The marketplace has been buzzing in the last few weeks inside MLB The Show 26. Diamond Dynasty was alerted that April 24th would bring the first Legends and Flashbacks collection into the fold, and a couple of days ago we learned it would be future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera.
The legendary batsman retired after the 2023 season, disappearing from the card pool until now. Miggy cleared the mythical 3,000 Hits, 500 HRs, .300+ career batting average bars while winning back-to-back American League MVP awards in 2012 and 2013. That 2012 season is featured on his 99 overall Milestone card, celebrating his historic Triple Crown season where he led the league in batting average, home runs, and RBI.
Unsurprisingly, Milestone Miguel Cabrera immediately becomes one of the best cards in Diamond Dynasty. Debuting as the #2 overall card and the #1 3B/1B respectively, Miggy is the absolute juggernaut he deserves to be.
He's also insanely expensive and difficult to acquire. At least for now.
MLB The Show 26 How to Unlock Miguel Cabrera
The Collections Tracker here at ShowZone tells us that, as of this publication, unlocking Milestone Miguel Cabrera will cost you at least 1.3 Million Stubs.
Yes.
1,300,000. Stubs.
Jokes aside, these collections are never really inexpensive when they launch. I find it interesting that segments of the community always react negatively, as if this exact situation doesn't happen at the exact same time every single year. When looked at as present-day content that's incredibly expensive and virtually impossible to obtain, it's easy to see where the negative feedback comes from.
Yet, the very nature of these collections is scaling up from the Live Series collection in a sense.
Miggy edges out Signature Series Albert Pujols, pushing Pujols to #3 overall and fellow Live Series Collection reward Awards Felix Hernandez to #4 Meta Overall. That also places him directly behind the reigning #1 overall card in Diamond Dynasty - Live Series collection reward Milestone Troy Tulowitzki.
Unlocking Tulowitzki right now would run you at least 2.4 Million Stubs.
Like this all kind of checks out, yeah? Remember that SDS continues handing out free packs all year, and slides them in programs and flash sales. These really expensive collections will get cheaper within the next month. Then there will be another massive collection just like this.
Don't forget to enjoy playing the game!
These collections are intended to be completed over time. They're massive content drops, typically featuring big name players or new legends - sometimes both like Miggy. If you view this as something you were supposed to complete today, you'll be sinking inside the shadow realm of disappointment.
I have probably somewhere around 80 hours or so invested in MLB The Show 26 so far. I've completed every program (outside of Team Affinity) including multiplayer Events, basically all of the offline content (except the WBC Mini Seasons) and had very good fortune with live series pulls.
I only have 6 vouchers.
And I'm stoked because I enjoy playing the game this year. I'm having a blast. No, the game isn't perfect and yes; there are well documented issues still needing to be addressed.
I'm still having the most fun I've ever had with MLB The Show. I'm excited to have a long grind for Miggy, because it also overlaps with my quest to obtain Shohei and complete the Live Series Collection. I'm embracing the unknown journey, as my progress with the Live Series collection directly affects this collection and there's so many ways to work on completion.
There's also a 95 overall Awards Miguel Cabrera unlocked with 12 vouchers, versus the 21 vouchers required to unlock the 99 overall Milestone card. This is great for a couple of reasons.
Namely, it's a vastly more obtainable version of Cabrera that might end up being the only obtainable version for many players. This isn't some weak version of Cabrera either, as the Awards Miguel Cabrera itself debuts as the #5 overall card in Diamond Dynasty.
Check out the Collections page for the full detailed breakdown on every card series, how many cards you need for vouchers, and up-to-date market prices informing you exactly how much it costs to complete the collection in real time. Link your ShowZone account to your official MLB The Show account, sync your inventory, and get a detailed breakdown on exactly what you need to complete collections based off your actual in-game inventory.
April Spotlight 4 Breakdown
There's also business as usual with weekly Friday content.
Mike Trout decided to go on a homering spree and ended up as the April Spotlight 4 Program Reward.
Free Trouts are always the best Trouts. With Mods this year, you can turn this Trout into an even more polished threat and stretch the playability into the summer months.
Completing the program and unlocking Trout also unlocks a special mission, where you can unlock a free St. Patrick's Day Choice Pack by tallying 500 total PXP with Spotlight Mike Trout. Did you really need more incentive to use a free 90+ Mike Trout? Well, now you have one.
April Spotlight 4 Pack Breakdown
This week's accompanying April Spotlight Pack features the following players:
- Kenley Jansen, CP, DET (92 OVR) - #1 Meta Overall CP
- Jeremiah Jackson, 2B, BAL (92 OVR)
- Trent Grisham, CF, NYY (90 OVR)
- Ryan Ward, 1B, LAD (90 OVR)
- Noah Schultz, SP, CWS (90 OVR)
Reminder: You can complete the April Spotlight 4 Program by collecting all of the players from the April Spotlight 4 pack. This eliminates the need to grind for Trout and instantly unlocks him, while also contributing to your binder for the upcoming Retro Lightning collection.
I decided to actively complete the Retro Lightning collections this year, as I've never bothered to interact with them. I've been just buying the cards to complete each Spotlight collection, selling the card I get from the free pack in the program, and playing the stuff I actually want to do. I have zero issues at all plugging Stubs I earn from playing and clearing inventory into these cards to escape the weekly grind.
Mexico City Series Content Breakdown
The third-ever Mexico City Series takes place this weekend, featuring a two-game series between the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. Taking place at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú (home of the Diablos Rojos del México in the Mexican League), the series gets some unique content added within Diamond Dynasty.
Mexico City Series Event Breakdown
The new event is themed around the Mexico City Series and runs through the next several days.
If you play enough to earn the full 75 program stars, you'll earn Mexico City Series versions of Michael King and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Build your best squad using Legends and Flashbacks, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks players, and Bronze-&-under cards to compete in the Event towards these rewards.
Pro Tip: This is a great way to earn progress in the Multiplayer Program! If you've been shy about jumping into online play, hop into the Event and just focus on completing missions!
Mexico City Series Conquest Map
There's also a new Mexico City Series themed Conquest Map. The Padres and Diamondbacks each have four Strongholds, meaning you'll need to win eight games in this map to complete it.
Doing so will earn plenty of rewards, including two other Mexico City Series cards: Padres OF Ramon Laureano and Diamondbacks SP Zac Gallen.
Chase Pack 7 - 94 Awards Craig Biggio
Finally, the Chase Pack has regenerated into Chase Pack #7 featuring Awards Craig Biggio.
A perfectly exceptional 2B added to the Diamond Dynasty player pool. This version of Biggio debuts as Meta Overall #6 2B. Loaded with very good attributes and solid Quirks, Astros' theme teams definitely got an upgrade today.
Chase Packs can be obtained as random drops within standard Show Packs, as well as randomly obtained from programs and other means throughout the remainder of the year. Additionally, each then-current Chase Pack is included with each purchase of the 50-pack Show Bundle in the Show Shop.
How close are you to Milestone Miggy? Let us know in the comments!
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