After a brief early access period, MLB The Show 21 is officially available for all baseball fans on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Reviews for MLB The Show 21 have been largely positive thus far, and while players are jumping on they can redeem a free, limited-time gift based on a legendary Hall of Fame athlete.
Similar to the FIFA 21's Ultimate Team mode, MLB The Show 21 has a mode called Diamond Dynasty that allows players to build a "dream team" for single player or online matches. Teams can be built using "legends" like Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron alongside current-day players and the user's custom character, according to a PlayStation Blog post from April 19, and some of these choices can be purchased from The Show Shop using an in-game currency called Stubs to open card packs.
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Players who purchased special Jackie Robinson Editions of MLB The Show 21 could receive unique in-game cosmetics while supporting the Jackie Robinson Foundation, but to celebrate the game's official launch developer San Diego Studio is giving away a free pack until April 26. Based on Puerto Rican player Roberto Clemente, who held a number of accolades for the sport and was specially inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame just a year after his death in 1972, the gift can be redeemed for zero Stubs from the in-game shop.
Clemente famously wore jersey number 21 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, fitting MLB The Show 21's title. The number was briefly unretired last year on "Roberto Clemente Day," September 9, for a charity auction going toward the Roberto Clemente Foundation that supports natural disaster relief and disadvantaged communities.
As nice as it is to see San Diego Studio offer its fans a free gift to celebrate the game's launch and a legendary baseball star, certain issues with the next-gen title may make it difficult for fans to collect right away. Players have encountered server errors in MLB The Show 21 after launch, and while the developer shut servers down briefly to fix the issue it appears to still be cropping up for some.
Given this is the first entry in the series developed by a Sony-owned studio to be released on Microsoft platforms, it isn't surprising that there is extra strain on servers. Hopefully the concern will be solved sooner rather than later so players can jump in and build their all-star teams, with or without Clemente.
MLB The Show 21 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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Sources: PlayStation Blog, National Baseball Hall of Fame, MLB, Roberto Clemente Foundation