Aaron Judge is the cover athlete of MLB The Show 26, the game announced Tuesday.
Judge becomes just the second player to appear on the game’s cover twice. Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer is the only other player to be featured twice (2010 and 2011). The game launches on March 17 with early access beginning on March 13.
Unlike his first appearance, this year’s artwork reflects multiple chapters of Judge’s baseball career. Like the 2018 edition, Judge is shown in the New York Yankees’ iconic pinstripes, but this time a Team USA jersey is also featured behind him ahead of his first World Baseball Classic appearance in March. The location of Judge’s high school is highlighted on a map of California with his baseball jersey at Fresno State included too.
The design blew Judge’s mind.
«The cover they have for this year is going to be pretty special,» he told ESPN. «Kind of has a lot of different ties to different parts of my life. I think fans are going to enjoy it, and I think even gamers that don’t watch much baseball [who] play the game will really enjoy it as well.»
When Judge went back home to California last Thanksgiving, he began going through his closet. The Yankees star stumbled upon sealed copies of MLB The Show 18, the video game whose cover boasts Judge in Yankee pinstripes, while holding a bat and mean-mugging.
There are about 50 unopened copies of the game at his parents’ house. Some are in New York and his Florida home, too. But in California, seeing the cover gave him goosebumps. Judge grew up playing MLB The Show, waiting every year for its March release date and asking his parents to rush him to the store to get a copy.
«Who would’ve thought when I’m in my hometown, in the house I grew up in, like little 10-year-old Aaron that dreamed of getting into the major leagues and then now you’re on the cover of the game. It’s just really surreal,» Judge said. «I gotta pinch myself every time I see it.»
He’ll have to pinch himself again this year.
Since MLB The Show 18, the three-time AL MVP told ESPN that he asked his agent if he could be on the cover every year. He admitted that he was always jealous of Tiger Woods having his own video game: Fourteen editions of EA Sports’ PGA Tour game included Woods’ name and likeness in the video game title and on the cover.
«I play a lot of video games, so it was always a dream of mine to somehow still be involved and have some type of impact,» Judge said. «So then when they called and said, ‘Hey, we want to have you on there again,’ it was pretty surreal.»
Being featured on the cover the first time was everything Judge dreamed of, and his feelings are comparable to how he found out in 2018. However, he didn’t expect to be on it again.
Judge pointed out there are many great players around MLB deserving of the honor that haven’t received it yet.
«Getting to do it twice is special,» Judge said. «I’d love to do it a third time, but I know there’s going to be a lot of other guys out there that are going to don that cover with a lot of humility and excellence and it’ll be fun. I’m still going to play the game no matter who’s on the cover.»
Judge’s desire of being on the cover goes beyond representing the Yankees, where he has spent all 10 years of his MLB career, it also strengthens his connection with the youth through his ALL RISE Foundation.
Some kids who come to his camp recognize him because of his presence on the cover. He explained that the connection it creates with kids who don’t have a chance to attend many baseball games is «the coolest thing.»
«Seeing the joy it brings them to get a chance to play this game or even the kids at my camp that know me and they’re like, ‘Hey, I saw you, you’re on the cover; I’m playing with you.’ That’s what it’s all about right there — just connecting with those kids and this next generation,» Judge said.
In 2018, Judge visited Sony Studios where they scanned his walk up, swing and motions. He said seeing his batting stance and the small quirks he brings to the box in real life also appear in the video game is always surreal.
«It’s still spot on like I don’t know how they have all this technology or what they’re using but it’s top of the line, man,» he said. «They don’t need my help with that, man. I got a better swing on the game than I do in real life.»
When it comes to playing MLB The Show, Road to the Show is the mode Judge will load up first. He’ll check out his ratings, too. He always plays as the Yankees, though he says it feels weird — and surreal — to play as himself.
For Judge, it’s just another «pinch me» moment.
