On January 27, Sony officially revealed the cover for MLB The Show 26. The announcement is traditionally the first bit of major news regarding the yearly release of the game. And for 2026, a rare instance in the franchise’s history as far as a cover is concerned: a player being on the cover for a second time.
Judge named cover athlete
Aaron Judge will be back on the cover of MLB The Show. Sony San Diego confirmed that Judge will be the cover athlete for MLB The Show 26 on January 27.
The announcement came one day after the social team for MLB The Show announced that there was going to be no new cover athlete for this year’s game. It tipped their hand towards choosing someone who was on the cover in the past.
Things have changed for Judge since the last time he was featured on the cover for MLB The Show 18. Sony gave him that honor after the 2017 campaign, his rookie season. Since then, Judge has become a three-time AL MVP, the captain of the Yankees, and likely, a future member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
For the first time in the MLB The Show franchise, this will mark the first instance where a player is put on the cover for a second time in a non-consecutive manner. Joe Mauer was on the cover in back-to-back years, for MLB The Show 10 and 11.
Those details begin to piece together the puzzle for what’s to come for MLB The Show 26, which will launch on March 17.
Pre-orders for the game will open up on February 3, 2026. This lines up with past pre-order windows, which usually open up in early February, after the announcement of the cover.
Late in 2025, SDS revealed the first details for the title. Among the details included are improved AI logic for Franchise Mode, new colleges for Road to the Show, and added details during the middle and late-stages of careers.
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