The decision to name Skenes, De La Cruz and Henderson the cover athletes follows a recent trend by San Diego Studio, the game’s developer, to place rising stars on the cover of MLB The Show. Its decision to focus on young stars in this year’s edition of the game was intentional.
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“Historically, we’ve chosen a single cover athlete for MLB The Show, someone who is at the pinnacle of the sport,” The Show global marketing group manager Todd Liss told MLB.com. “However, with the unprecedented young talent coming into the league, we wanted to represent the changing current climate of baseball and showcase it on our cover. These three players are changing what’s possible in baseball, and we’re changing how many players can be on the cover of The Show.”
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. was on the cover of last season’s game while then Miami Marlins star Jazz Chisholm appeared on MLB The Show 23, with each making their cover debut relatively early in their careers.Â
Skenes, De La Cruz and Henderson seem like logical successors to be cover athletes based on the starts of their careers. Skenes lived up to the hype as one of the top pitching prospects in recent memory after getting called up in May 2024. The 22-year-old won National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in NL Cy Young voting after going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, 170 strikeouts and a 0.947 WHIP.
De La Cruz has arguably become one of the league’s most electrifying players in recent memory. He became the fifth player since 1901 to have at least 20 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season last year, recording 25 homers to go with his MLB-high 67 stolen bases. That came after he recorded 13 homers, seven triples and 35 stolen bases in 98 games as a rookie in 2023.
Finally, Henderson has been one of the keys to the Orioles’ back-to-back playoff appearances over the last two years. The 23-year-old was one of the best hitters in the American League last season, hitting .281 with 37 homers, 92 RBIs and a .893 OPS. He also had 21 stolen bases after winning AL Rookie of the Year in 2023.Â
Unlike its NFL counterpart, there hasn’t been much of a curse associated with being on the cover of MLB The Show. Last season, Guerrero actually had a bounceback year after appearing on the cover, hitting .323 with 30 homers and a .940 OPS. Chisholm missed some time due to injury in 2023, but he still hit a career-high 19 homers that year. Shohei Ohtani also had another stellar two-way season after appearing on the cover in 2022, finishing second in AL MVP voting.
MLB The Show 25 will mark the 20th edition of the game. Former Boston Red Sox star and Hall of Famer David Ortiz appeared on the first cover of the game in 2006, hitting a career-high 54 homers that season.Â
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The MLB regular season is scheduled to start in Tokyo, Japan on March 18, with MLB’s traditional Opening Day scheduled for Thursday, March 27. This is the earliest Opening Day in MLB history. Check out the complete details on how to watch this year’s Opening Day games, including teams, times and TV channels — all times Eastern.
When does the 2025 MLB season start?
The 2025 MLB season is scheduled to begin overseas with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan. The Dodgers and Cubs will play on Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19. This is the sixth time that a MLB season opener has taken place in Tokyo, Japan.Â
2025 MLB Opening Day Schedule
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A week after the games in Japan, MLB Opening Day is slated for Thursday, March 27, 2025. Below are the matchups scheduled for that day:
How to watch 2025 MLB Opening Day games
Where can I watch MLB Opening Day games? What channel will they be on?
Most Opening Day games will be played on the regional sports networks affiliated with each baseball club. MLB’s Opening Night game will be broadcast on ESPN. For each specific channel, check out our MLB Schedule.
How can I stream MLB’s Opening Day games or watch them without cable?
Streaming services that carry ESPN and RSNs can be used to stream the games. You can also stream MLB games on MLB.TV with local blackout restrictions.
Which MLB teams play on Opening Day?
28 of the 30 MLB clubs will be in action on Opening Day. The Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays will start their season on March 28, after their game was moved in order to provide more time to prepare George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL, the field that will serve as the Rays’ home park for the 2025 season.Â
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Several players in sports history have followed in their father’s footsteps to become stars of their own. In fact, some of the greatest players in major North American sports are sons of former professional athletes.Â
Not many father-son duos get the opportunity to play together, though — like what LeBron and Bronny James did with the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of the 2024-25 season.
That said, here are the 10 best father-son duos in sports history.
