Gamers appreciating a sports video game must give developers one kind of appreciation.
But for athletes who are in the game to appreciate the title must give developers a whole different kind of seal of respect.
Such was the case when Eric Hosmer, first baseman of the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals, sat down with Ramone Russell, community manager and game designer of the newly-released MLB The Show 16, for a hands-on gaming session.
Before Hosmer could even start tapping his thumbs against Russell, though, the gauntlet was laid down with the Royals' World Series trophy being brought into the room and placed on a table between them. When Russell went to touch the hardware, Hosmer immediately stopped the designer, letting him know who the trophy belongs to.
With that being said, watching Hosmer play as himself in the game is pretty surreal, as he takes a pitch deep to the warning track, before being recorded out by Russell's Houston Astros in the Astrodome, which is a new feature in the game that officially hit stores Tuesday.
Ironically enough, Hosmer has better luck with his teammate, Royals' designated hitter Kendrys Morales, as he uses the slugger to hit a towering home run to left field to give the Royals a 3-0 lead. Hosmer only builds on that lead, ignoring his manager's advice to lay down a drag bunt and instead taking another pitch deep — this time to left center field with catcher Salvador Perez — to give the Royals a 5-0 lead.
Although Russell pulls within 5-3 to make the game interesting, he wouldn't be able to chip into Hosmer's lead anymore than that, as the Royals first baseman held on to win the game. It's pretty cool to see an athlete enjoy the game so much and give the thumbs up to its authenticity.
As part of MLB The Show 16's release Tuesday, PlayStation also released a Welcome to The Show Blooper Reel video, starring sluggers like the Boston Red Sox' David Ortiz and cover athlete of the game, Toronto Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson.
In addition, also released was a video showing all the game's new features.
