MLB The Show 25: 9th Inning Program Breakdown

Don't ask me how, but we're at the 9th Inning Program already in Diamond Dynasty. MLB The Show 25 has inched ever closer to the end of the content cycle, and soon we'll be talking about pre-release hype for MLB The Show 26.

But we still have Postseason content, Finest, and of course the 9th Inning Program to go yet.

1st Drop Missions

Some relatively quick missions get the XP earning going. More missions will be added on October 17.

• Tally 12 Strikeouts in Diamond Dynasty — 5,000 XP
• Tally 25 Home Runs — 7,500 XP
• Tally 75 Extra-Base Hits — 10,000 XP

Player Exchanges (Up to 50,000 XP)

Convert cards into XP with these exchange tiers:

• 10,000 Value — 5,000 XP
• 14,000 Value — 7,000 XP
• 20,000 Value — 10,000 XP
• 26,000 Value — 13,000 XP
• 30,000 Value — 15,000 XP

Total all 5 tiers = 50,000 XP

Cornerstone Evolution Players

Featured 99 OVR Cornerstones:

• Tom Seaver
• Johnny Bench
• Tony Gwynn

Cornerstone Choice Packs are unlocked at:

• 7,500 XP
• 22,500 XP
• 57,500 XP

Complete their evolution programs to earn the full 99 OVR versions. The 9th Inning Cornerstones continue the trend of offering competitive cards at the current power level. These aren't the best versions of Gwynn, Seaver, or Bench; but they'll certainly fit into a squad for new players or those that haven't played in a while.

XP Path Reward: Retro Finest Joc Pederson

Unlock Retro Finest Joc Pederson at 115,000 XP.

9th Inning Bosses

This program's featured bosses:

• Chris Sale - #5 SP Meta Overall
• Andrew McCutchen - #9 CF Meta Overall
• Corey Seager - #6 SS Meta Overall

• Boss Pack 1: Earned at 155,000 XP
• Boss Pack 2: Earned at 265,000 XP

New: The Boss pack also offers a redeemable voucher for 25,000 Stubs. Perhaps I don't know ball, but I'm not sure why you'd take this over the cards when they'll almost certainly maintain a value of more than 25,000 Stubs. I also don't understand Bitcoin, so maybe it's just me.

In terms of the cards themselves, we get a very solid group of current-day stars in this pack. For me, Sale is one of my absolute favorite pitchers to use in Diamond Dynasty. Between his release and nasty pitch mix, with absurd Break on his pitches, Sale is a joy to use and a challenge to hit. Seager packs a powerful punch at SS. He has one of the most beloved swings in all of Diamond Dynasty, and gets nearly maxed out hitting attributes at the major categories and also hits Diamond Fielding at Parallel 2. Finally, Cutch gets a very good iteration here that probably suffers more from positional depth than the other two Bosses. There's so many outfielders available that you can easily slot someone comparable in, whereas I think Sale and Seager stand out enough to warrant picks. Still, Cutch is great and won't be a bad choice at all.

Rounding out the program at 325,000 XP is a Full Moon 2.0 pack and a Home Run Derby X Choice Pack at 340,000 XP. Beyond that, you'll get your wheel spins to potentially grab some sweet packs to rip.

Who are you taking in the 9th Inning Boss pack? Let us know!