How well did MLB: The Show choose cover athletes? We rank all 15 player performances that season

For some reason, Mauer was selected to cover the game again after a still quality, yet significantly worse 2010 follow-up to his historic 2009. This season quickly blew up in the Twins’ face, as Mauer’s injury-riddled 2011 campaign left him with only 82 appearances, and none of his numbers were of note: Not the three home runs, the 30 RBI’s, or the .729 OPS. Mauer did make two more All-Star games in 2012 and 2013, but 2011 was the worst season of his peak. The Twins also finished 63-99, didn’t go at least .500 until 2015 and weren’t in another playoff game until 2017.

This had the chance to be really prophetic... or pathetic. And unfortunately, it’s closer to the latter. Puig was an electric and much-needed unapologetic jolt into baseball, appearing to be an instant star prior to being named the 2015 cover athlete of the famed baseball franchise. As of this writing, Puig hasn’t played a Major League Baseball game since September of 2019, and he’s still only just 30 years old.

Puig finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and was 15th in NL MVP in 2013, following up with his first All-Star bid in 2014. His slash line went from .319 / .391 / .534 in 2013 to .296 / .382 / .480 in 2014 to just .255 / .322 / .436 in 2015. Puig’s homers dropped from 19-to-16-to-11, and his RBI’s rollercoastered from 42-to-69-to-38. In 2015, he struggled with hamstring injuries, and although he was never the same hitter, he did put forth positive seasons before not being in the league.

He had a chance with the Atlanta Braves last season, but a positive COVID test halted the deal. Unfortunately, he’s currently being accused of sexual assault stemming from a 2018 encounter at a Los Angeles Lakers game, which likely further explains his absence.

Last year’s game was released on March 17 during the early days of the pandemic, so the comparison is impossible. The Puerto Rican star did win a Gold Glove, but he only hit .203 / .238 / .360. He had followed up two All-Star campaigns, including a 2018 MVP runner-up, with the worst hitting season of his career, but during a pandemic in a shortened season, he gets an asterisk. The Cubs at least won the NL Central, but they were swept by the Miami Marlins in round one of the expanded 16-team playoffs. No bueno, hermano.

If you remember, Bryce Harper was announced as the cover athlete of The Show while still a free agent during the 2018-19 off-season. They even had to have a placeholder cover for him until he finally signed with the Phillies in 2019. During Harper’s final season with the Washington Nationals, he made his most recent All-Star appearance and led MLB in walks with 130. He did hit 34 homers and 100 RBI’s but only batted .249 on the season, the second-worst tally of his career.

In 2019, Harper managed to have 35 home runs and 114 RBI’s while improving to hit .260, but the 82-80 team he left won the World Series without him. His new team went 81-81 and finished fourth in the NL East.

2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia didn’t have as great of a 2009 but was still among the best at his position. Pedroia dropped from 17 home runs, 83 RBI’s, .869 OPS, and an MLB-best 213 hits to 15 home runs, 72 RBI’s, an .819 OPS, and 185 hits. Still, a very good season; earned All-Star honors, but wasn’t quite the MVP, Gold Glover, and Silver Slugger one year prior. The Red Sox were a 95-win team for a third straight season, but instead of winning it all as they did in 2007 or losing in game seven of the ALCS as they did in 2008, they were swept by the then Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS.

Aaron Judge was the 2017 Rookie of the Year and nearly won MVP after finishing second in voting. A wrist fracture sidelined him for a good portion of 2018, so he couldn’t quite replicate the AL-best 52 home runs and 114 RBI’s from the season prior, but he did still record 27 homers and 67 RBI’s in just 413 at-bats. The Yankees lost in game seven of the ALCS in 2017, memorably, to the Houston Astros, but lost in the ALDS in 2018 despite winning 100 games. Judge made his second of two All-Star games in 2018, though, and finished 12th in MVP voting.

The third Boston Red Sock in what was to this point a seven-year history of The Show to grace the cover was Adrián González. The Mexican-American first baseman was acquired from the San Diego Padres after the 2010 season and tore the American League up in 2011. He led the Majors with 213 hits, had 27 home runs, 117 RBI’s, and a .338 / .410 / .548 slash line. In 2012, in about the same amount of games, he had 188 hits, 18 home runs, and 108 RBI’s with a .299 / .344 / .463 slash line. He was also the first cover athlete traded mid-season.

The struggling Red Sox, who subsequently finished 69-93 and last in the AL East, moved González to the Dodgers on August 25. The Dodgers finished second in the NL West and didn’t make the playoffs.

In 2009, Joe Mauer led the American League in OPS (1.031) and slugging percentage (.587) while leading the Majors in batting average (.365) and on-base percentage (.444), so it was unlikely that he’d surpass or even match the production that made him that season’s AL MVP. Mauer also had career-highs in 28 home runs and 96 RBI’s in 2009. In 2010, Mauer had just nine home runs, but did accumulate 75 RBI’s while also hitting .327. His OPS dropped off to .871, and he finished eighth in MVP voting, though he still did make the All-Star team while winning both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

The Twins made the playoffs again and were swept by the Yankees in the first-round … again.

Coming off two straight AL MVP Awards, Cabrera blessed The Show’s 2014 cover and still had a great season despite an apparent drop-off from his previous tallies. In both 2012 and 2013, Cabrera hit 44 home runs and nearly 140 RBI’s with an OPS at or well over 1.000. It helped that the Tigers went to the World Series in 2012 and reached the ALCS in 2013, too. In 2014, Cabrera was still an All-Star, still top-10 in MVP voting, and even led the American League with 52 doubles, but wasn’t quite where he was previously. He finished the season with 25 homers, 109 RBI’s, and a .313 / .371 / .524 slash. The Tigers were swept in the ALDS by the Baltimore Orioles, and neither organization has reached a playoff series since.