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The elder Long had an unusual path to a Hall of Fame career, playing at Villanova right before its college football program briefly shut down. But as he emerged as a standout there, the Raiders selected him in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He went on to become one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL in the 1980s, making eight Pro Bowls and helping the Raiders win Super Bowl XVIII.Â
Long’s eldest son, Chris, followed in his footsteps. The second overall pick in 2008, Chris Long had several solid seasons with the Rams before winning a Super Bowl title with the Patriots in 2016 and the Eagles a year later. Long, who finished his career with 70 sacks, was one of the few players in NFL history to win back-to-back Super Bowls with different teams. He and his father also became the first father-son duo to ever win a Super Bowl.Â
Kyle Long, meanwhile, played on the other side of the ball. The three-time Pro Bowl guard was a first-round pick of the Bears, and he spent most of his career in Chicago, losing to the Eagles (and his brother) in the memorable “Double Doink” playoff game. He joined the Chiefs for a season in 2021 after a one-year retirement but did not appear in any games with them due to injury.Â
9. Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder
A pair of Fielders are among the top power–hitting father-son duos in MLB history. Cecil Fielder was an All-Star for the Tigers in the early 1990s after stints with the Blue Jays and in Japan, leading the American League in homers in back-to-back seasons. He also became the first AL player since Babe Ruth to lead the league in RBIs for three straight seasons. He later won a World Series with the Yankees, finishing his career with 319 homers and three All-Star nods.
The younger Fielder was every bit the slugger that his father was. He quickly emerged as one of the game’s top sluggers when he was with the Brewers in the mid-to-late 2000s, hitting 50 homers in his third season. He later joined the Tigers, nearly helping them win a World Series in 2012. A six-time All-Star, Fielder’s 50-homer season made the Fielders the first father-son duo to record at least 40 homers in a season. He also hit the same number of homers as his father did in his career.Â
Decades before Klay Thompson was a centerpiece of the Warriors‘ dynasty, his father was a key contributor to the Lakers’ dynasty in the 1980s. He helped Los Angeles win a pair of titles, averaging over 10 points per game off the bench in those championship seasons. Prior to that, Thompson was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers, enjoying eight solid years there before joining the Spurs in 1986.
Klay Thompson made up half of the “Splash Brothers” twosome that won four titles between 2014-22. The five-time All-Star averaged over 20 points per game in each of Golden State’s title-winning seasons, with the Warriors reaching the NBA Finals two more times during his tenure with the team. The Thompsons are one of five father-son duos to have ever won an NBA title.
The other half of the “Splash Brothers” was the son of an NBA standout, too. Dell Curry broke out as one of the first great 3-point shooters in the league, making 40.2% of his shots from deep over his 16-year career. He also won Sixth Man of the Year in 1994 and is second on the Hornets‘ all-time points leader list.
Of course, Steph Curry took his father’s 3-point prowess to a whole other level. The Warriors star revolutionized the game with his 3-point shooting, winning two MVPs (including the first unanimous one in league history) en route to guiding Golden State to four championships. Curry set the NBA’s all-time record for 3-pointers made in 2021, six months before he won his first Finals MVP.Â
The Earnhardts are two of NASCAR‘s most iconic drivers. The elder Earnhardt participated in 676 Winston Cup races, winning 76 of them. Earnhardt’s career came to an end after he was involved in a fatal crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010.
Earnhardt Jr. won 26 Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500 twice (2004, 2014). He had 260 top-10 finishes in Cup races in his career and was named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021.
5. Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds
Before Barry Bonds reset the record books, his father also joined the record books in a unique way. Bobby Bonds, a three-time All-Star, was just the second player to hit 300 career home runs and steal 300 bases, recording 332 homers and 461 stolen bases.
Three decades after Bonds emerged as a young star with the Giants, his son added to his already Hall of Fame career in a big way during his time in the Bay Area. He won five of his seven NL MVPs during his 15 seasons with the Giants, including four in a row at the start of the century. Bonds broke a couple of home run records as well, hitting 73 homers for the most in a single season ever in 2001 and setting the all-time record for homers with 762.
