MLB The Show breaks barrier with Negro League players

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March 28, 2023

By Jonathan Landrum Jr., Associated Press

Digital rendering of Cuban baseball player Martín Dihigo from the game MLB The Show 23. (Sony Interactive Entertainment via AP)

MLB The Show has broken a video game barrier: For the first time, the franchise will insert some of the greatest Negro League players — from Satchel Paige to Jackie Robinson — into the 2023 edition of the game as playable characters.

Video gamers are now able to venture into a storyline mode involving eight Negro League legends through MLB The Show 23, which releases Tuesday. The narrative experience will feature short videos about the players along with gameplay focused on the epic moments of their careers.

Along with Robinson and Paige, the game also features other players including Buck O’Neil, Rube Foster, Hilton Smith, John Donaldson, Hank Thompson and Martin Dihigo.

“This made sense on multiple levels,” said Bob Kendrick, the narrator of storyline experience and president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which is located in Kansas City, Missouri. Along with the museum, he partnered with Sony for the historic Black players’ insertion into the game.

“The way the Negro League players played, it fits perfectly for a video game,” he said. “There were so many gaming fans who have been clamoring for the inclusion of the Negro Leagues. People were popping into my timeline on social media. This has been stirring for several years.

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