MLB The Show 22: Halladay and Friends Program Primer

MLB The Show 22 dropped their third main program on May 20, the “Halladay and Friends” program that ends in two weeks on June 3. As its name implies, the program is all about the late Roy “Doc” Halladay, a former Cy Young winner with the Toronto Blue Jays (2003) and Philadelphia Phillies (2010). Halladay also threw a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter in 2010, which was only the second no-hitter in the postseason after Don Larsen’s perfect game during the 1956 World Series. Halladay tragically died in 2017 when the small amphibious plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico; he was 40-years-old.

Below, you will find a primer on Halladay and Friends, including the cards you can collect and ways to build up program experience (aside from grinding through games).

Halladay and Friends program

There are 40 experience levels in the program with an experience limit of 500 thousand, far less than the 44 levels and 750 thousand experience for Spring Cleanup. Also, unlike the previous program, there are no program bosses. Rather, you will unlock cards at various experience levels who just happen to be some of Halladay’s greatest teammates from his time with Toronto and Philadelphia.

First, you will get a Legends Choice Pack, which is the same pack from the Spring Cleanup program. Nab cards you don’t have and if gameplay experience is any indication, there should be two you don’t have unless you bought them on the marketplace.

The first teammate you’ll unlock is a bronze 67 OVR Veteran Ryan Howard from 2014 at level five. At level eight, you’ll unlock gold 80 OVR Breakout Carlos Delgado from 1996. Third will be gold 83 OVR All-Star Chase Utley from 2010. Fourth will be gold 84 OVR Breakout Roy Halladay from 2001. After that, the good stuff really comes into play.

The first diamond card you’ll earn from the program is 85 OVR All-Star Shane Victorino from 2009. Victorino, “The Flyin’ Hawai’ian,” is mainly a contact hitter (76 Contact Right, 91 Contact Left) with great Speed (80) and excellent defense, where overall he’s a diamond-rated defender. In particular, he has a strong (92) and accurate (88) throwing arm from center field.

The next diamond is 87 OVR All-Star Roy Halladay from 2003, one of two diamond Halladay cards you’ll earn in the program. With a four-pitch repertoire, Halladay is a workhorse (with the quirk, too) with a Stamina of 104. He also excels in limiting walks (96 Walks per 9 Innings) with high Velocity (90) and Pitch Control (87), making his sinker, curveball, and changeup that much more effective.

The third diamond you’ll unlock is 87 OVR Veteran Roy Oswalt from 2010. Oswalt, known as a dogged competitor, has high Stamina (92) and Pitching Clutch (96). He has great Pitch Break (90), particularly effective with his slider and 12-6 curve. His Velocity isn’t as high (82) nor does he have any topline ratings as high as All-Star Halladay, but Veteran Oswalt’s attributes are more well-rounded. He also adds a fifth pitch to his repertoire.

The fourth diamond you’ll unlock is 90 OVR 2nd Half Cole Hamels from 2010. This was arguably Hamels’ best season, or at least half-season, of his career. Hamels has the lowest Velocity of the pitching cards in the program at 66, but has a Pitching Break of 99 and Pitching Control of 85. Further, his Pitching Clutch is literally off of the charts at 104 to go along with a 95 in Strikeouts per 9 Innings and 92 Stamina. Since four of his five pitches have movement, that Pitching Break rating should help flabbergast most hitters.

The fifth and final diamond is what amounts to a boss card with a 95 OVR Postseason Roy Halladay from 2010, his masterful season and postseason that was cut short in the National League Championship Series to eventual World Series Champion San Francisco – though Halladay pitched extremely well in the NLCS. This version of Halladay has three attributes over 99 with Hits per 9 Innings (106), Stamina (103), and Pitching Clutch (102). His lowest pitching rating is Home Runs per 9 Innings (72), but is basically in the 80s or 90s for the others sans Strikeouts per 9 Innings (77). At this point, unless you’ve earned cards from Ranked Seasons, Battle Royale, Events, or the marketplace, then Postseason Halladay may be the ace of your staff.

After Postseason Halladay, there are still some notable packs you can unlock. There are several Ballin’ is a Habit, Headliners, and Big Dog packs, the latter of which are Choice packs. There is also a Cover Athletes pack as well as a Takahashi Okazaki Choice pack, featuring the first five Takahashi cards – not the 97 OVR Carlos Delgado that’s part of the Chase Pack Set 2, unfortunately. The last four levels – 37 through 40 – will reward you with bundles of standard packs.

