Season 3 of MLB The Show 24 is Blissful Redemption

It’s been a while since I felt the urge to write about Diamond Dynasty content. Season 1’s rocky launch set a questionable tone for Season 2, but SDS turned things around with impactful adjustments.

Then, out of nowhere, we were treated to an avalanche of fantastic content, featuring some incredibly fun cards and the brilliant Action Figure card series. The timing was perfect, and I found myself fully immersed, enjoying every second. From grinding offline missions to taking a ridiculously fun team into Ranked, and even playing Ranked Co-Op with friends, the game pulled me in when I thought my time with it was winding down.

As Season 3 approached, though, my excitement started to fade. I stopped playing online with my God Squad, feeling disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to use them anymore. It sounds counterintuitive, but the content was so good that I stuck to offline play just to enjoy the squad I had built, while still diving into Ranked Co-Op for my online fix. I’ve always supported the Sets and Seasons model, and I felt MLB The Show 24 was on the right track with its content design. Season 1 was worrisome with “Packmania” running wild and XP coming too slowly. But Season 2 was a pleasant surprise, ending up as one of the best content cycles in Diamond Dynasty history. Season 3 seemed destined to be a major letdown.

Until it wasn’t.

You Down with OOP?

When the Season 3 content was revealed, we learned that Team Affinity’s theme would be Out of Position—a series featuring Bizarro World versions of MLB stars playing in positions they never did in their careers.

At first, I recoiled, thinking this could be a disaster. My mind jumped to popular players awkwardly placed in random positions. But what we got was the exact opposite.

If you look closely, there’s lore!

Seriously, each of these Out of Position cards is a clever callback to the player’s career history. Take Austin Riley, for example. He was scouted out of high school not just as a power-hitting third baseman but also as a big righty pitcher. This kind of dual-talent scouting is common if you follow the MLB Draft. Players are often skilled enough on both sides of the ball that different teams consider drafting them for different positions. These cards are the ultimate “What If” series, and they’re far more nuanced than I ever expected.

I mean, Randy freakin’ Johnson as a stud outfielder with a solid bat, speed, and defense? Genius.

Pete Crow-Armstrong with Outlier and a disgusting pitch mix with elite attributes? He’s basically Randy Johnson except Randy Johnson is playing Left Field.

Follow the Leader

I haven’t dug too deep into all the new Cornerstone Captains yet, mainly because the Oneil Cruz boost is so much fun. Anyone with 90+ Arm Strength gets solid boosts to Power, Clutch, and Speed. If you enjoyed the Buxton boost from Season 1, this one might be even better.

I’ve been into hybrid builds all year—blending two Captains to double-boost players with similar attributes. I immediately selected Cruz and added Justin Verlander’s No Hitter Captain as a Wild Card in my rotation. My goal was to create the ultimate Arm Strength/No Hitter build, and the combination of players I ended up with has me thrilled. The best part of this content drop? I can use this hybrid boost with Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson’s Out of Position cards patrolling my outfield. These cards stand on their own, but with 90+ Arm Strength, they get a boost from Verlander because their real-life counterparts threw No-Hitters. It’s such a cool detail that even these Bizarro versions get credit for real-world accomplishments.

How awesome is that? Often, it feels like SDS misses the mark on certain design choices, overlooking obvious fun and engaging elements. But this time, they nailed it.

XP Reward Path

There was also an adjustment to XP earning and the actual Boss path. Finally, SDS raised the daily XP cap to 30,000 XP per day. This is twice the cap that was implemented at launch and one of the worst things about DD this year. For time strapped folks like me, this is a huge deal as I’m able to stay closer to the pack in the Season Program.

Speaking of, Hank Aaron finally gets his Hall of Fame card and it’s as nutty as you’d expect. He also fits the Oneil Cruz build and I’m grinding like crazy to get him as fast as I can.

The Closer

This content drop is fantastic. Season 3 has a fresh feel, and not resetting the power curve back to low diamonds was a huge win. Who expected that? Most of us were pessimistic, assuming we’d be stuck pretending to be excited about low-rated cards after playing with some of the best in DD history. That’s been the trend in recent years. It’s not that feedback isn’t considered; it’s just that there are often long gaps without communication, making it feel like the game we’re playing isn’t the one being promoted in live streams or content posts.

Season 3 of Diamond Dynasty is exceptional. With Madden, College Football, and NBA 2K dominating the sports gaming scene, SDS could have taken a back seat. It’s no surprise that The Show loses players as the baseball season winds down, and the content during this period is often lackluster.

But not this time. SDS pulled out all the stops, injecting fresh energy into the game. I’m excited to see what’s coming next as I continue to build a genuinely exciting team. Whether playing against the CPU, solo, or in Co-Op, I have more reasons to play The Show than ever before. I’ve even spent more time playing than writing recently. It may sound dramatic, but it’s sincere—SDS has made me feel like a kid again.

Hear me out.

This Out of Position content drop was so creative, unexpected, and meticulously crafted that it had a real impact on me. Whether anyone else felt the same is irrelevant—I was beyond excited flipping through my inventory, perfecting my Arm Strength/No Hitter build. My imagination runs wild with alternate realities where Nolan Ryan was an outfielder and Mike Trout was a starting pitcher. What would their careers have been like? How would the league have shifted around them? It’s fascinating to think about, and there’s a gameplay loop hidden in here somewhere.

Imagine “Altered Storylines” as a game mode—like the current Storylines, but with fictional narratives in an alternate universe where these Out of Position cards were real. I’d play that mode to death, and it would be relatively easy content to produce, allowing for all sorts of crazy alternate realities.

MLB The Show has never made me think this way before. Usually, I’m just staring at the screen, mindlessly playing. The game had gotten stale, which is why the Sets and Seasons model was appealing—it offered something different.

This level of creativity and execution is a treat to experience right now. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

How do you feel about Season 3 of Diamond Dynasty? Are you a fan of the Out of Position card series? Let us know in the comments!