If you’re pining for some actual competition among baseball players, Major League Baseball, the Players Association and Sony are doing their best to accommodate. The trio announced in conjunction today the first “MLB The Show Players League,” wherein 30 big leaguers — one from each team — will square off in a month-long, online league in MLB The Show on PS4. Each player will each other player once in a three-inning game, and the top eight records will advance to the postseason.
Games, which begin tonight, will be streamed on MLB’s social media accounts, MLB Network’s Twitch channel and MLB The Show’s social media accounts. MLB, the MLBPA and Sony are donating $5,000 to the Boys & Girls Club in all 30 markets, and the winner will receive an extra $25,000 for his community’s Boys & Girls Club. Your 30 players are:
AL East
Bo Bichette, Blake Snell, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tommy Kahnle, Dwight Smith Jr.
AL Central
Lucas Giolito, Trevor May, Carlos Santana, Niko Goodrum, Brett Phillips
AL West
Joey Gallo, Lance McCullers Jr., Jesus Luzardo, Ty Buttrey, Carl Edwards Jr.
NL East
Juan Soto, Jeff McNeil, Rhys Hoskins, Ryne Stanek, Luke Jackson
NL Central
Josh Hader, Matt Carpenter, Amir Garrett, Cole Tucker, Ian Happ
NL West
Hunter Pence, Gavin Lux, Fernando Tatis Jr., David Dahl, Jon Duplantier
Watching players compete in a video game version of the sport we’re all craving might not be everyone’s cup of tea — but it’ll provide fans with the opportunity to see some of their favorite players interact with each other and can serve as a welcome, baseball-themed distraction at a time when those are few and far between.
Will you watch any of tournament? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors mobile app users.)
Will you tune in for any of MLB The Show Players' League?
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Are you kidding me? No way. 50% (2,224)
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Yes -- I'm desperate. 31% (1,371)
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I'd watch this even if actual baseball were happening! 20% (872)
Total votes: 4,467
No OOTP online league yet? Dissapointing
I think thats what Bref is doing
OOTP is way better than MLB the show
Agreed
With the exception of both being themed around baseball OOTP and the Show are two very different games. OOTP is a pure sim/management game. The Show is about actually playing baseball as an individual player whether it’s road to the show or playing against others online. Comparing the games to each other is the same as comparing apples and oranges.
Totally agree. Would be amazing to combine the two games since you can’t do much in-game action in ootp, but everything outside swinging the bat in games is incredible.
While ootp is fun, can you imagine watching real players play it? Sounds immensely boring
Can make a Roster out of it in OTTP.
Mlb.com is running something. Look up a player on there and it shows their current sim stats
STUPID!
As opposed to Coach Him standing around screaming
“GET OFF MY LAWN!”?
Watching nerds play MLB The Show isn’t entertaining, so if you find watching ballplayers play MLB The Show then I guess we will avoid lawns. If you’re going to stop what you’re doing to watch some gaming, have at it.
Why? Theres no harm, its entertainment and their charity money.
Yeah this post sure was
This just in: you don’t have to watch if you don’t want to!
Well. It’s something.
I want to see tweets from their teammates. This could be entertaining.
I’d rather play than watch other people play, personally. The kids will love it though, the most famous YouTubers are where kiddos watch other people play games for hours.
IMHO, they should be playing REAL games in a month or so, the curve has been flattened. Let’s PLAY BALL on re-opening the country!
The curve has not been flattened, and “re-opening the country” will make it surge upward again even if it has. Many more will die needlessly.
The irony is, deniers like you will get sick if these hair-brained ideas of yours come to fruition.
richt There is a point in it though. We can’t all just sit in our homes and hide from the rest of society forever. We have to move back into life at some point. It’s a reality people must face. We can’t sit at home for many more months and live off the government. If we destroy the economy what will most of us do? We might have to get back out there knowing this virus is still out there too.
People that are perfectly fine working from home with full pay, good for you. But long term lockdown won’t work for those getting laid off losing their jobs. They need to eat and live too but all people think about is themselves.
“They need to eat and live too but all people think about is themselves”. Ironic. They would be selfish to break quarantine and risk killing a whole lot more people.
houkenflouken Then I assume you have a well thought out plan to help those people during this time? No? That’s what I thought. Again, great for those who are in a position where a long term lockdown is a viable option to survive but for many it’s not. Everyone sitting out on life until the virus is 100% gone isn’t an option.
Turn off the news, you’re being lied to.
There is more than one way to solve a problem, this could’ve been handled in many other ways and this was by far the most destructive way to handle this situation and indeed the most harmful to the USA as a whole.
This will not be the last pandemic we experience, it’s clearly not the first pandemic we’ve been through but it’s the first time we’ve closed our entire country. China didn’t even close their entire country, they quarantined areas that need it. Minot ND and Senica SC shouldn’t be treated like NYC or Baltimore.
Just because someone says it on TV doesn’t make it so. CNN and Fox News are lying to you.
Don’t compare the US to China it’s 2 totally different worlds. China didn’t get closed off because there is limited movements from citizens of China.
