MLB The Show has announced that this year's game, MLB The Show 24, will feature the franchise's first female player, the Negro Leagues' Toni Stone. MLB The Show's Negro Leagues Season 2 follows the feature's introduction in last year's title.

MLB The Show 23 introduced the Negro Leagues, a set of narrative journeys that allowed users to play through some of the biggest moments in the careers of various Negro League players and also learn about their personal histories through short videos. Last year's Negro Leagues included legendary players like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil, and more. After completing a ballplayer's missions, users could unlock a 90 overall version of the player and add them to their Diamond Dynasty lineup. In the early days of each MLB The Show, 90 overall or higher cards are usually pretty hard to come by, so the Negro Leagues proved to be a popular feature for both its interesting history and its usefulness. It seems that MLB The Show 24 will continue this trend.

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One MLB The Show 23 Feature Has to Go in MLB The Show 24

MLB The Show 23 introduced a handful of new features to the yearly baseball series, and one of them should be left on the bench for MLB The Show 24.

MLB The Show's Twitter account confirmed that MLB The Show 24's Negro Leagues will feature Toni Stone, who played second base professionally for two years. Stone was no slouch, as she hit .243 against some of the country's best African American pitchers during her career with the Indianapolis Clowns and Kansas City Monarchs. MLB.com's entry for Stone recounts that Hank Aaron called her a "very good baseball player" and legend Ernie Banks described her as "smooth" after watching her play for the first time. In fact, Aaron was the player that Stone replaced on the Clowns after he was signed by the Milwaukee Braves. She even recorded a hit off of Satchel Paige, who is widely regarded as the greatest pitcher to ever take the mound in the Negro Leagues.

MLB The Show 24 Announces the Negro League Players Available at Launch

• Toni Stone, the first female professional baseball player
• Hank Aaron, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and all of last year's Negro Leagues players will also be added
• More Negro League players coming in early April

Based on last year's Negro Leagues, it seems likely that players will be able to unlock a Diamond Dynasty card for Stone by completing her missions. The Vlad Guerrero Jr.-covered MLB The Show 24 will feature other Negro League legends like Hank Aaron, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and all players from last year's Negro Leagues. Three more Negro League players will be added with a content drop in early April.

It's hoped that MLB The Show 24 will fully utilize the capabilities of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 by featuring improved graphics and more vibrant ballparks. While AAA titles in other genres have showcased the powers of current-gen consoles, many sports games have lagged behind in doing so.

Other expectations surrounding MLB The Show 24 include card set refinements in Diamond Dynasty, more legendary ballplayers added to Diamond Dynasty, and various gameplay improvements. MLB The Show 24 will launch on March 19 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers.