With the MLB season in limbo, video games have come to the rescue. It’s time for players and “MLB The Show 2020” to save the day.
On Friday morning, MLB, MLBPA, and Sony Interactive announced the start of the “MLB The Show” players league. The league will feature one player from each team playing in a round-robin tournament with an eight-team playoff per Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Canada will receive $175,000 in charity as part of the event. The local chapter of each team will receive $5,000 and the local chapter of the World Series champion will receive an extra $25,000.
The New York Mets will be represented by All-Star third baseman Jeff McNeil, while the New York Yankees will be represented by Tommy Kahnle. McNeil’s “MLB The Show” skills are unknown, but Kahnle’s are strong.
Kahnle is known as the gamer in the Yankees clubhouse and is head to their many video game leagues. Most notably he was the commissioner of the Yankees’ competitive Madden League.
The games will last only three innings with every team playing each other once before the season ends. The eight best teams will then enter a playoff that eventually crowns a World Series champion.
The season will be shown on multiple platforms to ensure that everyone can see their favorite team or player play. Some games will air on MLB Network, while Youtube and Twitch will host most games.
The season starts Friday, April 10 at 9 p.m. ET. The first game of the season pits Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays against Amir Garrett and the Cincinnati Reds. The game will be viewable on Snell’s Twitch channel.
Games will be played every night at 9 p.m. ET, with primetime games on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The primetime games will have an announce team of MLB Network’s Robert Flores and a rotating player with their own personal streaming setup.
