🎮 Boost Your Baseball IQ with MLB The Show

How a Video Game Can Actually Make You a Smarter Ballplayer in Real Life

For a lot of players, MLB The Show is just a fun way to kill time but if you pay attention, it can become one of the most valuable tools for developing your baseball IQ. The game mirrors real-life strategy, scouting, and decision-making in ways most young athletes never notice. Whether you’re trying to get recruited, improve your in-game awareness, or just understand baseball on a deeper level, MLB The Show can give you an edge long before you ever step onto a field.

Here are three ways the game can level up your real-world baseball development:

1. Learning the 20/80 Scale

MLB scouts evaluate players using a 20–80 grading system something most athletes don’t fully understand until they enter high-level showcases or pro ball. MLB The Show uses that same scale in its prospect grading system. By paying attention to how tools like speed, power, and fielding are evaluated in the game, players can learn what a “50 grade” hitter means, what an “80 arm” looks like, and why a “30 runner” hurts your value. If you think you’re a high-level prospect, you should know how scouts talk and The Show gives you a head start.

2. Defensive Alignment & Situational Positioning

Watch enough MLB baseball and you’ll notice defensive shifts, no-doubles depth, bunt coverage, double-play positioning… MLB The Show builds these decisions into every pitch. Playing the game forces you to think like a defender instead of just reacting like an athlete. Younger players can learn why an outfield plays shallow in certain counts or why infielders shift in late innings. If you struggle with baseball IQ on defense, this is one of the easiest ways to improve without a coach or field.

3. Learning How to Manage a Ballgame

Whether you’re a catcher, a pitcher, or a future coach, game management separates elite players from average ones. MLB The Show puts you in the manager’s seat—you decide who to warm up, when to pinch hit, how to handle pitch counts, and what to do in high-leverage innings. That forces you to think about strategy, matchups, momentum, bullpen usage, and offensive risk-taking. The more

you learn to think the game, the faster your on-field decisions will improve.

Final Thought

MLB The Show isn’t just a video game it’s a baseball classroom disguised as entertainment. If you’re serious about playing at the next level, don’t just play the game…study it. Every tool, rating, matchup, and in-game adjustment reflects something players deal with in real life.

If you learned something, tag a teammate who plays The Show. They might be leveling up without even realizing it.