked matches — for the remaining 35 stars. Especially if players choose the offline Conquest route or nab the 10 stars from completing the Negro Leagues optional collection that requires the seven 85 OVR Diamonds earned through the Storylines that take players through the careers of Negro League stars outside of Diamond Dynasty, this program should be easily completed within a day or two.

And the cards in it are legitimate contenders to make most rosters.

The 90 OVR Buck O’Neil is a fantastic contact option at his primary position of first base, with a 92/100 Contact split, and also has great bunting stats to help keep defenses on their toes. His Diamond defense is somewhat wasted at first base, but having secondary eligibility at both corner outfield spots makes this card a bit more versatile than most first basemen.

Likewise, Hilton Smith’s 91 OVR card is a two-way contributor who could head to left or right field after throwing innings as a starter. He’s far more appealing as a pitcher than a batter, with a wicked five-pitch repertoire with a curveball, changeup, sinker, and slider that all have significant break — the curveball at 99 individually — and his H/9, BB/9, Pitching Clutch, and Control are all in the 80s. A 70 K/9 hampers him a bit, though, and he’s only a mediocre hitter, with an 84 Contact Against Lefties being his only non-bunting batting stat above 80.

Hank Thompson, though, has the sort of versatility that was common to many of the most prominent Negro Leagues stars in their playing days and that has translated to Diamond Dynasty. With every stat other than his 65 Power Against Lefties at 75 or above and positional eligibility everywhere but first base and catcher, this 92 OVR Thompson has the skills to slot into any weak spot in almost every player’s lineup. As is often the case with these five-tool, five-position types, he’s not truly outstanding at anything, but there are few better bench options.

But the best card of this program had to be the man himself, of course — and this 93 OVR Jackie Robinson truly is. With 100/109 Contact, 94 Vision, 105 Clutch, and 99s in both Bunting and Drag Bunting, this version of Jackie should live on the basepaths and be a nearly ideal leadoff hitter in the hands of skilled bunt-droppers online. 90 Speed is a little lower than players might want, and having Gold defense at an position where Diamond-level glove work is often meaningful is another minor ding, but seven quirks shore up his bat and the combo of Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter is always welcome.

And it’s Jackie. Come on.

Jackie Robinson Foundation Pack

In addition to the program, MLB The Show has brought back the Jackie Robinson Foundation Pack, which appears in the Buy Stubs section of the in-game store and on digital marketplaces. 

For $4.99, players get a number of cosmetic items — bat skins, equipment that includes a bat grip and socks, and profile icons — along with 5,000 Stubs, which typically go for the same price. All proceeds after fees from purchases of this pack go to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which provides scholarships and works to address the achievement gap in higher education.