MLB® The Show™ - The Great Race of ‘98 Reignites Home Run Chase in MLB The Show 23

The Great Race of ‘98 Reignites Home Run Chase in MLB The Show 23

September 8th, 2023

Two of baseball’s most notable sluggers made history in 1998, and now you can play the new Great Race of ‘98 Program in Diamond Dynasty to earn player rewards celebrating the 25th anniversary!

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled swing-for-swing as they climbed the home run leaderboard – attempting to surpass the long-standing and highly coveted single-season home run record. The ‘98 season was one for the ages with must-see at-bats that invigorated baseball fans old and young alike. Now, it’s your turn to play through the historic moments of the Great Race of ’98 Program available today in MLB The Show 23.

Take on Moments and Missions based on the ‘98 season, play the new Showdown and Conquest map, or complete Collections to speed up your progress towards these rewards in the Great Race of ’98 Program:

Mark McGwire, 1B St. Louis Cardinals (99 OVR)
Sammy Sosa, RF Chicago Cubs (99 OVR)
Derek Jeter, SS New York Yankees (97 OVR)
Pedro Martinez, SP Boston Red Sox (97 OVR)
Jeff Bagwell, 1B Houston Astros (97 OVR)
Troy Percival, CP Los Angeles Angels (97 OVR)
Larry Walker, RF Colorado Rockies (97 OVR)
Greg Vaughn, LF San Diego Padres (97 OVR)
Jason Kendall, C Pittsburgh Pirates (97 OVR)
Robb Nen, CP San Francisco Giants (97 OVR)

Great Race of ’98 Choice Pack

In addition to the players in the new Program, the Great Race of ’98 Choice Pack features more players from the 1998 season. Choose 1 Diamond player item from one of two tiers: Rare (99 OVR) and Base (97 OVR), and you can earn this pack in the Program.

Rare Round:

Carlos Delgado, 1B Toronto Blue Jays (99 OVR)
Shawn Green, RF Toronto Blue Jays (99 OVR)
Kerry Wood, SP Chicago Cubs (99 OVR)

Base Round:

Brett Saberhagen, SP Boston Red Sox (97 OVR)
Eric Davis, RF Baltimore Orioles (97 OVR)
Mike Piazza, C New York Mets (97 OVR)
David Justice, LF Cleveland (97 OVR)
Edgar Martinez, DH Seattle Mariners (97 OVR)

Player items from the Great Race of ’98 Choice Pack can be collected in the Optional Rare Round and Base Round Collections to earn progress in the Program.

Great Race of ’98 Event

The Great Race of ’98 Event is a great way to earn even more player rewards and earn PXP with Monthly Awards and Topps Now players. Earn GR98 Johnny Damon (95 OVR) at 5 wins and GR98 John Smoltz (97 OVR) at 20 wins, and GR98 Series Vladimir Guerrero (99 OVR) for earning 12 wins in one entry (12-1 or 12-0) before double elimination.

Event Rules:

Set 3 or 4:
- Topps Now
- Monthly Awards
- Captain Series
Set 4:
- TA Henchmen
- Great Race of ’98
- Snapshot Series
Core:
- Topps Now
- Live Series

Min Player | 75 OVR
Max Player | 99 OVR
Max Team | 92 OVR
Difficulty: All-Star

After earning these player items in the Great Race of ’98 Event, collect them in the Optional Event Collection to earn progress in the Program.

Great Race of ’98 Showdown

Select 5 Diamond Batters to lead your Showdown squad, then draft your team and face-off against the 1998 National League Rookie of the year in Final Boss Kerry Wood in the Great Race of ’98 Showdown to continue your progression in the Program.

Great Race of ’98 Conquest Map

Attack your opponent’s territories, Steal their fans, Reinforce your territories, and Move your fans to expand your dominion in the Great Race of ’98 Conquest Map to earn even more progress in the Program while picking up rewards along the way including Stubs and Packs.

Diamond Duos Choice Pack 35

Diamond Duos Choice Pack 35 lets you choose 1 Gold or better player item with an increased chance to find the featured Diamond Duos 99 OVR player items: Great Race of ’98 Series John Franco (99 OVR) and Great Race of ’98 Series Jason Giambi (99 OVR). Available now in The Show Shop, Diamond Duos Choice Pack 35 costs 40,000 Stubs, and is limited to 1 pack per user.