The Guerreros have left their mark on Canadian baseball history. The elder Guerrero was a four-time All-Star with the Expos, finishing in the NL’s top 10 in homers four times during his eight seasons in Montreal. He added to his historic career in his first season with the Angels, hitting 39 homers in 2004 to win his first and only MVP. The nine-time All-Star became a Hall of Famer on the second ballot.
As for the younger Guerrero, he turned into one of MLB’s best power hitters in just a short time. He hit 48 homers in his third season in 2021, which marked his first of four straight All-Star nods. Guerrero Jr. is only 25 years old, so it’s possible this father-son duo could climb the list.
3. Bobby Hull and Brett Hull
The Hull family produced two of the greatest players in NHL history. Bobby Hull was arguably the best player in the history of the sport during his prime, leading the league in goals seven times and finishing second all-time in goals scored (610) at the time of his retirement. The two-time MVP winner also led the league in scoring three times.
The younger Hull might have been an even better player than his father. Brett Hull scored 741 goals in his career, the fifth-highest in league history. He also won Stanley Cups in 1999 with the Stars and in 2002 with the Red Wings. A nine-time All-Star, Brett Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, joining his father to become the Hall’s first father-son duo.
2. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. notably made history when they became the first father-son duo to play together in the majors. Before they appeared in 51 games together in the early 1990s, Griffey Sr. played a key role in the Reds‘ World Series triumphs in the 1970s. He was one of the best contact hitters in the game when they won it all in 1975 and was an All-Star a year later when the Reds claimed the World Series again. Griffey Sr. ended his career as a three-time All-Star.
The younger Griffey is known as one of the greatest players in MLB history. He was a 13-time All-Star and an MVP winner, leading the AL in homers four times. Junior, who mostly starred for the Mariners and Reds, also won 10 Gold Gloves in his career. He ranks seventh all-time with 630 career home runs, and he set a record at the time for the highest Hall of Fame voting share in 2016.
1. Archie Manning and Peyton Manning, Eli Manning
Most families would love to have one quarterback good enough to make the NFL. The Manning family not only had three (likely to be four soon), but all three also became top quarterbacks in the league.
Archie Manning was a two-time Pro Bowler over his 14-year NFL career, spending most of it with the Saints in their early seasons as a franchise. While the Saints never had great team success with Manning, he was widely viewed as one of the best passers of the 1970s.
Manning’s two quarterback sons wound up having even better careers than he did. Peyton Manning, the elder of the two, lived up to the hype as a generational prospect when the Colts selected him first overall in the 1998 NFL Draft. He won four MVPs during his time in Indianapolis and brought the Colts a Super Bowl title in 2006. Manning continued his all-time career with the Broncos in 2012, adding another MVP award and Super Bowl championship in the final four seasons of his career. He still holds several NFL records, including MVP wins, and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2021.
Eli Manning could become a first-ballot Hall of Famer soon, too. The Giants‘ decision to trade up and nab him with the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft paid dividends. While the youngest Manning didn’t have the individual prowess that his older brother had, he led the Giants to a great deal of success. He helped them pull off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history in the 2007 season, giving the then-undefeated Patriots their first loss in dramatic fashion. Manning took down the Patriots in the Super Bowl again four years later, making him one of a handful of quarterbacks to start in two Super Bowl wins.Â
Honorable mentions:
Sandy Alomar, Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr.
Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders
Doc Rivers and Austin Rivers
Joe Bryant and Kobe BryantÂ
Clay Matthews Jr., Clay Matthews III and Casey Matthews
The Chiefs clinched their ticket to Super Bowl LIX with their win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, giving them the chance to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.Â
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For perspective on the difficulty that comes with three-peating, nine NFL teams (eight franchises) have repeated as Super Bowl champions, but the first eight failed to make it back to the championship game the ensuing season, according to FOX Sports research. So, the Chiefs have already made history in that regard.Â
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But the two-time defending Super Bowl champions aren’t the only team with such an opportunity in front of them.
The UConn Huskies are the back-to-back men’s college basketball champions. UConn appears to be on track to make the NCAA Tournament again in 2025, but it hasn’t been as strong of a team as it was the last two seasons. Through January, the Huskies already had twice as many losses (six) as they did the year before, when they finished 37-3.
