I’ve played baseball video games since MLB Pennant Race on the PlayStation 1, and I’ve been covering sports titles for nearly two decades. Baseball was my first love, and no game has captured its rhythm and authenticity like MLB The Show 25. The gameplay still hits—pitch/bat battles feel honest, the ball physics make sense, and the ebb and flow of the sport is beautifully...

The first thing you notice after a few sweaty games in MLB The Show 26 isn't the scoreboard. It's how small the PCI feels when a same-handed pitcher starts living on the edges. A lefty-lefty slider below the zone. A righty-righty sinker running in. You know the pitch is coming, but getting the barrel there cleanly is another story. That's why so many players are spending their MLB 26...