MLB 11 The Show Arrives on March 8, Joe Mauer Is on the Cover

Sony, the company which manufactures the PlayStation line of gaming devices and publishes video games for them, has announced that Major League Baseball 11 The Show has a release date of March 8, 2011 and that catcher Joe Mauer from the Minnesota Twins will be the cover athlete.

MLB 11 The Show is set to be delivered on the PlayStation 3 home gaming console, the PlayStation Portable handheld and the older PS2.

Joe Mauer is returning as cover athlete and Sony cites his performance in the 2010 season as the reason, with awards included a third consecutive Golden Glove, hits going over the 1,000 mark for the entire career and third place finish in the All Star game.

Sony has also announced that all those who pre order a copy of MLB 11 The Show before the launch date will get free access to MLB TV for free, allowing them to watch every regular season game in full High Definition mode and will DVR like controls.

The hardware developer is also preparing another treat for fans of MLB, with a DualShock 3 – MLB The Show Edition being set to launch at retail on March 8 for the price of 54.99 dollars, covered with a special image meant to evoke baseball.

The major change in MLB 11 The Show is that analog controls will be used for the most important on pitch actions, pitching, hitting and throwing.

The main single player Road to the Show mode is also being enhanced while the online multiplayer component is redesigned to make sure that the lag which plagued previous installment does not come back.

The commentary booth will be manned by Eric Karros, Rex Hudler, Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell.

MLB 11 The Show also offers support for the PlayStation Move motion tracking technology on the PS3 and can be played in full stereoscopic 3D.