There have been a pair of other teams who’ve recently had a chance to three-peat but fell just short. The Las Vegas Aces lost in the semifinals of the 2024 WNBA playoffs after winning two straight titles. Georgia had the opportunity to three-peat in 2023. However, it was left out of the College Football Playoff that year after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.Â
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at some teams who have managed to pull it off.
Here are some of the teams that have most recently three-peated in their league across a plethora of sports — both professionally and collegiately — in reverse chronological order.
Right now, it’s Manchester City’s world, and the entire Premier League is just living in it. Winners of six of the last seven Premier League championships, Man City has been a runaway freight train, headlined by the attack of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
College Softball: Oklahoma (2021-24)
The Sooners have lost just 15 games over the past four years and have shown no signs of letting up under coach Patty Gasso. Oklahoma has beaten Texas and Florida State twice apiece to win its titles.
The one they call Ronaldo helped Real Madrid three-peat in the mid-2010s, along with the likes of Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata (for one season in the three-peat stretch). Ronaldo’s final season with Real Madrid came in the final season of the team’s three-peat.
Chiefs beat Bills, Is Kansas City the best version of themselves?
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The game of basketball has treated the UConn faithful well over the past decade. Losing a whopping five games over four years (151-5), the Huskies were the unstoppable force of women’s college basketball, boat-racing teams up and down the floor. Breanna Stewart, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Morgan Tuck were part of what was arguably the golden age of UConn hoops.
Johnson drove laps around everyone in the latter half of the 2000s, winning 35 races from 2006-10 and six Cup Series championships in eight years. He ended his career with seven championships, tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the most in NASCAR history.
Phil Jackson retired following the 1998 season with the Chicago Bulls — until, of course, he became the head coach of the Lakers in 1999. Led by the star power of Shaquille O’Neal and an emerging superstar by the name of Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles won three straight titles, while Jackson actually claimed his sixth consecutive title as a coach, as he won in each of his final three seasons at the helm in Chicago with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
In what was the last true Yankees dynasty, the team won four titles in five years — with the wins in the three-peat coming in convincing fashion. Sweeping the San Diego Padres in 1998 and the Atlanta Braves in 1999 and then beating the New York Mets in the 2000 Subway Series, the likes of Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte cemented their respective places in Yankees history.
Was there ever a doubt the Chiefs would beat the Bills?
The first four seasons of the WNBA were controlled by the Houston Comets, who won each of the first four league titles. As the Comets dominated the sport, Cynthia Cooper won two WNBA MVPs. Cooper and Tina Thompson each went on to have Hall of Fame careers, but the Comets disbanded as a franchise following the 2008 season.
The pride of Long Island won its first Stanley Cup in what was the Islanders’ eighth season in the sport. A run that featured Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies and goalkeeper Billy Smith saw the Islanders sweep the Stanley Cup in 1982 and 1983 and avoid a Game 7 in each of the four seasons. This run came directly after the Montreal Canadians also four-peated.
College Baseball: USC Trojans (1970-74)
The Trojans baseball program was a behemoth under manager Rod Dedeaux, winning five consecutive World Series thanks to the contributions of George Milke and Russ McQueen, among many others. To date, the five-peat remains an NCAA Baseball record, with two being the most consecutive titles by any other team.
Thought some of the aforementioned runs were impressive? Those don’t hold a candle to John Wooden’s UCLA teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s. A period that saw the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and Curtis Rowe, among many others, put on the Bruins uniform saw UCLA win titles in nine of 10 seasons.
No NFL team has three-peated in the Super Bowl era (1966-present), but the Packers did three-peat, as they won the final NFL championship in 1965 and then the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. Near the end of Vince Lombardi’s reign as head coach, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Willie Davis helped lead Green Bay to three consecutive titles, including a pair of blowouts in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. The Packers also three-peated from 1929-31.
The Golden Gophers lost one game over their three-peat span (25-1) under head coach Bernie Bierman. Minnesota won two more titles under Bierman in 1940 and 1941. The head coach was ordered to report to the Marines during WWII, with him returning as Minnesota’s head coach in 1945.
