The John Donaldson Problem - by David Stegon
Last night I found myself in a situation many of you have faced: My opponent starts an opener (in this case Brock Stewart) before bringing in POTM Shohei Ohtani and John Donaldson. This was the second straight game I faced an opponent who went to their bullpen early to use Donaldson who has become the subject of much debate in the MLB the Show community.
By now just about everyone knows of the two-way player glitch. Players like Shohei and Donaldson do not lose stamina after pitching if they come in relief. That means anyone who uses the glitch can essentially pitch a two-way player every game and have them return at full energy.
Do you consider this cheating, or is it fair if the game allows it?
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Donaldson is a solid pitcher thanks to his left-handed release and solid pitch mix. He is also on every roster since he is freely available in the Set 3 program, allowing everyone who has played the game at least a little bit to grab him.
I have him in my starting rotation but use him only as a starter and never out of the bullpen. While I understand some players will leverage every opportunity the game allows them to win, I find the strategy bush league.
Yes, you can do it, but it is also weak. I immediately roll my eyes when someone brings in Donaldson mid-game. I’m probably average against him. He’s a little wild and after seeing him so much I’ve gotten used to his pitch mix. My bench is primarily right-handed so I’ll sometimes substitute some of my lefty-only hitters for the platoon advantage.
Using Donaldson is akin to using the bunt cheese. You are not trying to win a baseball game but exploit flaws in the game. That goes against why I play and does take some of the fun out of it. With that said, my biggest problem is not with the players who use this glitch but with San Diego Studios for the fact this glitch even exists. They have had two years now to make the two-way player system work (it was a big selling point for last year’s game with Shohei on the cover) but they still have problems getting it right.
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