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Major League Baseball is the latest league to form a virtual tournament to help pass the time in isolation.
In a statement from the league, MLB, the players’ association, and Sony Interactive Entertainment have created the first-ever MLB The Show Players League.
One player from each team will participate in the virtual league to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Canada. MLB, MLPBA, and SIE will come together to donate $5,000 on behalf of each participant in addition to an extra $25,000 on behalf of the champion for a total of $175,000.
“Boys & Girls Clubs of America is proud to partner with Major League Baseball, the Players and Sony on this great program. Their contributions will help support our efforts in communities around the country to provide critical meals, support for first responders’ children and virtual learning to kids, families and communities,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “For more than 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs have navigated times of tragedy and crisis to provide safe places for kids and teens. Today, amid the current crisis, we are committed more than ever to ensure Club staff, members, families, and communities have the resources and support they need.”
Each gamer will participate in a round-robin format, which means they will play every team once. The round-robin format will run through the remainder of the month of April for a total of 29 regular season games, each of which will last three innings. Then, the top eight teams will advance to the postseason, which will eventually culminate in a World Series.
MLB Network’s Robert Flores will provide analysis and player interviews throughout the course of the league’s existence, while the games themselves will be streamed on various Twitch and YouTube channels.
According to Joon Lee of ESPN, MLB is considering broadcasting some of the games on television.
MLB is launching a MLB: The Show Player's League featuring a player from every team. Season starts tonight on Twitch, scheduled through early May.
— joon (@joonlee) April 10, 2020
Discussions have taken place to broadcast some games on TV, sources tell ESPN. A full list of players: https://t.co/6fopwxSv1C
The full list of participants (shown below) features 11 former All-Stars, five World Series Champions and eight players under the age of 25.
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: Jesús 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
The tournament kicks off on Friday, April 10 between Reds reliever Amir Garrett and Rays starter Blake Snell face off. Both Garrett and Snell are perfect for this opening match considering their skillfulness when it comes to video games. The match will be streamed at www.twitch.tv/classiclyfamous.