Alex Bregman remains on the open market, and the Houston Astros presumably have their 2025 third baseman in Isaac Paredes — whom they acquired as part of their return from the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Kyle Tucker last month. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?
Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve expressed that he’d be open to changing positions if it would help the team re-sign Bregman.
“We haven’t talked about it, but for Alex, I’d do whatever,” Altuve said at Astros FanFest on Saturday. “He’s one of the best players in the whole league, but definitely one of the best players on this team. We want him to stay, and whatever I have to do for him to stay I’m willing to do it. … We have a better chance to win a championship with [Bregman].Â
“I’m willing to do whatever for him to stay.”
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Houston’s depth chart would have to change if Bregman, who has primarily played third base during his nine-year MLB career, comes back. Free agent signee Christian Walker is the team’s first baseman, with Jeremy Pena at shortstop. Paredes has played first and second base, with Paredes’ experience in the middle infield position opening the door for him to move to second with Bregman returning to the hot corner.
Such moves would necessitate Altuve, a nine-time All-Star, becoming the team’s designated hitter or moving to the outfield, which he has never played at either the MLB or MiLB level.Â
Astros manager Joe Espada feels that the Astros could figure out their defensive positioning if Bregman is back.
“I respect his willingness to do whatever it takes,” Espada said about Altuve. “We had conversations about what our lineup would be like if we bring Alex back, and I’m confident we could get it done if he chooses to come back to the Astros.”
Last season, Bregman, a Gold Glover and two-time All-Star, totaled 26 home runs and 75 RBIs in 145 games, while slashing .260/.315/.453. Bregman’s .768 OPS was the worst of his career. He turns 31 in March.
Meanwhile, Altuve, who turns 35 in May, totaled 20 home runs and 65 RBIs in 153 games last season, while slashing .295/.350/.439. Bregman and Altuve have each played their entire MLB careers in Houston, helping it win the World Series in 2017 and 2022.
The Astros began 2024 a dismal 12-24, but they rebounded in grand fashion, going 76-49 the rest of the way and winning the AL West at 88-73 for the fourth consecutive season and seventh time in eight years. However, their season ended with a dud in the AL wild-card round, getting swept at home by the Tigers and out-scored 8-3 in the best-of-three series.Â
The first Amazin’ Day fan fest at Citi Field did not bring with it a dramatic resolution to Alonso’s free agent saga — but did seem to confirm that the New York Mets‘ most popular and prolific power hitter is likely to sign elsewhere as spring training nears.
“We’ve made a significant offer to Pete,” Mets owner Steve Cohen explained during a fireside chat with President of Baseball Operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza. “This has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation.
“Soto was tough,” Cohen said, referring to talks that ended with New York signing star slugger Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year deal last month. “This is worse.”
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Alonso, who like Soto is represented by agent Scott Boras, has been a fan favorite since arriving in 2019, when he hit a rookie-record 53 home runs. The 30-year-old first baseman has 226 homers, third-most in franchise history, and saved New York from playoff elimination last October with a go-ahead drive off Milwaukee closer Devin Williams in Game 3 of a National League Wild Card Series.
A standing-room-only crowd in the Piazza Club chanted Alonso’s name as Cohen and Stearns fielded a question about the Alonso negotiations from moderator Gary Cohen, the Mets’ play-by-play announcer on SNY.
“I think we all love Pete, and we’ve said that many times,” said Stearns, who spoke before Steve Cohen. “I think as we’ve gone through this process, we’ve continued to express that. And we also understand that this is a business and Pete, as a free agent, deserves the right and has the right — earned the privilege, really, to see what’s out there.
“We also feel really good about the young players who are coming through our system,” Stearns said to some light boos. “We saw that last year. And that’s not always the most popular opinion, but we saw that last year. And we’re going to need to see it again.”
Alonso and fellow Boras client Alex Bregman are the most notable players still unsigned from what has been a cool free agent market for corner infielders. Former Arizona first baseman Christian Walker ($60 million for three years with Houston) is the only corner infielder to ink a multiyear contract. Josh Bell, Carlos Santana and 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt all signed one-year deals.
