One player from each MLB team is about to help the league bring eSports to the masses with a “MLB The Show” league that will be broadcast on Twitch.
With MLB suspended indefinitely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB Players Association is reportedly partnering with MLB and Sony Interactive Entertainment on this project, per ESPN’s Joon Lee.
The league will start on Friday and go through April 28, featuring 29 regular-season games.
Per Lee:
“Games will take place every one to two days with three to five three-inning matchups played each game day. The postseason is scheduled to begin April 30, with a World Series played on May 2. The postseason will feature the eight best teams, with a best-of-three format for the first two rounds and a best-of-five format for the World Series.”
In addition to the awesome fact that fans can find entertainment in this tournament, it will also raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club, with $5,000 going to each player’s community and the champion garnering another $25,000.
The first game on Friday features Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell taking on Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett, and it will be broadcast on Snell’s Twitch channel, per the report. Even better, some of these games could be broadcast on ESPN.
Here’s a bit more on the particulars of this tournament:
“Gaming settings will be consistent, with designated hitters turned off, the batting difficulty set to Veteran and pitching difficulty set to All-Star, with guess pitch, quick counts and balks all turned off. The biggest difference from real life? Umpire accuracy will be set to perfect. No missed calls.”
The list of players participating in this “MLB The Game” tournament includes “11 former All-Stars, five World Series champions and eight players under the age of 25,” per Lee.
Here’s the entire field:
• Arizona Diamondbacks: Jon Duplantier
• Atlanta Braves: Luke Jackson
• Baltimore Orioles: Dwight Smith Jr.
• Boston Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez
• Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ
• Chicago White Sox: Lucas Giolito
• Cincinnati Reds: Amir Garrett
• Cleveland Indians: Carlos Santana
• Colorado Rockies: David Dahl
• Detroit Tigers: Niko Goodrum
• Houston Astros: Lance McCullers Jr.
• Kansas City Royals: Brett Phillips
• Los Angeles Angels: Ty Buttrey
• Los Angeles Dodgers: Gavin Lux
• Miami Marlins: Ryne Stanek
• Milwaukee Brewers: Josh Hader
• Minnesota Twins: Trevor May
• New York Mets: Jeff McNeil
• New York Yankees: Tommy Kahnle
• Oakland Athletics: Jesus Luzardo
• Philadelphia Phillies: Rhys Hoskins
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Cole Tucker
• San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr.
• San Francisco Giants: Hunter Pence
• Seattle Mariners: Carl Edwards Jr.
• St. Louis Cardinals: Matt Carpenter
• Tampa Bay Rays: Blake Snell
• Texas Rangers: Joey Gallo
• Toronto Blue Jays: Bo Bichette
• Washington Nationals: Juan Soto
Given the extraordinary success NASCAR has had with its venture into eSports, and given the nation’s desperate need for sports entertainment during this pandemic, it’s not hard to imagine people will tune in to watch these stars duke it out in the virtual realm.