The US people pick up and leave and go different places all the time. Mardi Gras & Spring Break are perfect examples.
Stop it with the hysteria and understand there is more than one way to solve any given problem.
“Denier”, I love it, truly hilarious. Please enamor us with more of what talking heads are telling you. You should know more about the models you’re clinging to and accept their massive flaws, just like the climate models – they’re all WRONG!
The fact is those same models factored in this insane mass quarantine order, and yet all the models have been off by 75% to 200%. It’s called assessing and reevaluating. Try it sometimes, instead of clinging false data, in the forms of models, try using the actual data and have that tell the story. Because that story differs from what you’re asserting.
Meaning we shut down the country for something as harmful as a common flu.
Fun fact, deaths in the US, as a whole, are DOWN SUBSTANTIALLY from 2019 to 2020, car accidents have caused more to perish than this virus that ever will in a given year. It can be controlled via other careful mitigation measures. Unless your next assertion is to “close all roads”, in which case, lol.
car accidents are not contagious.
cvoid 19 is not the common flu or even an equivalency.
Diamond and Silk. Since you’re such an expert why aren’t you calling the president and advising him.
Russian troll.
You are out of your mind
You’re an expert? They don’t know the best course short term let alone long term, so just keep your regurgitation of crap, said on the news which is more concerned with their pocket book than you. If we all stay in and follow these directions are you positive that the Corona virus won’t mutate, come back next year like the regular flu but be worse because less people are immune to it and just push the death toll back to next year. Most of us wouldn’t get sick because we’re not 70 year olds. If you’ve got some actual evidence of your bullcrap assertion, I’m all ears.
Curve is flattened with 440k ongoing cases and only 27k recoveries in the US? Ok lmao.
Hospitalizations down by thousands, ICU stints down by tens of thousands versus projections, less hospital beds needed by tens of thousands that coupled with therapeutics that are vastly eliminating the viruses side effects. All facts. The curve is literally flattened in NY.
By May 1st, we’ll be good to go! Psssst, turn off the news, reality is more interesting than false narratives and politicalization of a solved pandemic being articulated by your overlords in the media.
How many test have been use? What % of people tested, test positive? Do you know the answer to any of that? No, you don’t because it isn’t sensational to tell the truth. The news isn’t trying to help you they are trying to make money, they are a business owned and operated by someone legally obligated to make as much money for the stock holders as they can. 440,000 confirmed cases Holly molly. How many have died, and how many of those were over 65? These are the questions you would be able to answer if the news didn’t have an agenda. I just see them telling me about every 40+ year old that dies.
“By May 1st we’ll be good to go!”
Ok…….
Tatis!
Is this even real life? Feels like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Poll results show 43% don’t care about this. Thought it would be higher.
Helpful.
i learned my lesson All in on Amir this time
Naturally, the Brewers are represented by their resident teenager-yelling-“shut up Mom”’-from-basement, Josh Hader.
That guy who’s already made more money than you will in your entire life?
and you too.
why are you defending a millionaire as if you know him? you think Hader’s lurking these message boards and is gonna be like on that Vanilla Good he defended I’ll throw him a bone?
So in the battle of internet poster vs millionaire, internet poster always wins. Got it.
This is too stupid for words
Well you tried.
Stupid for people to try to make the best out of a crappy situation? You seem like a fun person.
stupid in what way?
Might not be bad. I’ve been watching the eNASCAR races and it’s surprisingly entertaining.
i still need to get through those
of course you would be entertained by idiots driving in circles. must be nice being ignorant in your flyover state.
Wow. I’m glad I live in a flyover state. Just imagine how crowded it would be here on the NC outerbanks if it weren’t. That was sarcasm BTW.
Such lazy stereotyping. You can do better, People’s Elbow.
Folks living in states other than CA and NY, please understand that this troll doesn’t speak for all of us.
I’m not a fan of NASCAR, but watching an e-race doesn’t make a person an ignoramus, and there are plenty of intelligent people in the other forty-eight states.
I’m not paying much attention to that fool. I’m sure the only states he flies over is the ones his mom takes him.
almost as lazy as you generalizing my comment to apply to everyone on this board. of course there are intelligent people in every state, I just don’t happen to see many of them commenting here.
but going to Mom jokes certainly make you an ignoramus Joe, what are you 12?
i live in the Philly suburbs, but nice try.
This should be something they should do in the off seasons from here on out, regardless of the situation at hand currently. I think this could be a really good way of getting younger fans into the game if these players can create more personalities off the field.
This would be like being invited to a friend’s house for beers and watching your friend and his next-door neighbor play.
Is the beer free?
Matt Carpenter will probably injure his back playing this game.
I el oh el’d
nicely done, sir
Better have some minor leagues to because there will be plenty of IL placements and demotions for poor performance
3 innings seems way to short, I feel like 5 would be better.
dafuq is this?
have you tried reading the article that explains what it is??
