MLB The Show 25's new competitive mode, Weekend Classic, got off to a rocky start. Smurfs were tanking their rating because they could unlock the rewards for a high ranked player while playing against much lower-ranked players.
On its latest developer stream, Sony San Diego showed some changes it hopes will fix the issues with the new mode. It announced that matchmaking will prioritize your Weekend Classic division, not your current ranking. A player with a max rating of 800 will play against other players ranked in that range. If the system must match you downward, it will only go down one division.
This should prevent the nightmare matchups we saw in the first Weekend Classic, with World Series ranked players bashing homers off people ranked in the 200s. SDS paused the Weekend Classic events for a couple of weeks to work out these issues.
MLB The Show 25 plays a fine game of baseball. But the disastrous launch of Weekend Classic and numerous glitches in Diamond Dynasty mode have marred the game's first month. A glitch in co-op ranked mode allows players who quit to get credited with a win. Also, the system that is supposed to force players to forfeit after using up their entire pause timer doesn't work properly. I found this out the hard way, and you can read about that nightmarish experience here.
These launch problems may be the reason MLB The Show 25 is already seeing $20 off sales just a month after its release.