MLB The Show 26

Trophy Guide & Roadmap

If you prefer to watch a video instead of reading the guide, feel free to do so. There is a playlist that covers every trophy on my YouTube channel. If you'd like and subscribe or even become a member, it would mean a lot to this channel!

Step 1 - 2-player Classic Match

To make the most out of this we want a match between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants.

This is My Home
Play in a user created stadium.
In Create (paintbrush icon on the main menu), open The Vault and download any user-made stadium, saving it to your “My Stadiums” list. Then start a Classic game and, on the stadium select screen, choose “Created Stadiums” and pick it. The trophy pops as soon as you reach the first pitch or at-bat.
Baseball is Better Together
Play an online or couch co-op game.
Go to Classic mode, connect a 2nd controller, and put both Player 1 and Player 2 on the same team or opposing teamsbefore starting the game.
Swing Batter Batter
Take your first swing in MLB The Show 26.
Swing the bat once at any pitch.
Who’s the New Kid?
Get a hit against or strikeout any former MLB The Show cover athlete.
Play a Classic game against the Yankees — Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. are former cover athletes and both are in their lineup. On Beginner difficulty or against a second controller, strike one of them out.
You’re Sure They Meant Me?
Score a run with a pinch runner that has 26 speed or lower.
Pick a slow player and place him on your bench (e.g. Rafael Devers, 15 speed, San Francisco Giants). Make sure he doesn't have a number next to his name. Get a runner on base, open the Manager menu, and substitute your slow player in as a pinch runner. Drive him in with a hit, sac fly, home run to trigger the trophy.
Patience is Golden
As a batter, draw a walk. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Use your second controller to initiate an intentional walk by pressing L1 + .

Step 2 - Classic Match (Singleplayer)

Select any all-star team you like and play against a weak team of the MLB or AA.

Are You Still There?
Strikeout without swinging the bat during an at-bat.
Simply don't swing at all during an at-bat until the pitcher strikes us out.
Can of Corn
Catch 5 fly balls in a single game. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Should come naturally while fielding fly balls in a normal game. If it doesn't, switch to Rookie/Amateur pitching difficulty and pitch straight down the middle so the CPU makes easy contact, you'll get 5 catches within 2-3 innings.
The Start of Something
After entering an inning when losing, get 3 hits during that same inning.
Unlocks automatically on the way to Rally Cap just get 3 hits in an inning that you enter while trailing.
Don’t Call it a Rally
After entering an inning when losing, get 5 hits during that same inning.
Unlocks automatically on the way to Rally Cap just get 5 hits in an inning that you enter while trailing.
Rally Cap
After entering an inning when losing, get 7 hits during that same inning. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Play on Beginner difficulty, batting first. Let the CPU score at least one run in the first inning (i.e by intentionally walking batters on defense), so you start your next at-bat already trailing. Once behind, rack up 7 hits in that same inning, home runs are the easiest way since exact placement doesn't matter.

Step 3 - Singleplayer Game on GOAT difficulty

Before attempting this, make sure to set pitching difficulty to GOAT.

GOAT MODE
Get a Hit or Strikeout while playing on GOAT difficulty. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Start a Classic single game with a strong pitcher. Pause and set Pitching Difficulty to GOAT under Settings → Controls. Pitch to the corners and expand the strike zone, splitters low and away work well. Getting a single strikeout against a batter on GOAT difficulty unlocks the trophy. We don't need to win the game.

Step 4 - Franchise Mode

There is much to do in Franchise Mode in terms of trophies. It's just the one below and it'll take less than 5 minutes.

Horses in the Pen
Set an opening pitcher for a bullpen game in Franchise.
Start a Franchise (Streamlined setup, any team). Go to Manager → Pitching Rotation, swap a starter out for an empty bullpen-game slot, then select that empty slot and choose “Select Opener for Bullpen Game,” picking any reliever.

Step 5 - Moments

Probably the toughest part of our platinum journey. But as soon as you figure out the timing at-bat it shouldn't be too tough.

