Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association and Sony have launched an MLB The Show competition for MLB players. The MLB The Show Players League will feature 30 big leaguers, one from each MLB club.
Players will play using the real-life teams they play for. The esports tournament began on Friday and will continue through the month of April. Each team will play a 29-game regular season, with games lasting just three innings. The top eight teams will advance to the postseason, which will culminate with a best-of-five World Series.
Notable big leaguers in the tournament include San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto, San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, and New York Mets All-Star Jeff McNeil. Minnesota Twins pitcher Trevor May, who is an avid gamer and founder of an esports analytics startup, is also playing in the esports tournament.
Players will be competing remotely and games will stream on MLB’s Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as players’ personal Twitch accounts. Streams will take place at 9:00 p.m. ET each night. According to ESPN, conversations have taken place between MLB and its broadcast partners to potentially televise the tournament.
MLB Network host Robert Flores will conduct player interviews and provide game recaps and analysis throughout the tournament. MLB, MLBPA and Sony will donate $175,000 to the Boys & Girls Club on behalf of the new esports tournament. MLB’s first endeavor into competitive esports came two years ago, with the MLBPA Fortnite Challenge in 2018.