August Monthly Awards Program

Julio Rodriguez gave a striking performance in the month of August clinching the Monthly Awards Program Lightning player spot in MLB The Show 23. The two-time All-Star hit .429 with 7 home runs, 30 RBI, and 10 Doubles while breaking a long-standing Major League record by collecting 17 hits over four games earning him the American League Player of the Month award for August.

Take on Moments to kick-off your August Monthly Awards Program progression and add Captain Series Madison Bumgarner (95 OVR) and Captain Series Gary Sanchez (95 OVR) to your Diamond Dynasty squad.

Complete Stat and PXP Missions featuring August Monthly Awards players across multiple game modes and continue your progress to earn Jojo Romero (95 OVR), Erik Swanson (96 OVR), Kerry Carpenter (98 OVR) and others in the Program reward path. Moreover, there are two Optional Collections and an Optional Exchange that you can complete to help you earn quicker progress. Stay the course, and Lightning Julio Rodriguez will be the newest, high-voltage addition to your Diamond Dynasty squad in no time.

August Monthly Awards

Julio Rodriguez, CF Seattle Mariners (99 OVR)
Kerry Carpenter, RF Detroit Tigers (98 OVR)
Raisel Iglesias, CP Atlanta Braves (98 OVR)
Mitch Garver, C Texas Rangers (98 OVR)
Adam Duvall, CF Boston Red Sox (98 OVR)
Freddy Peralta, SP Milwaukee Brewers (98 OVR)
Teoscar Hernandez, RF Seattle Mariners (98 OVR)
Sonny Gray, SP Minnesota Twins (98 OVR)
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B Baltimore Orioles (97 OVR)
Josh Lowe, RF Tampa Bay Rays (97 OVR)
Sam Hentges, RP Cleveland Guardians (97 OVR)
Luis Rengifo, SS Los Angeles Angels (97 OVR)
Kyle Bradish, SP Baltimore Orioles (97 OVR)
Jake Burger, 3B Miami Marlins (97 OVR)
Yusei Kikuchi, SP Toronto Blue Jays (97 OVR)
Max Kepler, RF Minnesota Twins (97 OVR)
Erik Swanson, RP Toronto Blue Jays (96 OVR)
Zack Gelof, 2B Oakland Athletics (96 OVR)
Jo Jo Romero, RP St. Louis Cardinals (95 OVR)
Cionel Perez, RP Baltimore Orioles (95 OVR)
Gary Sanchez, C New York Yankees (95 OVR)
Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants (95 OVR)

Roster Update

In addition to today’s new content, look for the 7th Roster Update focused on player attributes upgrades and downgrades. A total of 570+ player attributes are updated across MLB and MiLB players, including these new Diamonds and Golds:

New Diamonds

Julio Rodriguez
Francisco Lindor
Christian Walker
Bryce Harper
Brandon Woodruff
Tyler Glasnow

New Golds

Adam Duvall
Danny Jansen
Kerry Carpenter
Max Kepler
Royce Lewis
Yainer Diaz
Brandon Nimmo
Ke’Bryan Hayes
Jordan Walker
Gabriel Moreno
Gary Sanchez
Wilmer Flores
Kyle Bradish
Matt Moore
Eury Perez
Matt Strahm
Hunter Harvey
Shawn Armstrong

August Topps Now Week 5 Moments

Take the mound as Darius Vines when he made his MLB debut and picked up his first career win or step to the plate as Tim Anderson as he became only the 19^th White Sox player to tally his first 1,000 hits with the club.

Relive these and other Moments in the August Topps Now Moments and Missions, available in the August Topps Now Other Program, to earn the following player items:

Tim Anderson, SS Chicago White Sox (99 OVR)
Royce Lewis, 3B Minnesota Twins (97 OVR)
Ronny Mauricio, 2B New York Mets (95 OVR)
Kyle Harrison, SP San Francisco Giants (95 OVR)
Jasson Dominguez, CF New York Yankees (95 OVR)
Tommy Edman, CF St. Louis Cardinals (95 OVR)
Noelvi Marte, 3B Cincinnati Reds (95 OVR)
Johan Oviedo, SP Pittsburgh Pirates (95 OVR)
Bo Naylor, C Cleveland Guardians (95 OVR)
Darius Vines, SP Atlanta Braves (95 OVR)
Nick Loftin, SS Kansas City Royals (95 OVR)
Austin Wells, C New York Yankees (95 OVR)
Kyren Paris, SS Los Angeles Angels (95 OVR)
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF Boston Red Sox (95 OVR)

Challenge of the Week 24

Challenge of the Week 24, available in Quick Play, is your chance to earn Stubs for use in MLB The Show 23.