Whoosh
You can really tell through all this who the real baseball fans are by those embrace these sort of ideas. The rest of the “get off my lawn” fans would rather have no baseball at all instead of an abbreviated season or a virtual league to pass the time.
As one of those “get off my lawn” fans, I can think of a lot more interesting and valuable ways to “pass the time” than watching that drivel
Like complaining online?
Glad you think I’m complaining
Priggs thinks that’s complaining? Is a real complaint manslaughter in your book? Wow, Andy says he can think of more interesting ways to pass the time than to watch MLB’ers become gamers and you come up with a gem of a comment. Wow, your contributions are so stellar. We’d rather read your stupid baseball takes than inaccurate trolling.
I don’t understand people poo pooing on this. At least they’re trying something.
Each player will each other player once?
I lowkey feel like Tommy Kahnle is going to be filthy at the game lol
He’ll be the funniest for sure
While I have no interest in this**, I applaud the efforts of everyone involved, and the fact that there’s a little bit in there for charity makes it all the nicer. Cool that I live in a world where if I don’t care to watch this, I don’t have to, but it’s out there for anyone who would enjoy!
**I never feel as old as when I hear people decades younger than me getting all enthusiastic about video games!!!
MVP 05 is the best baseball game ever
lol was just going to put that
I loved that game, won over 100 world series titles, but also lost more than any team ever has.
Baseball Stars FTW
I also loved Sammy Sosa Baseball. We had all-time rosters for the 26 pre-90s-expansion clubs plus four Negro League all star teams. I used the Dodgers and ran into a juggernaut Pirates team in the playoffs several times. Duke Snider broke DiMaggio’s record lol
I think this is a cool idea… I mean don’t get me wrong it’s silly and in any other situation it would be nothing more than a silly little gimmick. But given the situation and the total lack of live sports — I think it will be a cool little and fun thing for fans to check in on. it will be fun to see the players interact with each other and if their teammates get involved tweeting support/trash talk it could be a pretty entertaining thing to at least distract us for a little bit of time and at least have something to do with baseball to watch/talk about.
A silly little gimmick? Compared to men in pajamas throwing and catching balls and hitting them with sticks? All sports are silly distractions from the difficulties if life. Choose your favorites and enjoy.
Great PR move by MLB easy way to attract the e sports(millennials) community to your sport, instantly reducing the age of your fan base. Benefits goto charity and we get to see some personalities we know and love participate in a sport we aren’t able to play or watch. Once I understand the logic behind something it’s really easy to get behind and agree with and I fail to see the negative here!
What’s really funny is Carlos Santana on the list when everyone knows what he did in Philly when they were playing video games lmao
Mariner Legend Carl Edwards Jr. getting the spotlight he deserves!
Let’s go Tommy k
I know McCullers is a massive gamer. I got my money on him.
Hate to sound like a Debbie downer, but watching baseball players play video games does nothing for me, or my loss of baseball at the moment. MLB couldn’t think of something more enjoyable than this? SMH
Please feel free to share your wonderful ideas. Options are kinda limited these days.
In your mind maybe
Andy, now ya doin buddy?
I thought “no way I’m NOT interested!” But I got on this morning and started watching Blake Snell’s twitch account because he was playing and before I knew it 30 minutes had gone by. It’s cool to see them interact like actual people rather then robots on the field. I think Blake is on tonight at 9 EST. Should give it a watch @ “classiclyfamous”
Snell’s a coll dude for sure. i was expecting he’d win last time.
I don’t even trust Luke Jackson to take the mound in The Show!!
No Catcher.
You could broadcast this on the TV sport’s networks and I’d watch. I’m that desperate.
I thought this might be a league of 30 players playing against each other, but the I realized that’s only 1 pitching staff. If they got 40 guys, made them all quarantine together, paid them a phat bonus from each team, got insurance for their existing contracts in case of injury, and made two teams that play each other like 4 days a week or more, heck yeah I’d watch that. Kind of like a permanent Allstar game. Maybe this is when robo-ump and the reply booth in NY really shine!
No one asked, but I think I will pass.
The off-field strategy by the AI in Franchise mode and Road to the Show is, in my opinion, terrible. I don’t play online and they removed online franchise mode in the last installment, leaving me with very little content to enjoy. I’ve tried very hard to convince myself otherwise when playing the game, but it’s difficult when the game in question fails to do the same.
The media and commentary around this online league might be fun, but I prefer playing games, specifically video games, as opposed to watching others play.
I love baseball, but I have other interests to bide my time with. Still, I give words with best interest to those who plan on watching this online league or related activities.
“The media and commentary around this online league might be fun”
The commentary around this is the only important part. Assuming the players are “mic’d up,” it’ll be a great move for baseball. I’d imagine not many people actually care about who wins (unless they open up betting on it). It’ll be a great way for fans to see some personality – something that we don’t see anywhere near enough of in baseball.
Well said. It’s a fantastic PR move from the league’s point of view, with every little that could go wrong. Worst thing that could happen is if one of the participating players contracts Covid-19.
stuff for charity is cool, but it’s not baseball.:-(