Three Fan Favorite Players Who Need to Return to MLB The Show

MLB The Show is a game for baseball fans, and there are definitely fan-favorite players throughout Major League Baseball. Some are currently in the game because they are still active, like Freddie Freeman and Andrew McCutchen. Others like Tony Gwynn and Roberto Clemente are in the game and were both extremely well-liked by baseball fans all around the world, not just in the United States.

But there are a handful of baseball fan favorites who are not in the game right now. San Diego Studios lost their rights when they retired.

Here are three fan favorite players that need to return to MLB The Show, especially with MLB The Show 24 around the corner.

Bartolo Colon

Who doesn’t love some Bartolo Colon? Colon hasn’t been in MLB The Show since 2019. During that year, he didn’t even get that good of a Signature Series card. It was a 91 overall as a reward for the Sony Partners moments, specifically for the content creator Koogs46. The card had just one attribute over 100, and that was his stamina. Re-introducing Bartolo Colon to MLB The Show would bring a lot of attention to the game from fans. Colon is extremely well liked and still popular even five years after his retirement.

There are a couple of ways they could bring Colon back. One would be an Awards card for his Cy Young season in 2005 with the LA Angels. But in all honesty, his 2013 season was the best year of his career with the Oakland A’s. This could be an All-Star card or even a Prime card. I think his best card should be an Incognito New York Mets card for his famous nickname "Big Sexy" with his best stats, along with the velocity he had early in his career. He’d definitely have 120+ BB/9, but his H/9 would probably sit around 100 if they were to make it somewhat realistic. They could always boost his stats like they have for other players, so they are more usable.

One extremely cool thing MLB The Show could do is give him a 99 overall designated hitter card akin to what they did at the end of the year for Adam Wainwright for his final trip to the plate as a pinch hitter. This one would obviously be for Colon’s first Major League home run. They don’t have to give him as juiced as a card that Wainwright got, but he would probably have 100+ power vs RHP and make it usable enough to where players can use it if they really wanted to.