If you are what you say you are... a superstar

So you think your Hall of Fame worthy? Well get off the pine and prove it big boy “the show” is calling do you have what it takes to make it? Utterly surprised and amazed when I opened my birthday gift this year from my sister and finding that it was a toy! WOOO so tired of socks and shirts, lol - Its been years since I got something I actually could play with :p, but she always knew I was beyond obsessed with my baseball for many years and for about the past 2 or 3 I’ve been quietly playing MLB THE SHOW 2006. Another major surprise to me of this gift was the fact it was on Playstation 2 my heart nearly exploded after reading all the reviews about the next gen counsels and seeing the images of what MLB 08 The show looked like I have to admit I was kind of sulking a bit (because I’m still waiting a year or 2 for the PS3 to come down in price before I commit to such a machine.. plus by that time all these 80$ + games may become “classics” and where I could drop 700$ for the counsel and an extra controller I’ll wait it out ;-) and use my PS2 which all the games now are in a fair range to gobble up dozens at a time). With that said. I continued to enjoy my time at my party with the family all the while just deep down thinking; ok what position will I be when I get home? What team will I try out for? Does this game have Fukudome it should have Fukudome as well as Evan Longoria ooo this is gonna be fun (both are missing by the way, but a quick edit before you launch your season helps fix this). So after completely zoning out my family for the remainder of the party it commenced, and I cleaned up the house then popped in MLB 08 the show…. And was not disappointed….

For those familiar with “the show” there really isn’t anything new to the mechanics they still have the meter pitching system and hitting is still based on a timing and picking your hot zone within the stirkezone of where you think the pitch is going to be. Some things have been tweaked and this is a definite improvement. One of my favorite additions is “Confidence Pitching” depending on how well you are controlling your master pitch and controlling counts a little blue bar grows above the pitch and indicates how much confidence your pitcher has before making it. Lose command of your locations and you will get burned. I was also happy to see they seemed to have tweaked pitchers performance abilities when in the past it seemed your pitchers just lost stamina based solely on the inning has changed so he just cant make it any more… its now a a more refined system breaking your pitcher down with the new confidence meter and total pitch counts affecting a lot more of the outcomes. You might be able to hit the outside paint with a 96 MPH fastball at the beginning of the game, but by they end of the 7th with your pitch count closing in around 90 you’ll be luck to hit 92 on the inside as well as command it to hit that spot in the first place… so many sliders miss there spots the breaks get smaller, curves will hit the dirt if you don’t release perfect. It definitely adds more depth and helps you control the outcome more. Some pitchers pitch to contact. Some are strikeout pitchers, but just like in real life if you expect to be a strikeout pitcher your not going to allow yourself to go deeper than the 5th inning running such high counts trying to light everyone up. Its easy to get them sometimes to chase that nasty splitter in the dirt and get the bounce which might turn a double play if it means possible going deeper in the game. (And hitters do chase if you get that sequence just right).. the confidence pitching also adds some dimension to who you want to pitch to. If you got a great clutch hitter at the plate with a man in scoring poition deep in inning 7 you closing in on 80 + pitches and have just recently lost some of that zip on fastball your better off walking the hitter putting him on the open base and going after that next hitter who you may have struck out twice already or grounded out 3 times so far. Its fun to figure it out and from just he sounds of the crowd to the control itself vibrating you get like a rush to your system and it feels so much more real.

You have the option to start a single season and just play the games, franchise mode, which is goal orientated and places, you in charge of every aspect of the team. From team management including farm directors, 3rd base coaches, your skipper, to scouting and controlling there focus in the regions, you can control how much valet parking will be to how the stadiums field pattern should be laid out. Setup TV contracts and also control all the promotions such as a Bobble Head night to free ticket promotions. Its quite in-depth and defiantly fun to play around in. I always like to take the worse team possible and mold them into playoff contenders.. This year im taking the Royals all the way and after a lucrative trade deal with Tampa Bay Devil rays I was able to trade a future prospect in CF and my Ace pitcher and get Scott Kazmir and James Shields in my rotation move my 4th start pitcher into the LRP role and brought up a great RP from my farm system who is training really well and should be ready to possible start by 3rd year in the league. I also was able to dump 2 AAA starters, a Shortstop and a grade B first baseman for Jose Reyes of the METS and while my season is still young we seem to be progressing nicely and the teams chemistry is really coming together.