Even if the diamond cards don’t pique your interest, the amount of packs you can earn in this program makes completing the program a worthwhile endeavor.

Halladay and Friends experience missions

First, remember to do each Daily Moment for an easy one thousand experience. You have three days to complete each Daily Moment before they’re removed. Usually, they’re pretty simple, such as striking out six batters without allowing a run or nabbing two hits, including a homer, among other Daily Moments.

Then, work the first set of Featured Program Moments. There are ten featured moments at two thousand experience each. The 20 thousand experience you’ll earn from these is enough to help you reach level four, the Silver Stars pack. With Halladay being the main focus of the program, five of the ten Featured Program Moments are from Halladay’s career using the three different cards from the program. Each card will have tasks to gain parallel experience with them, 500 for pitchers and 350 for hitters. Expect a second Featured Program Moments set to be released as well.

There’s also a new Conquest map for the program, Ringing Bell. It’s in the shape of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, which also finds itself on Philadelphia’s gear. There are no steal fans or “takeover a stronghold by turn X” goals for this Conquest map, so just play at your leisure while noting the simple goals for the map.

Like with the previous programs, there may be a second Conquest map added and most likely a Showdown added as well. Further, there will probably be at least one Collection added to the program, likely the May Monthly Awards cards.

Speaking of Monthly Awards…

May Monthly Awards

The Week Two Moments for the May Monthly Awards program also dropped with the Halladay and Friends program. There are six different Week Two moments at two program stars each for a total of 12. Included are Reid Detmers’ first (and unexpected) no-hitter and the Pittsburgh Pirates being the first team since 2008 to win a game in which they recorded zero hits as they defeated Cincinnati, just another bleak moment for the Reds in 2022.

There are three cards you can unlock from completing the six Week Two Moments. One is Patrick Mazeika of the New York Mets (88 OVR). He gets the nod from The Show and Topps. The catcher and first basemen isn’t fast with a Speed of 30, but he’s a great defender and decent hitter. His highest rating is Batting Clutch at 101, followed by Power Right of 97 and Contact Right of 81. He’s much better against righties as the lefty-lefty matchup gives him a bit more trouble (61 Contact Left, 73 Power Left). Defensively, aside from Arm Strength (64), he is solid and has a high Blocking rating of 79, necessary for any catcher.

Next is Luis Barrera of Oakland (88 OVR). The outfielder (primary left field) is a better hitter than Mazeika, but has lesser defensive ratings. Barrera also has above-average Speed (76) to help man the outfield. He has high Batting Clutch of 104 to go along with 99 Power Right, 90 Contact Right, 82 Contact Left, and 70 Power Left. Where he does lack is Plate Discipline, which is a paltry 26.

Last is Dodgers youngster Gavin Lux (88 OVR), who had struggled a bit during the season before seemingly finding his swing the past week or two. The second basemen brings positional versatility as he can play shortstop and all three outfield positions. The third of these lefty batters, Lux packs great Speed (85) to go along with mashing righties with a 104 Contact Right and 73 Power Right. He fares worse against lefties with a 77 Contact Left and 55 Power Left. Luckily, he has high Batting Clutch (92) and Plate Discipline (86), making him a tough out. Defensively, it’s probably best to keep him in the infield as his Arm Strength (58) and Arm Accuracy (62) are low.

Now, there is one more card you can unlock, but this requires that you already unlocked the previous five cards from Week One of the May Monthly Awards. Once you collect those five and the three above, you can lock them into the program collection to earn 90 OVR Josh Naylor of Cleveland.

Naylor made a big splash with a two-run double in the eighth, game-tying grand slam in the ninth, and the game-winning three-run homer in the eleventh inning against the Chicago White Sox. He became the first player in MLB history to drive in eight runs from the eighth inning on in a single game. Naylor, yet another lefty batter, crushes righties with 102 Contact Right and 90 Power Right, though his Contact Left is 72 and Power Left 68. His Batting Clutch is 100, expected after his heroics, and he also has an 87 Plate Vision, which should help offset his 38 in Plate Discipline. The first basement can play the corner outfield spots, but his defense is above-average at best and he has low Speed (37) so he’s probably best suited to remain at first.

While the Monthly Awards program doesn’t necessarily add much to the Halladay and Friends program, the eventual collection and the high ratings of the cards should help you as you play the Ringing Bell Conquest map.

Now you have everything you need to know about the new Halladay and Friends main program in MLB The Show 22, the third main program of the year. For any Halladay, Philadelphia, or Toronto fans, this program should help you relive some great moments of the late “Doc” Halladay.