“I don’t like the structures that are being presented to us,” Steve Cohen said. “It’s highly asymmetric against us and I feel strongly about it. I will never say no. You know, there’s always a possibility.
“But the reality is that we’re moving forward, and we continue to bring in players. And as we continue to bring in players, the reality is, it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have.”
Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, each of whom came through the farm system as a third baseman, said Saturday they have been taking reps at first base this winter. Mendoza said he liked the Mets’ depth at the position, including Joey Meneses, who hit 29 homers the previous three seasons for the Washington Nationals before signing a minor-league deal with New York in November.
Hours before the management panel, Alonso’s teammates — as well as Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza — expressed hope he and the club could still reunite.
“I would love to see Pete back with us, but I also understand that I don’t make those decisions and that’s between Pete and our front office and David and Steve,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said.
“Listen, he’s a special player — guys that can hit 40 homers just are not walking down the street,” Piazza said. “When he’s really in his game, he’s a special player. From a personal standpoint, I hope they work something out.”
Amazin’ Day included 18 panels about the Mets’ past, present and future and featured more than 50 players, alumni and prospects in attendance. Fans were able to tour Citi Field, including the clubhouses and bullpen.
NOTES: Soto was expected to attend but had four potential flights out of the Dominican Republic canceled. The flight issues also prevented Dedniel Núñez and Huascar Brazobán from making their expected visits. Nimmo and Francisco Lindor said they expect to be 100% when the Mets have their first full workout of spring training Feb. 17.Â
Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card — which features Skenes’ autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey — up for auction.
The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years’ worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.
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Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card’s owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes’ starts.
While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a ” dream come true,” that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.
The team posted on X after the decision that it was “bummed” but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.
Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it will donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.
The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting following a outstanding rookie season.
Skenes said over the weekend he hasn’t thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.
The Chicago White Sox plan to unveil a statue of Mark Buehrle when they celebrate their 2005 World Series-winning team at Rate Field on July 11.
Buehrle pitched for Chicago for the first 12 of his 16 seasons in the majors. Known for working quickly with pinpoint control, the left-hander went 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA in 390 appearances with the White Sox, including 365 starts.
The White Sox announced the honor for Buehrle at the team’s fan festival on Friday. He had his No. 56 retired by the franchise in 2017.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Buehrle said. “To put a statue up, of me, out there, forever. I guess the number could be unretired and get taken out and put it back into play. But the statue, unless someone tears it down or does something to it, it’s always going to be there.”
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Buehrle, 45, put on his old uniform and made a few throws to help the sculptor with the details for the statue.
“I ain’t going to lie. It actually felt pretty good — for the 10 minutes I did it. A couple hours later it did not feel good,” a smiling Buehrle cracked.
Buehrle pitched for Miami and Toronto after departing Chicago. The five-time All-Star finished with a 214-160 record and a 3.81 ERA over 3,283 1/3 innings, to go along with four Gold Gloves. He struck out 1,870 and walked 734.
He received 45 votes (11.4%) in his fifth year on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“I’m literally just honored to be on the ballot this many years,” he said. “Just getting my name on the first, I was like, ‘Man if I can just stay on for another year,'” Buehrle said. “And now we are going into Year 6. I mean literally giving me goosebumps. It’s insane.”
Buehrle played a key role in Chicago’s last World Series title. He posted a 16-8 record with a career-low 3.12 ERA in 33 starts, helping the White Sox win the 2005 AL Central. Then he went 2-0 with a 3.47 ERA in four postseason appearances, including three starts.
He got the save when he came in and retired Adam Everett on a popup for the final out of the 14th inning in a 7-5 win at Houston in Game 3 of the World Series.
“Every time you go out there you’re trying to win a World Series. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t,” Buehrle said. “I have the feeling the way these fans are and the way they talk to you about that year, they start tearing up and shaking when they’re talking to you about it, yeah you can definitely feel how it affects everybody.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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EA Sports’ beloved college football video game series won’t be hitting the transfer portal any time soon.