But in all reality where this game shines is the career mode. The new updated Road to the Show in MLB 2008 is one of the most complex and overly intricate parts of this wonderful game. In past I was always a pitcher due mostly to the fact that in past installments of MLB The show no matter what position you picked you always had to pitch and you always had to bat for everyone with the option to scan ahead to your next appearance, I never felt like the real 3rd baseman or that I was really the outfielder in these older versions of “the show” so I stuck with pitching and dominated on the mound at least I could look at myself :p. BUT my friend MLB 08 the show has answered this problem and in one of the best ways possible “scenarios” you get to control the batter when he is up, and you also get to control your character while on defense in select plays throughout the game with a nice over the shoulder camera that automatically warps you to exact moment a ball (in my case) goes toward left field. It also has implemented new base running controls as well so if your on the bag you can control the runner anyway you like. This was a major upgrade and quite frankly has made me very obsessed with playing. I went with Left fielder as a primary position and 1st and 3rd base as my 2ndary positions, made myself a big boy 6ֻ 260lbs and as always a bad acronym for a name Robbie Indapar (better known to team mates as RBI or Robbing you in the PARK of all those homers.. im such a loser sometimes, lol ) . I signed up to be with the Dodgers and tried out for the team… boy was I awful while picking Dodgers stadium as a launch point for a left fielder may not have been the wisest decision I must of shown I had potential because they started me out with there AA club for a measly 100K a year, but I wasn’t expecting anything huge my first year. I played along mostly as a backup for the first ½ of the season earning my training points and being sure to meet all the goals and expectations set forth by my manager. Made him happy and in no time I was moved into a starting role at 1st base after an injury plagued our starter. Now first base is a defiant money pit you can gain so much experience points just on the Put Outs alone it helped to build me up much quicker then expected and soon after the return of the injured 1st baseman I was upgraded to starting Left Fielder for the AA club the remainder of the year. Ended up leading the league in doubles and stole bases and tied for 5th in homers. Defiantly not a great year, but it did have its moments.

The Dodgers cut me at the end of the season and decided it would be best maybe to try out for another team… I picked the Phillies and made there AAA club they offered me a 4 year contract deal for 2 million (yeah over 4 years with no option) and I took it, probably a mistake, but I was young and at this point I didn’t relies how fast some of the progression was going to be. I lead the league in year 2 and played in the minor league playoffs it was a decent season and all was well.. The following year I was again put into the AAA league and continued to earn and earn more and more points till I was nearly avg on the season almost a .470 batting avg. hit over 30 homeruns and lead the league in doubles and stolen bases again. I was getting very frustrated in the fact that after every single goal and expectation I met. I also met with my manager telling me “while I was ready to move up he wasn’t going to do it at this time” frustrated and angry I played threw the remainder of the year went to another minor league playoff run and bided my time. The next season following this last run was when I finally made the show as a utility man and was brought in as a backup 3rd baseman and Left Fielder. Also I had my share of plenty of pinch-hitting opportunities and many chances to prove myself. After about the first month and ½ of doing this and meeting my first 3 goals and expectations I decided to chance it and tell my manger I FELT I WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO BE STARTING… he gave me the chance and since I have not looked back… having just completed my first full contract with the Phillies I decided to resign with them for another long term deal this time MUCH MORE THAN 400K a year! And with option! This time. I am currently ranked 1st amongst all Left fielders in the league and have a status of ALL-STAR. I am still a long long long ways away from making the HALL OF FAME, but with a little more obsessive play I hope to make it and know I have the skills to do so….

In a nutshell this game is beyond addicting. You will be immersed in the strategy the development, just everything is done very well and the presentation and the announcers calls (while redundant after an afternoon of stealing homers and “getting around on one”) it is a great game and defiantly offers plenty to be enjoyed.