While PlayStation fans know it as an annual release on Sony consoles, MLB The Show 21 made history this year. For the first time in the sixteen year franchise history, the annual baseball game arrived on Microsoft's rival Xbox consoles. Not only that, Xbox fans can pick up the game free of charge with Game Pass. While making the game available on a competitor's console likely wouldn't have been high on Sony's list of things to do, PlayStation players do get cross-platform compatibility between the PS4 and PS5 versions.

For PlayStation players, the experience will retain many of the familiar game modes fans expect to see such as Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty among others. New for everyone this season is a game mode that allows players to create their own ballparks including stadium dimensions, scenery options, wall height, and more.

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Considering this is a brand new experience for Xbox players, there are likely going to be some elements to the game that don't make sense or come off as a little confusing. One such aspect to the game is something known as CFD Drain. Here's everything MLB The Show 21 players need to know about this strange statistic during a game.

While the game may be a bit vague on what this statistic actually is, players will likely begin to see it appear with pitchers. Essentially, this is a confidence statistic for a pitcher and it will likely fluctuate during a game based on how well or poorly they're playing. It can also influence how well the player performs as well.

A pitcher's throwing session can be dramatically altered depending on which way this number goes. For example, if the pitcher is getting rattled, a situation caused by the hitting team to get multiple hits and runs in a row, the confidence meter begins to drain. This, in turn, makes it harder for the pitcher to throw at the targets made by the catcher, likely causing less strikes and more balls being thrown.

Alternatively, if the pitcher starts really performing well by throwing strikes and stringing together strike outs, the confidence meter will rise. Higher confidence in pitching means that the pitcher will have a much easier time hitting catcher targets, especially when throwing at the corners of the strike zone.

When playing Road to the Show, players can influence this stat by how well the pitcher's relationship is with their teammates. The higher the relationship status, the slower the confidence will drain.

MLB The Show 21 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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