MLB The Show 23 Celebrates the Negro Leagues in All-New Storylines Mode

MLB The Show 23 may not be releasing during Black History Month, but the announcement of its Storylines mode seems perfectly timed: the newly announced The Negro Leagues will serve as a gateway to the trials, tribulations, and – most importantly – triumphs of some of America’s lesser known superstars. Narrated by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Bob Kendrick, the mode promises to take you on an “entertaining narrative journey through short informational videos, followed by gameplay reflecting important moments in a player’s career”.

There’ll be eight players available in this first season of Storylines: Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige, Jackie Robinson, Andrew ‘Rube’ Foster, Hilton Smith, Hank Thompson, John Donaldson, Martin Dihigo, and John Jordan ‘Buck’ O’Neil. Future instalments of the game will focus on different players, with this addition representing a multi-year commitment from developer San Diego Studio.

In addition to the new mode, Sony will be donating $1 from each sale of MLB The Show 23’s Collector’s Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, through 31st December in the United States. A deep dive, detailing the mode and its various features, will debut later this week, on Thursday, 9th February.

Personally, we really love this feature. In addition to being terrific fun to play, sports games have tremendous untapped potential to tell very human tales. While we don’t expect the core gameplay to differ too much from MLB The Show’s existing Moments mode, we think all of the surrounding documentary content on offer here is going to elevate this mode, and shine a light on an era of baseball some younger fans may not be familiar with.