Down Low… Too Slow
Use a swim move to avoid a tag while sliding into a base. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Turn on Auto Sliding in the settings in case you turned it off for some reason, because this move only triggers with auto-sliding active. In Storyline mode, try to stretch every hit into extra bases, even on close plays you're likely to lose. When the fielder is about to tag you, a slow-mo prompt for the right stick appears with a swipe direction (left or right), follow it correctly to perform the swim move and dodge the tag. Willard Brown Scenario 6 is perfect for it.
Defensive Run Saved
As a defender, throw a player out at home plate. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Easiest via the Peanut Johnson storyline, mission “Standout Player”. Field the ball and throw it to the home base for the assist.
THE SHOW 2-6
Register a 2-6 out during a game. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Easiest via the 1st challenge of Roy Campanella's story. Catch the incoming pitch as the catcher, then throw to 2nd base during the slow-mo prompt (aim the right stick at the base icon and throw) to gun down the runner stealing 2nd. You can retry the mission until it works.
A Robbery!
Rob a home run. (Excludes simulated gameplay)
Easiest via the Mule Suttles storyline. Play through to the 3rd moment, “Brilliant Black Baron”, which is scripted to require robbing a home run. Run to the wall where the ball is hit, wait for the jump meter to reach the top, then time your jump to rob it.
NLB Historian ’26
Complete Four Negro League Storylines.
Fully complete any 4 of the Negro League Storylines. By now there are more than 4 available. For me personally, the pitching scenarios were much easier to handle than the batting ones. You'll earn a Diamond Dynasty card for each one finished, which can be helpful for our next step. The recommended stories to if you're not that good in this game are Ray Dandridge, Peanut Maime Johnson, Smokey Joe Williams & Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe.

Step 6 - Diamond Dynasty

In Diamond Quest, we have to roll a die to move across a randomly generated game board. Some squares contain special events or challenges that can affect your progress. Others reward us with a nice amount of peanuts. Try to avoid the Sweeper and open as many squares as possible to get some nice buffs for your stadium match. It's highly recommended to not buy any packs as we may need the money for a trophy of the final step.

Flush
While playing Diamond Quest, buy two perks from Coach’s Cart on a single map.
In Diamond Quest, spend your peanuts on 2 perks at Coach's Cart tiles during a single run. Completing NLB Historian ’26 first grants 4 free Diamond players that make the mode easier. Best combined with Gone Questing in the same run and save Stadium Challenge tiles for last. However, you can collect Peanuts over multiple runs and spend them all in one run to unlock this trophy. So it's just a matter of time.
Gone Questing
Successfully Complete a Diamond Quest Map Run.
Complete a full Diamond Quest run by finishing at least one Stadium Encounter. Do this in the same run as Flush and build up your Diamond Dynasty team beforehand (e.g. via NLB Historian ’26's free Diamond players) to make the run easier. The stadium game consists of 3 innings and can be played on Rookie difficulty which is recommended. Every other game like mini-bosses or challenges have to be played on Veteran difficulty.

If you followed my recommendation in the previous step, you'll have three diamond pitchers on your team, which should make it easier to strikeout any stadium team you have to face. Make sure to select "Collect Treasure And End This Quest" after you won the stadium game to end the run and obtain this trophy.

Step 7 - Road to the Show

Road to the Show is the career mode in MLB 26. There is nothing particularly difficult. Just a couple decisions we need to make to be eligible for #1 In Your Heart.

I Don’t Need It
In Road to the Show, have 50 Show Tokens in your inventory at once.
Accumulate 50 Show Tokens in Road to the Show (the brown/white performance tokens, which increase our stats). We start with 50 right away. Invest 2-4 of them and play some high school games, to get back to 50 to pop the trophy.
Moving Up the Board
In Road to the Show, choose to go to college and come out with a higher draft stock than before.
In Road to the Show, create a Closing Pitcher and initially opt to get drafted rather than going straight to college. Once you see your draft slot, decline it and choose college instead. Play a season of college on Beginner, with the national championship, then get drafted again with an improved stock. This pairs nicely with #1 In Your Heart.
#1 In Your Heart
Get drafted as the #1 overall draft pick in the MLB Draft. (Road to the Show)
In Road to the Show, when asked which team you want to be drafted by, choose “Let the draft decide” instead of naming a specific team. Play as a Closing Pitcher for the best odds and dominate your High School/College seasons to be projected as a top pick. Chances are highly increased if we win the national championship in college. If you lose a game, you can close the application and try again, there will always be an automatic save before the game started.
Suit Up
In Road to the Show, equip a piece of equipment in every slot.
In Road to the Show, open Ballplayer → Equipment (16 slots) and fill any empty slot with cheap gear from the Community Marketplace (filter by Slot Type, sort by lowest price). However, some parts can be quite expensive, therefore it's highly recommended to save money during Diamond Quest and selling every player from earned packs you don't need. If it doesn't pop despite every slot filled, try unequipping and re-equipping a piece.
Going Gold
Achieve "Gold" in any mini game within Road to the Show.
In Road to the Show, once we got drafted, we have the opportunity to play a training session on our day off. Visit the Batting Cage, Practice Field, or Training Facility and pick a mini-game with the joystick icon. The Ball Recognition Drill or some Fitness mini-games are the easiest. A Gold medal in any joystick-controlled mini-game unlocks the trophy. You don't need to play a single game in MLB, it's enough to simulate through the entire calendar. The game will always stop when it's time for some training.
Your Favorite Pastime
Thank You for Spending Your Time with Us! – SDS