Silver Anniversary

25 years ago today, Wizards of the Coast announced the upcoming release of a new card game called MLB Showdown. Now, some of us are starting to feel old when we realized how long it's been, but it also means it's a great time to look back and appreciate it. Of course I feel the need to mark the anniversary, and what better way than to overwork myself?

So while MLB Showdown was announced on February 4 and released in April 2000, I'm excited to reveal today that this April I am going to honor 25 years of this game by creating a team set for each and every team represented in that original lineup.

Yes, I must represent the original cover athlete.

What does that mean?

Every day in April I am going to release a team set, one for each team as they were known in 2000. That means the Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays instead of the Guardians, Miami and Rays. Each team will be represented with a different season (certainly I can't do 1999 or 2000 since they already have official cards) For some teams that gives me lots of options...and then there are the Anaheim Angels with all of 2 seasons to choose from before they changed their name again during the SD run.

The sets will be released in the same order as they were ordered in the original 2000 set 25 years ago. So on April 1 I'll release the Anaheim Angels set, and on April 30 I'll release the Toronto Blue Jays version. Most teams will be of the usual memorable kind of pennant winners and world champions, but a handful will also spotlight unique seasons in different ways.

So let us toast to 25 years of a legendary card game, and look forward to April when the game celebrates it's birthday and I can swell up my collection of team sets in a new and exciting way.

April 1: 1997 Anaheim Angels

April 2: 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks

April 3: 1995 Atlanta Braves

April 4: 1970 Baltimore Orioles

April 5: 1946 Boston Red Sox

April 6: 2008 Chicago Cubs

April 7: 1976 Chicago White Sox

April 8: 1990 Cincinnati Reds

April 9: 1920 Cleveland Indians

April 10: 2007 Colorado Rockies

April 11: 1935 Detroit Tigers

April 12: 1993 Florida Marlins