They come from all walks of life across the baseball landscape, from the Dominican Republic to Southern California to Alabama.
They are All-Stars with prestigious awards and accomplishments, despite little time in the major leagues.
They are kids really – none older than 23 – with a total of just four years of major-league experience, but already are considered the faces of their franchises.
Together, shortstop Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, shortstop Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles and pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates are now the faces of MLB The Show 25, with the young and uber-talented trio gracing the cover on the 20th anniversary of the popular baseball video game.
“I was so excited, and so grateful,’ De La Cruz tells USA TODAY Sports. “That’s something that almost every player in the big leagues wanted. People back home are going to be so excited.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
“They’re going to go crazy when the news comes out.’
De La Cruz grew up playing the video game, always picking Derek Jeter and the Yankees, and met the Hall of Famer for the first time at last year’s All-Star Game.
While De La Cruz regularly plays The Show, which debuted when he was only 4 years old, and Henderson games with teammates and friends from back home, Skenes admits he’s not personally into baseball games.
While Skenes played Fortnite for hours at a time last spring to ease his boredom, and played MLB The Show one night in September with teammates – building a dynasty with the Pirates – he concedes he rarely plays video games these days.
“I never had a PlayStation growing up, and I stopped playing video games when I was nine or 10,’ Skenes said. “I definitely see the value in it and all, and I have nothing against the game, but when I’m not playing baseball I don’t want to think about baseball.’
Skenes laughs, remembering his two years at the Air Force Academy when he’d be so exhausted he could barely crawl into bed, let alone stay up and play video games. But now, to be on the cover, well, it’s a privilege he doesn’t take lightly.
“It’s a cool thing, and a huge honor,’ Skenes says, “especially sharing this with those guys. I met those guys at the All-Star Game last year, which was really cool, and then sharing this with them is great, and to have this connection with them early in our careers.’
This is the first time since the The Show debuted in 2006 that it has had multiple players on its cover. Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, was the first athlete on the cover.
“Historically, we’ve chosen a single cover athlete for MLB The Show,’ said Todd Liss, Group Manager, Global Marketing MLB The Show. “We’ve been lucky enough to partner with some of the biggest players on the planet. With the unprecedented young talent coming into the league, we wanted to represent the current climate of baseball and showcase it on our cover.
“Not only are Elly, Paul and Gunnar young guns, but they’re doing unbelievable things on the field and fans have noticed. These three players are changing what’s possible in baseball, so it’s only fair we change how many players can be on the cover of The Show.’
Henderson, who has been playing video games since he can remember, still can’t believe he’s going to be on the cover. He vividly remembers seeing Ken Griffey Jr., Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper gracing the covers over the years, and now he’s in the same fraternity.
“That’s why I’m so excited because growing up I played The Show, and seeing all of the different athletes on the cover,’ Henderson says. “I always thought that would be something cool to do, and just to have this opportunity is really special.
“It’s definitely a top-five honor for me just because of the nature of it and the fact that me and all of my friends back home played the game when we were younger. So, to kind of share it with them is going to be pretty cool.’
Henderson, who won the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year award, still plays almost nightly during the season, simply to wind down after games with teammates, also playing Call of Duty and Apex Legends. He gets a kick out of his childhood buddies letting him know they’re playing as him in The Show.
It was late in the season, Henderson says, when he was first contacted and asked whether he had interest in being on the cover. He didn’t hesitate. Neither did Skenes or De La Cruz.
“I was super pumped up,’ Henderson says. “I mean it’s really cool being able to be on that because it’s definitely going to be something that I hold near and dear to me, because I pretty much played video games my whole life.
“And now, to be able to be on the cover of a really big-time game is really cool.’
It wasn’t necessarily by design, but none of the three players on the video cover are from a large-market team. The Reds and Pirates are two of the smallest markets in baseball, with each having payrolls that ranked in the bottom 10 last season.
“You know, through social media and all of that,’ Skenes says, “there’s almost no such thing as a small-market team because everybody has their eyes on everything. It’s cool to share a cover with them, to know where the game is going.
“Good players are getting recognized no matter where they’re playing.’
Said Liss: “When we choose a cover athlete, we’re not just looking at their name, their stats, or how popular they are. We’re looking at what interesting stories they can tell. Every player is unique, and we try and translate that throughout everything we do. Gunnar, Elly and Paul all have unique and exciting roads to the show, which lined up perfectly with a key component of this year’s game.’
De La Cruz grew up in Sabana Grande de Boya, Dominican Republic, the youngest of nine kids. He signed as an international free agent with the Reds in 2018, receiving only a $65,000 signing bonus. Today, he’s one of the most electrifying players in the game, with his speed, power and arm strength. He’s ranked along with Bobby Witt Jr as the fastest player in the game, with the best arm strength by an infielder, according to Statcast. He hit 25 homers and stole 67 bases last season, becoming the first shortstop in history to hit at least 20 homers and steal 60 or more bases in a season.
Henderson grew up in Selma, Ala., and was the best high school player in the state when he was drafted in the second round in 2019, receiving a $2.3 million signing bonus. He is already is considered one of the finest all-around shortstops in the game, hitting 37 homers with an .893 OPS last season.
Skenes grew up in Fullerton, Calif., and attended the Air Force Academy where he was a catcher and a pitcher, winning the John Olerud Award presented to the best two-way player in collegiate baseball. He transferred to LSU after his sophomore season, was selected the national pitcher of the year, and selected first in the amateur draft by the Pirates, receiving a $9.2 million signing bonus. Last season, he became the first pitcher to start the All-Star Game a year after being drafted, easily won the NL Rookie of the Year award and finished third in the Cy Young balloting.
“When you’re in college, you don’t hang out, you don’t fraternize with any of the other teams,’ Skenes says. “In the big leagues, you see them so often, it’s different. And now kind of sharing this with them, it’s another thing to talk about hopefully when we’re facing each other for the next 10, 15 years down the line.’
They’ll forever be linked as three of the youngest and brightest stars in the game, not only for their accomplishments on the field, but now off the field, too.
“MLB is entering this dynamic era with electric young talent coming up and making immediate franchise level impact,’ Liss said. ‘Elly, Paul and Gunnar are three of the many reasons why it’s a great time to be a baseball fan.’
And this trio is excited for their fans.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of kids buy the game,’ De La Cruz says. “You’ll see them buy a lot here [in the Dominican Republic] because they always support me. That’s why I’m so honored to be a part of this.’
“I can’t wait.’
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.