Aaron Judge has won three MVPs since his last appearance as the cover athlete for MLB the Show, and the Yankees’ star outfielder will grace the cover once more in 2026.
MLB The Show and San Diego Studios released their trailer for the cover athlete reveal, and Judge was the player of choice just days after announcing there wouldn’t be a new cover athlete for the upcoming game.
Fans speculated if that was linked to a legend’s cover or perhaps something going wrong with the player of original choice, but the wording used was very specific.
Alas, the new game will not have a new cover athlete, but it will have a repeat with Judge being the cover athlete after doing so for MLB the Show 18.
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MLB the Show 26 Cover Athlete Revealed, Aaron Judge Repeats as Yankees’ Representative
The Yankees’ last representative for MLB the Show was Aaron Judge ahead of the 2018 season, as he was named the cover athlete following a historic 2017 rookie campaign.
He will once again be on the cover of the game nearly a decade later, as the outfielder has risen from star rookie to an all-time great hitter.
Judge’s third MVP and first-time appearance in the upcoming World Baseball Classic brings plenty of attention, especially since he’ll be Captain America for this edition of the global tournament.
MLB the Show has long had a history of star-studded cover athletes, including now-teammate Jazz Chisholm who was on the cover of MLB the Show 23 while he was in Miami.
The Yankees have not had a lot of representation as cover athletes on the game; Judge represents the team’s last two cover athlete’s over the last 20 years.
According to TheShow.com, the game’s official website, the game will release on March 17th, 2026 on PlayStation, XBox, and the Nintendo Switch.