My Quest for Darren O’Day Begins
So I fired up MLB The Show 25 yesterday dead set on getting Darren O’Day in my bullpen. That submarine dude’s delivery always cracks me up – looks like he’s playing twister while pitching. First thing I did was check the standard roster. Scrolled through relievers for like 10 minutes straight. No sign of him anywhere. Figured he might be retired already since last season.
Diving into the Marketplace Mess
Jumped into the marketplace next. Typed “O’Day” in the search box and got nothing but random bronze cards. Tried different filters – team, position, year – still nothing. Almost smashed my controller thinking the game glitched. Then I remembered those veteran players usually get added through special programs. Went to the programs tab and started digging.
The Grind for His Veteran Card
Found him under the “Old School Heat” program buried like three menus deep. Needed 15 program stars to unlock his silver card. The missions were brutal:
- Get 10 strikeouts with sidearm pitchers
- Win 3 extra inning games
- Pitch 5 innings without walking anyone
Took me four hours of nonstop grinding. Almost lost my mind when my closer walked a dude in the ninth inning of my fifth attempt. Finally got enough stars around midnight. Went back to the program screen holding my breath – there he was! A 75OVR silver card with that funky delivery animation.
Why They Made It So Damn Hard
Thing that pisses me off? Last year O’Day was a free agent you could sign instantly. Now they lock him behind these grindy missions just cause he retired. Same crap happened with Fernando Rodney’s card last month. Makes me wonder if they do this on purpose to keep players hooked longer. Whatever, at least I got my submarine dude now.
Threw him against my buddy’s squad this morning. Guy couldn’t hit anything – that low arm angle looks completely broken on the screen. Worth every damn minute of that grind. Gonna rock him as my specialist against righties all season.
