On Tuesday, San Diego Studios announced the cover athlete for their annual MLB The Show video game. There were many rumors about who the cover athlete would be. The most popular names for the cover were Corey Seager, Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Julio Rodriguez. Contrary to popular opinion, San Diego Studios went down a different route. Toronto Blue Jays‘ star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will grace the cover of MLB The Show 24. Guerrero Jr. will take over for last year’s MLB The Show cover star Jazz Chisolm Jr.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, will be the cover athletwe for MLB The Show for the first time in his career. At the young age of 24, Guerrero Jr. has earned himself multiple awards in his five seasons in Toronto. A three-time All-Star, he has gone to the Mid-Summer Classic every year since 2021. That same year, Guerrero found himself the most success, finishing with a Gold Glove and second in MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani.
In 2023, Guerrero led the Blue Jays to the playoffs, but lost in the Wild Card round to the Minnesota Twins. He posted a .264 AVG, .345 OBP and .788 SLG in 156 games. He launched 26 home runs, and notched 30 doubles as well. In 2024, he looks to lead the Blue Jays to higher success and possibly a run at the World Series.
MLB The Show Cover History
MLB The Show has released their cover athlete since their inception in 2006. The first cover athlete was Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz. Other names include Joe Mauer, David Wright, and Dustin Pedroia on the older covers, while the newer coves include Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani and Jazz Chisolm Jr. With the addition of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays will have their second cover athlete in the games history. In 2016, Josh Donaldson was on the cover after his MVP season. Will Guerrero have a big season or will he repeat a 2023 season which saw declines in his numbers? Only time will tell if the speculated “cover curse” will hit next season.