“College Football 26” will return for the 2025 season and will be available this summer, EA Sports announced on Jan. 16. EA Sports re-launched the popular video game series in the summer of 2024, marking the first time it had released the game since 2013.Â
After 2.8 million players bought the game at launch, “College Football 25” became the highest-selling video game of all time in the United States in November. Players like Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty became instant fan favorites, due to their electric abilities in the game and on the field.
With so much excitement around the game, it got us thinking — who are the greatest sports video game characters of all time? We looked back at games over the last couple of decades and picked out the most dominant athletes in that span.
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Did your favorite player make the list? Let’s take a look:
10 best sports video game characters of all time
10. Ronaldinho, “FIFA 07”
Plenty of FIFA legends through the years could represent EA Sports’ beloved soccer simulator on this list, but Ronaldinho’s superior offensive abilities propel him into this spot. The Brazil superstar had a rating of 90 or better in finishing, short passing, dribbling, ball control, acceleration, sprint speed and reaction.
9. Sunday Tiger Woods, “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2009”
Really, Sunday Tiger from any 2000s edition would suffice. If your character was lucky enough to make the cut and face Sunday Tiger, you had to play a virtually perfect round of golf to stand a chance of beating him.Â
EA Sports even leaned into Sunday Tiger’s God-like abilities by using a fan video of a glitch in “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008” in which the namesake character could walk on water and hit a chip shot from a lake, turning it into an incredible marketing campaign for the next edition of the game.
8. Michael Jordan, “NBA 2K11”
Some of the characters in these games became overpowered superstars by accident. This edition of Jordan was anything but. The Chicago Bulls legend graced the cover of the 2010 release of the iconic basketball game and had several different modes centered around him, including one in which players could compete in a “Jordan Challenge” that let them simulate key moments from his career.Â
There were eight retro versions of Jordan from different seasons of his career, and all eight of them had him rated at an unstoppable 99 overall. Jordan also starred in one of the most memorable sports video game opening sequences ever.
7. Peja Stojakovic, “NBA Ballers”
If sweet-shooting NBA players who became video game juggernauts had a patron saint, it would be Stojakovic in this 2004 streetball simulator. The digital version of the Sacramento Kings swingman paved the way for a long line of NBA players in future basketball video games who, once you figured out their shot timing and favorite places to let it fly from beyond the arc, could not be contained.
The first and only player to earn a 99 overall rating in one of the most anticipated games of the decade, Hunter is a cheat code in “EA College Football 25.” The Heisman winner was given 99 acceleration, 99 awareness, 99 spectacular catch, 99 play recognition, 97 jumping, 97 change of direction, 97 catching, 95 speed, 95 juke move, 95 zone coverage and 90 man coverage. There probably has never been a football video game character to have several ratings in the 90s on both sides of the ball — which is apt for his unprecedented two-way play this past season. The Colorado receiver/cornerback finished the year with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, along with 36 total tackles, 11 pass deflections, a forced fumble and four interceptions.
5. “Jon Dowd” (Barry Bonds), “MVP Baseball 2005”
The folks at EA Sports had a problem. Barry Bonds, MLB’s consensus best player at the time, had pulled out of the MLB Players Association’s common licensing agreement. Thus, EA Sports could not use his name or likeness in “MVP Baseball 2005.” It circumvented this by creating the fictional “Jon Dowd,” a slugging, left-handed-hitting San Francisco Giants outfielder with a familiar build and swing. And Dowd, much like the real-life Bonds at the time, was a cheat code, routinely depositing virtual baseballs into a digital McCovey Cove beyond the right-field wall in San Francisco.
4. Mike Tyson, “Punch-Out”
Unlike the other names on this list, Tyson was not a playable character but instead was the final boss in this boxing game. The virtual Tyson is considered one of the most difficult video-game final bosses of all time thanks to his ability to, like the name suggests, knock players out with a single punch.
