A new thread on the Operation Sports forums is raising questions about a potential issue with pitcher stamina in MLB The Show 26, though the community remains divided on whether it’s a legitimate bug or simply an outlier scenario.
The discussion began when user Tessi shared video data from a game in which Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu — listed with just 23 stamina — threw more than 100 pitches and remained effective deep into extra innings. According to the post, Abreu recorded 8 shutout innings despite operating at or near zero stamina for several frames, with no visible decline in performance.
That sequence immediately raised eyebrows, as longtime players of the series are familiar with how fatigue is supposed to impact pitchers. Traditionally, once stamina drops into the yellow and red zones, pitchers begin to lose control, velocity, and overall effectiveness, often leading to increased hits and walks.
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Outlier Or Bug?
Despite Tessi’s findings, not everyone is convinced this represents a widespread issue.
Several users suggested the situation may have been influenced by bullpen availability, noting that AI teams will occasionally leave pitchers in longer if other relievers are too fatigued to be used. Others pointed out that a single 19-inning game — particularly one without the extra-inning runner rule — is an extreme edge case that may not reflect normal gameplay behavior.
“The videos you provided only confirm or prove that it happened once,” one user replied. “You could be right that there’s a problem, but one weird game with an issue doesn’t prove anything by itself.”
Another user, MiracleMet718, pointed out that the issue isn’t so much in-game stamina as it is how MLB The Show itself penalizes low stamina. “One thing to add here is that there are attribute penalties when it comes to pitchers pitching with no stamina, but it’s only the pitcher velocity,” Met said. “I don’t believe control or anything else is impacted, but the pitch speeds will be noticeably slower.”
So, is it a bug? Well, that depends on how you define the term.
Yes, Tessl’s observation that a relief pitcher can throw over 100 pitches without serious consequence has merit. That said, as others pointed out, this appears to be an issue with how the game penalizes low stamina. If a pitcher is truly gassed, velocity should dip and control should deteriorate. But in its current form, the only noticeable effect seems to be reduced pitch speed when stamina is low.
We can only hope that San Diego Studio makes adjustments to this flawed system in the future.
If you’re interested in observing the conversation for yourself, you can see the forum thread in the comments.
Published: Apr 1, 2026 01:00 pm