MLB The Show 25: Speedway Classic Program Breakdown

For the first time ever, Major League Baseball is staging official games in the state of Tennessee. Long viewed as a potential home city for a new expansion team, MLB is taking over Bristol Motor Speedway in the inaugural series featuring the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. The speedway features a radically redesigned infield to feature the playing surface, with field-level seating as well as traditional seating around the track. This hugely unique stadium is also featured in-game and earned in the program.

Program Breakdown

Stars Needed: 75 total

Earning Stars

• Moments (6) – 30 stars
• Player Missions (6) – 30 stars (Matt McLain, Spencer Strider, Chase Burns from the program)
• General Stat Missions (6) – 30 stars
• Repeatable PXP Missions (5 stars each):
• With Speedway Classic players
• With Atlanta Braves players
• With Cincinnati Reds players

Rewards

• Bristol Motor Speedway Stadium
• Themed icons, uniforms, bats
• Deluxe Premium Set Choice Pack
• 97 Speedway Series Matt McLain
• 98 Speedway Series Spencer Strider
• 98 Speedway Series Chase Burns
• 99 Speedway Series Ronald Acuña Jr

Speedway Acuna Jr. is the big prize in the program, and the 99 overall Right Fielder debuts as the #4 RF according to True Overall and #7 in Meta Overall. A while back, Acuna received a 94 overall Chase card that this version builds upon strongly. With 100+ in all major offensive attributes except Vision, Speedway Acuna has a very balanced offensive profile. A very notable upgrade over the 94 overall is the return of Acuna's 99 Speed. This makes him much more dangerous on the basepaths with his 99 Stealing, and also mitigates some of the defensive deficiency as he comes stock with a nice 69 Fielding and not-so-nice 64 Reaction. He'll still get terrible jumps, but the Speed can help offset at times.

This will be another 99 overall that ends up derided, as some 99's will always be better than others. It's easy to point to the lack of Quirks here as a detractor, but overall, this is a very good free card that can probably start for most teams. We're getting to the point of the year where it's going to be less about cards being "better" and more about how they fit into your constructed squad. Expecting every single new card to be explosively better than the other 99 overall cards is a losing game.

I'm a Braves fan and I'm stoked to add this 99 overall Acuna to my team, replacing the 94 overall that I just got to P5. Now I get a whole new parallel grind to enjoy with a favorite player. Big win for the good guys.

Speedway Conquest Map

There is also a new Speedway Conquest map, though it does not directly contribute to program completion. Instead, it's a themed map featuring two strongholds (Braves and Reds) that will pay out a handful of Show packs, Ballin' packs, and Jumbo packs in addition to 5000 XP and the usual hidden rewards within the map. Depending on how you tackle the program, you can utilize this map to complete missions along the way.

Closing Thoughts

This is a really cool program, featuring an entirely new stadium that is a recreation of the never-before-seen Bristol Motor Speedway setup. The fact that SDS was able to make this happen to celebrate the series is amazing, and it's a very fresh addition to the game overall.

Braves and Reds fans get a handful of cards for theme teams, and everyone gets a free 99 Ronald Acuna Jr.

Will you be starting any cards from the program on your squad? Will Bristol Motor Speedway become your new home ballpark? Let us know in the comments!