Fixing Team Mode and Player Models is Critical for MLB The Show's Longevity

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As a long-time fan of MLB The Show, I’ve seen the series go through its share of highs and lows. With the release of the 12th edition, MLB The Show 25, I had high hopes that this would be the most polished, immersive mlb the show 25 stubs baseball simulation yet. And in many ways, it is. But there are still two areas dragging the experience down: Team Mode and Player Models. These aren’t minor issues — they’re foundational, and fixing them should be a top priority in future updates or editions.

Let’s start with Team Mode. It’s supposed to be a centerpiece feature — a way for players to collaborate, compete, and express creativity in building their own franchises or squads. Yet it still feels like an afterthought. The menus are unintuitive, game modes lack structure, and player development within teams feels disconnected from performance. Customization tools are barely improved from previous editions, making team creation a stale experience instead of an exciting one.

This would be more tolerable if Team Mode offered a compelling season structure, leaderboard system, or engaging rivalries. But the reality is, players jump in, play a few disorganized games, and quickly lose interest. Without long-term goals, storylines, or incentives to stick with your team, the mode can’t generate the community or loyalty it was clearly designed to foster. The potential is massive, but it remains unrealized due to outdated systems and poor integration.

Now pair this with the second major issue — the dated player models. It’s hard to immerse yourself in a team you’ve carefully crafted when the players all look eerily similar or outright generic. Star players might have semi-accurate faces, but everyone else feels like they’ve been pulled from a recycled asset bin. Worse, there’s a complete lack of individuality in movement, emotion, and visual storytelling.

We’re in an era where gamers expect more. With advancements in motion capture, AI-assisted animation, and player-specific physics, the bar for realism is higher than ever. Yet MLB The Show hasn’t caught up. Even as stadiums become more lifelike, the people on the field feel stuck in the past. That disconnect is hard to ignore.

Fixing these issues isn’t just about aesthetics or mechanics — it’s about the future of the franchise. Sports games live or die based on their ability to evolve. Right now, the core gameplay is solid, but without major improvements to Team Mode and player modeling, MLB The Show risks stagnation. It’s time for the developers to listen closely to community feedback and allocate resources to rebuild these areas from the ground up.

If The Show wants to be more than a yearly roster update, then it needs to deliver a complete experience. That means immersive, intelligent Team Mode structures and next-gen-quality player visuals. Baseball fans deserve it — and after 12 editions, the franchise owes it to them.