3. Bo Jackson, “Tecmo Bowl”
The original unstoppable video game character, this version of Jackson is still considered the G.O.A.T. for sports video game fans of a certain age. It’s easy to see why. The pixelated Jackson was too fast and too strong for just about anyone else in the game to stop him, no matter what they did. And unlike the real-life Jackson, whose incredible two-sport professional career was cut short due to injuries, this Jackson could not get hurt.
“Tecmo Bowl” Bo Jackson lives on in the cultural zeitgeist, including an appearance in the iconic animated sitcom “Family Guy” and a Kia commercial starring the actual Bo Jackson.
2. Pablo Sanchez, Backyard Sports
With respect to Jon Dowd, Sanchez is the only truly fictional character on this list, but he deserves to be here after a decade across a litany of Backyard Sports titles.Â
Sanchez is best known for his abilities in various Backyard Baseball editions. He was a true five-tool player, representing one of the best hitters and fastest runners in just about every edition of the game. When Millennials and even some older Gen Z gamers discuss their Backyard Sports memories, Sanchez is usually the first name they think of.
1. Michael Vick, “Madden 2004”
The first true dual-threat quarterback of the modern Madden era, the current NFL on FOX analyst was simply impossible to stop in the game that bore his image on the cover. He was too fast when he took off running and too accurate as a passer to be contained by even the best defensive game plan.
Nothing like Vick has been seen in Madden since then — which is by design. Madden developer Clint Oldenburg revealed in a 2016 interview that several features included in subsequent Madden editions, such as the popular “Hit Stick” and much less popular and since-discontinued “QB Vision,” were added specifically to counteract Vick. It was as though they were Frankenstein trying to stop a monster of their own creation.Â
Additionally, the Madden player ratings system has been changed significantly so that no player is overwhelmingly dominant at so many different facets like Vick was.
“For me, Andy is a Hall of Famer,” Sabathia said in an interview with MLB.com. “Getting a chance to pitch alongside him, getting a chance to still talk to him pretty much all the time, I believe he’s a Hall of Famer. … [with] my getting in, hopefully people will reconsider his candidacy and put him in.
“I mean, anybody that wins 19 games in the playoffs, I think deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Pettitte, a three-time All-Star, won five World Series with the Yankees in his three stints with the franchise (1995-2003, 2007-10 and 2012-13); he pitched for the Houston Astros from 2004-06, posting a combined 3.38 ERA over 84 appearances/83 starts and a career-best 2.39 ERA in 2005.
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In his career, Pettitte had a 3.85 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 2,448 combined strikeouts across 531 appearances/521 starts. He also sported a 256-153 career regular-season record.
Pettitte is first in Yankees history with 2,020 career strikeouts, is tied for first with 438 games started and is third with 219 wins, 2,796.1 innings pitched and a 51.3 WAR among pitchers.
A potential hindrance to Pettitte’s Hall of Fame case has been him admitting in 2007 that he took HGH to recover from an elbow injury in 2002. This year, Pettitte received 27.9% support to get into the Hall, up from 13.5% from 2023; a player needs 75% to get in.
On the hill, the left-hander is best remembered for being one of the premier postseason pitchers in MLB history. Making 44 postseason starts, Pettitte posted a combined 3.81 ERA and went 19-11. Pettitte’s 19 postseason wins stand as the most by a pitcher in MLB history.
As for some of his more epic outings, Pettitte pitched 8.1 scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series in a 1-0 Yankees win. Two years later, he tossed 7.1 scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres in Game 4 of the 1998 World Series. And then, two years after that, Pettitte gave up two runs, neither of which was earned, in the Yankees’ Game 5 series-clinching win over the New York Mets in the 2000 World Series.
Moreover, in the last two seasons that he played in the postseason (2010 and 2012, when he was 38 and 40, respectively), Pettitte pitched through at least 6.2 innings and surrendered no more than three runs in each of the four starts.
Sabathia and Pettitte were teammates on the Yankees from 2009-10 and 2012-13. The former joined the Yankees in 2009, serving as their ace for the bulk of his 11 years in the Bronx and helping them win the World Series in his first season (2009). The pair of left-handers (Sabathia and Pettitte) and fellow free agent signee A.J. Burnett formed a three-man starting rotation in the 2009 postseason for the Yankees.
