Alright let’s talk about this dang MLB The Show event ranking system. Wanted to climb those leaderboards bad, kept seeing folks with shiny high ranks while I was stuck. Figured it was time to dig in and actually understand how this thing really works.
Started Simple (And Got My Butt Kicked)
Jumped straight into the “Moonshot” event, thinking hitting home runs sounded fun. Grabbed my strongest power hitters straight away. Pitched who I liked, not really thinking about matchups. Big mistake.
Lost the first game, okay whatever. Lost the second… felt bad. Third game? Absolute blowout. Felt like I was giving away free wins. Looked at my rank points – down the drain. Felt stuck.
Time to Experiment (Trial and Error City)
Decided to change tactics since the swing-for-fences thing wasn’t working. Needed more strategy.
- First: Looked at the event rules. HARD. Limited innings? Specific player pools? Checked everything.
- Second: Scrolled the market for cheap players who actually fit the rules well. Found a silver reliever with crazy stamina who saved my bacon later.
- Third: Watched what the high-ranked guys did when they stomped me. Saw them constantly pinch-hitting specific guys for platoon advantages. Lightbulb moment.
Finding What Actually Moves The Needle
Noticed something important after tracking a few wins and losses:
- Just showing up ain’t enough: You get a tiny trickle of points just for completing a game, win OR lose. But it’s crumbs.
- Winning IS Key: Beating someone gives a real chunk of points. But… how much depends on WHO you beat.
- The REAL Secret: Beating someone ranked WAY higher than you? Jackpot. Like, massive points jump. But lose to them? Barely any point penalty. Lose to someone ranked below YOU? Ouch. That tanked my progress hard.
Applying the Brutal Math
Took that “beat the high rankers” theory out for a spin. Got sweaty palms queuing up, hoping for a player ranked sky-high.
- Game 1: Got matched with someone ranked Elite. Choked hard early, felt awful. Remembered losing to them wouldn’t hurt much. Relaxed. Came back and stole the win. BOOM. Points shot up like a rocket. Grinned like an idiot.
- Game 2: Matched with a much lower rank player. Terrified. Knew losing this would be bad news. Played super careful, focused. Got the win, but the points gain? Meh. Way less than beating the Elite guy.
- Game 3: Another high-ranked player. Back and forth nail-biter. Won by a run. Huge points surge again. Rank bar filled up fast.
Putting it All Together (Grind Mode)
The formula became crystal clear: Focus entirely on playing high-ranked players and winning those specific games. Didn’t stress about random losses as long as they weren’t to low-ranked opponents. Every win against a top player felt like a turbo boost.
Started targeting the high-tier opponents hard. Felt kinda scummy dodging the lower ranks sometimes, but hey, the system practically begs you to do it. Winning against players ranked around me gave meager gains. Got picky about matchups. The grind became much more efficient.
Hit Diamond rank finally. Felt solid. Good times.
