Now Is the Perfect Time To Start Playing MLB The Show 25 Again

November officially graces our calendars tomorrow, the penultimate month in a year that has blazed by us mercilessly. The world is seemingly changing on a daily basis, and the chaos of the world is a never-ending story of madness and corruption.

That's part of the reason we play video games, isn't it? The escapism. The distraction. The ultimate joy of simply enjoying ourselves in a virtual world.

For baseball or sports fans, having the chance to control our favorite teams and athletes always provides some level of "realistic escapism" and The Show has always done an incredible job of replicating baseball.

But we humans can be fickle and grow bored easily at times. Any game like The Show with weekly content can overwhelm with massive amounts of content, which is of course a blessing versus games that grow stale quickly. Yet, when the content pipeline is pretty much the same all year, and the way to play remains the same - a break can be a wonderful thing.

I'm blessed to be able to create content for a game I'd be playing in my spare time regardless. However, in terms of actually grinding the game, my playtime was reduced when NBA 2K26 launched as it does every year. A new game, a fresh coat of paint, and something entirely new to do - even if the newness is a faintly different shade of the newness from last year. Sports games are what they are, but I've found a new rhythm with switching my attention between them that has brought me more joy than ever.

Return of the King

There's never been a better time to start grinding Diamond Dynasty again. 2025 Finest is releasing next week, and Finest is always a huge celebration of the year's best performances. Not only that, but the series usually has some of the best card art of the year and that is the case once again with 2025 Finest.

You can't tell from the screenshots, but the card art has a fluorescent smokey animation that really makes the card pop. SDS continues to employ the best graphic artists in sports gaming, and their work is absolutely on display with 2025 Finest.

Aside from the upcoming Finest release, SDS has quickened up the pace with the major content programs. You can earn the first 10th Inning Boss pack in virtually no time at all, simply by completing the program exchanges and playing a game or two. I haven't played much since the beginning of September, yet I was able to easily complete these exchanges and I'm willing to bet that's true for others that took a break as well.

Double XP and Double PXP also means quicker program progress, and I've blazed through the September Spotlight content and grabbed the 99 overall Retro Lightning Ronald Acuna Jr. I sold a ton of cards I'll never use since I'm no where close to completing the big collections, which increased my Stubs balance to the point I could buy the Milestone Chipper Jones that costed me around 400,000 Stubs. This felt impossible when the card was released. I don't even care that the card has dropped in price since then, as earning Stubs is easier than ever.

There's a ton of free packs to be earned in Conquest maps, incomplete programs, and many of the premium sets that were once expensive collections are much cheaper to complete. I'm still far away from the big collections (I don't have a single legends and flashbacks collection close to done) but I don't care. I'm enjoying using cards and players I never use, in addition to my yearly favorites.

While the Double XP and PXP ends on November 4th, it'll come back sooner than later and at a minimum the Double XP will probably be permanent after the 11th Inning sunsets MLB The Show 25 for the winter months.

I've immensely enjoyed MLB The Show 25 this year, and it's my favorite iteration of the game since I started playing again with MLB The Show 19. I've thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay, found solace in playing without spending additional money in the face of expensive collections, and comfortably taken to my post as a more casual gamer and no longer pressure myself to stay up to date on content. Having all of this content to plow through now is a blast.

There's enough new cards in the game worth acquiring now that can be had for a little bit of time. A free 99 overall Milestone Mike Trout earned in an easy program? Yes, please. The same is true for Justin Verlander, who could end up retiring after this year and not be in the game for several years. We already know this is true for Clayton Kershaw, who got his Milestone program earlier in the year before announcing his imminent retirement at the conclusion of this World Series. I'm a Braves fan, and this easily feels like the strongest year for Braves cards to eventually assemble an ultimate-theme team to play in Ranked. Not every team is represented well, obviously, but the regular content has provided plenty of usable and competitive variety regardless of your skill level.

Diamond Quest continues to be a revelation, and having a ton of Conquest maps to grind and get free loot from almost has this time feeling similar to launch in terms of my personal excitement to play.

I'll have more formal year-in-review type content in the coming weeks and months, but for now, it's never been a better time to starting playing Diamond Dynasty again.