MLB: The Show 21 has kicked off its 2nd Inning Program. This wide-ranging feature gives players access to a brand new rewards track to work through. Along the way, players will earn all kinds of rewards including player picks, packs, and several different types of cosmetics. If you need a one-stop shop for how to best make your way through the 2nd Inning Program, you’re in the right place.
More MLB The Show:
- MLB The Show 21 Road to the Show Guide – Level Up Fast, XP Glitched
- MLB The Show 21 Conquest Hidden Rewards Guide
- MLB The Show 21 Best Hitting Control Settings Guide & Tips
How Does MLB: The Show 21’s 2nd Inning Program Work?
In the simplest terms, the 2nd Inning Program is akin to a battle pass. The devs at San Diego Studios have built out a track for players to progress along, unlocking new content along the way. To max out the track, you need 650,000 XP by June 4 when the 2nd Inning Program ends.
That XP count sounds daunting at first blush, but there are so many ways to earn XP while playing The Show. Not only are you constantly earning XP just by playing the game normally, but there are missions to complete, collections to put together, and so much more to boost that XP number. And, San Diego will slowly add more content as we get deeper into the season, giving you even more ways to finish out the 2nd Inning Program.
2nd Inning Program Missions and Collections
As mentioned above, you’ll slowly accrue XP just from playing the game normally; however, San Diego Studios rewards you for doing different missions and collections throughout the season. These range from missions that change daily to season-long missions and collections you can work on as you progress through the season.
- Daily Missions – These missions rotate constantly throughout the season. That said, if you find one that you can’t or don’t want to finish, you can switch them out with a button press. Some examples of daily quests you might find in the 2nd Inning Program include things like “tally 8 innings pitched with Philadelphia Phillies players in any Diamond Dynasty games” or “tally five extra-base hits in Multiplayer modes.” Completing these will give you small XP boosts each day.
- Season Missions – For the 2nd Inning Program, San Diego Studios has given players three missions to complete. This season, they all need to be completed in online modes. The eligible modes are ranked seasons, battle royale, and events. Completing them will give you a medium XP boost on the track. Here are the three objectives:
- Win 10 games in competitive online modes.
- Score 21 runs with Prospect, Rookie, or Breakout series players in online modes (to see which players are eligible, go to your Collections page and find the respective collection under the Legends & Flashbacks tab).
- Tally 10 stolen bases with any players in online modes.
- 2nd Inning Collection – The 2nd Inning Collection asks you to collect all three 1st Inning Bosses. These players were available to earn last season, but can still be purchased off of the market if you weren’t able to get them all in the 1st Inning Program. The 1st Inning Bosses are Fernando Valenzuela, Kenny Lofton, and Mike Piazza. Completing the collection gives you 50,000 XP.
2nd Inning Martian Conquest Tips
The 2nd Inning Conquest puts you up against eight MLB franchises on a martian-shaped board. In Conquest mode, your goal is to conquer all of your opponent’s strongholds by moving your fans around the board. As you can see in the image above, you’ll slowly build up your fanbase by attacking rivals and winning games.
Fortunately, you can’t really lose in this mode. Even if you play all of your games on Rookie difficulty, you’ll eventually win. It just takes much longer. Find a difficulty you can consistently win at, and stick with it as you play through the board.
Finally, keep in mind that some of the territories you conquer come with hidden rewards. In the image above, you can see all of the ones that are available on the 2nd Inning board. In total, you’ll get six Standard Packs and 500 Stubs.
2nd Inning Showdown Tips
Conquest mode in MLB: The Show lets players draft a team and then play through different situations as they move toward a face-off with a boss. In the 2nd Inning Showdown, you’ll match up against Lee Smith and need to score 15 runs within 20 outs. However, before entering the final showdown, you can play other scenarios to gain both better players and runs to bring that deficit down.
With the 2nd Inning Showdown, you’ll start your draft with a choice between the three 2nd Inning Bosses (Jason Bay, Lee Smith, and Don Mattingly) and one other Diamond player. We recommend choosing Jason Bay as your first player. He hits well against both righties and lefties and brings decent speed to the diamond.
Those attributes are both important because most of the scenarios you’ll take on require you to get hits. Therefore, we recommend only taking pitchers in the draft if you absolutely have to. You want to target the best hitters, even if they have to play out of position. Since you’re not playing full games, you don’t have to worry as much about fielding and can instead fill your lineup with offense-focused ballplayers.
As you complete scenarios, you’ll get to draft new players to your squad. While we’d continue to target good hitters, it’s also key to get a few speed demons onto your bench. Having quick players available to pinch-run can really help you squeeze out a few extra runs in the final showdown.
MLB: The Show 21 – 2nd Inning Rewards
The 2nd Inning Program is full of rewards to stuff your club full of quality players. The marquee reward is the choice pack with the 2nd Inning Bosses. Again, we’d recommend taking Jason Bay here. He’s a deadly hitter who should solidify the middle of your lineup.
Outside of the 2nd Inning Boss pack, you’ll also get eight other player picks. These include players like Diamond versions of Austin Riley, Michael Kopech, and Brad Miller, among several others. You’ll also grab 48 total packs. Most of these are Standard packs, but you’ll grab a few Ballin is a Habit and Headliner packs along the way. And, of course, you’ll also unlock several cosmetics and a chunk of content for your Road to the Show ballplayer.
All told, the 2nd Inning Program gives players a ton of new content to earn and a few fun modes to do it in. I really loved playing through the 2nd Inning Showdown and can’t wait to see if San Diego adds more as the season progresses.