First and foremost, long live the PSP!

Secondly, the David Ortiz ‘06 cover was the first of The Show era. Previously, titles were MLB, followed by the year, produced by Sony Interactive Studios America, who later became 989 Studios. A merger between 989 Sports and Red Zone Interactive formed San Diego Studio, which currently produces The Show series.

‘Big Papi’ led the Majors with 148 RBI’s in 2005, which accompanied 47 home runs, a .300 batting average, and a second-place American League MVP finish. On the season he covered, Ortiz produced similarly, leading the AL with a personal-best 54 home runs, 137 RBI’s, and 119 walks. He was an All-Star for the third time in his career, finished third in AL MVP voting, and had hitting splits of .287 / .413 / .636, landing an OPS of 1.049, the second-best tally of his life. Unfortunately, after winning 95 games and still getting swept in the ALDS one season prior, the Red Sox didn’t even make the postseason in 2006, finishing 86-76. They did win the World Series in 2007, though.

If you’re a Mets fan, this season hurt. Bad. Coming off a memorable 2006 run to game seven of the NLCS, the 97-win Mets were projected to remain among the MLB’s elite teams. Returning many of their key players, including cover star David Wright — and eventual MLB2K8 frontman José Reyes — the Mets held a seven-game NL East lead on September 12 and were poised to win the division in back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history. The Mets lost 12 of their last 17 games, finished 88-74, and not only lost the division lead on the final day of the regular season but didn’t even make the playoffs after being overtaken by Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies.

Wright more than held up his end, though. The third baseman had career-highs in batting average (.325), on-base percentage (.416), slugging percentage (.546), base hits (196), stolen bases (34), and OPS (.963). He also tied career-best marks for doubles (42) and walks (94) while posting 30 homers and 107 RBI’s. That season, Wright finished fourth in MVP voting, was an All-Star, won his first Gold Glove and first Silver Slugger, too. He even hit .397 with 11 RBI’s and an OPS over 1.000 during the aforementioned collapse.

Josh Donaldson became the first Toronto Blue Jay to cover the main version of the game as opposed to the Canadian one, which always featured a Blue Jay. Donaldson won MVP in 2015, leading the majors in runs scored (122), and he also led the AL in RBI’s (123) and total bases (352). Donaldson also had 41 homers and a .297 / .371 / .568 slash.

In what stands as his last All-Star season, unless he gets another, Donaldson had a great 2016, but it only got him to fourth in MVP voting. He posted 37 home runs, 99 RBI’s and a .284 / .404 / .549 slash. He did earn All-Star and Silver-Slugger honors again, but after winning the division and reaching the ALCS in 2015, the Blue Jays made a Wild Card spot and did return to the ALCS in 2016, but were nearly swept by Cleveland. Donaldson hit .417 in the playoffs in 2016, much better than his .244 previously.

Is Griffey ever a wrong answer? On this particular season, The Kid dawned the cover after being named a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2016, only accompanied to Cooperstown by Mike Piazza, who got in on his fourth year on the ticket. Admittedly, Griffey Jr. is a special case by comparison, but he got 99.3-percent of the Hall of Fame vote, and still probably is the coolest dude to ever step in a batter’s box.

Perhaps his cover selection is an indictment of where baseball was (also, is?) four years ago. Coming out of 2016, here’s who baseball realistically had to choose from: Your MVPs were Mike Trout and Kris Bryant; your runners-up were Mookie Betts (four Red Sox, though?) and Daniel Murphy. David Ortiz’s last season was in 2016, but he covered the very first game 11 years prior. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello were your Cy Young’s, with second-place honors going to Jon Lester and Justin Verlander. Your Rookies of the Year were Corey Seager and Michael Fullmer. The 2016 World Series MVP was Ben Zobrist, and the face of the AL Pennant winners was a very young Francisco Lindor. Going the Chicago Cubs route would’ve made sense after breaking the 98-year-long World Series curse, but even our Cubs fans on this site might not argue with Ken Griffey Jr. It’s Ken Griffey Jr.!

Sony were prophets on this one. Andrew McCutchen broke out as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ face early in the 2010s and cemented his arrival during a stellar 2012. In 2013, McCutchen established himself as an elite MLB outfielder, making The Show look like geniuses for placing him on their cover before the season.

In 2013, after finishing third the previous season, McCutchen earned NL MVP honors after leading the Pirates to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. He also became the organization’s first MVP winner since Barry Bonds in 1992.

McCutchen had 21 homers, 84 RBI’s and a .317 / .404 / .508 slash line. In the playoffs, the Pirates lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS after beating the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card game. McCutchen hit .333 in six playoff games.

The only way this would be even more dead-on was if Howard won World Series MVP. Peak Ryan Howard is one of the most frustrating hitters to pitch against in video game history. His 2008 follow-up to being the cover star of The Show not only lived up to that, but he outdid his stellar 2007. Howard played all 162 games in 2008, led the Majors with 48 home runs and 146 RBI’s, finishing just 61 points behind Albert Pujols for second in the NL MVP chase. Somehow, Howard wasn’t an All-Star that season and showed why he should’ve been through his last 66 games post-break. Through that stretch, Howard belted 20 home runs, brought in 62 RBI’s, hit .276, and recorded an OPS of .954.

Moreover, the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, going just 11-3 in the playoffs and not losing more than one game in any series. It was the Phillies’ first World Series title since 1980, and Howard slugged three homers and six RBI’s in the five games against the Tampa Bay Rays. THAT is cover-worthy stuff.