MLB The Show 18 Adds Rain Delays In A Step Towards Realism You Didn't Know You Wanted

Every year, the developers of Sony's MLB The Show franchise come up with new elements to add to the game to make the professional baseball sim even more authentic. One of the new additions for MLB The Show 18 is rain delays. Yes. Rain delays.

As explained in the video below, MLB The Show 18 will have "more diverse" atmospheric effects, including fog and better-looking rain. We're not sure of all the details yet, as only a few seconds were dedicated to rain in the video. Presumably, if it's raining too hard, the umpires will call a rain delay, just as it would happen in real life. When this happens, you'll have to decide if you want to leave in your current pitcher or warm up a fresh arm. This is the same managerial challenge that MLB managers must make in real-world games.

As for what will happen during the rain delay, we can't imagine you'll have to sit around and actually wait for the fictional weather to clear. In real life, rain delays can last for hours, so naturally, players and fans get into all manner of hijinks during the downtime. We can only hope that MLB The Show developer Sony San Diego incorporates some of this frivolity into the game, though that remains to be seen. In real life, the umpires can choose to cancel a game if the rain persists and reschedule for a later date, though we can't imagine that would ever happen in the game.

Another new element for MLB The Show 18 is a batting stance creator that lets you control things like hand positioning and bat-wiggle, along with the placement of your hips, front elbow, and hands. Also, there are now home run celebration animations that correspond to how much the home run meant to the result of the game. As explained in the video, a home run that wins a game is completely different in emotion than one that happens during a blowout. Additionally, there are more team-specific celebration animations in MLB The Show 18, including the dancing Chicago Cubs pitchers.

In other news, Sony recently showed off MLB The Show 18's revamped create-a-player features, including the custom batting stances and more. Check out GameSpot's in-depth video here (and embedded above) to get a full rundown of what's new this year.

MLB The Show launches exclusively for PS4 on March 27, though if you pre-order you can start playing on March 23. The 2018 MLB season begins on March 29. In all seriousness, Sony's MLB The Show franchise is the leading baseball sim, and the addition of rain delays is a further step towards realism that fans may welcome and appreciate.