NEW YORK (KMOX/AP) — Matt Carpenter, Blake Snell, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette are among the baseball stars switching over to PlayStation with America's pastime on hold.
Thirty big leaguers — one from each team — have signed on to play a round-robin regular season on the MLB The Show video game with the real season on hold due to the novel coronavirus.
Snell, a Cy Young Award winner with Tampa Bay, will face Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett in the opener Friday night. That matchup will air on Snell's Twitch feed, and other games will be streamed via Twitch and YouTube with MLB Network host Robert Flores providing commentary.
The @Cardinals were supposed to play the #Cubs today ... So at 12:05pm they will! #KMOX presents the #STLCards vs Cubs simulated by @MLBTheShow on Facebook Live. The pregame show starts at 11:55am and you can watch it all here: https://t.co/xyotSuUBPi(@GettyImages) pic.twitter.com/6ZSmzgrbWo
— KMOXSports (@KMOXSports) April 10, 2020Related: Matt Holliday believes the country needs MLB games to return, with or without fans
The venture was launched Friday by Major League Baseball, the players' association and Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Participants range in age from 36-year-old San Francisco outfielder Hunter Pence to 21-year-old San Diego infielder Fernando Tatis Jr. There are 11 All-Stars, including Milwaukee reliever Josh Hader, Texas slugger Joey Gallo and the New York Mets' Jeff McNeil.
Players will complete a 29-game regular season — one three-inning contest against each team — through April. The top eight teams will qualify for the postseason, expected to mirror MLB's current format.
The NBA is running a similar esports tournament on NBA 2K featuring 16 pro players, including stars Kevin Durant and Trae Young. Those games have been airing on ESPN.
MLB, the union and Sony are contributing $175,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America as part of the initiative.
MLB, @MLB_PLAYERS& Sony Interactive Entertainment have announced the creation of the MLB The Show Players League, the first-ever competitive @MLBTheShow league solely featuring Major Leaguers.Games start tonight. More details: https://t.co/pMXYrMqTAeHere are the 30 players: pic.twitter.com/i2ISX393s6
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) April 10, 2020Here are all players participating, which includes five world 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: 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
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