‘MLB The Show’ Players League features players from all 30 teams

We will have a baseball league to follow, with actual major leaguers. This one is of the digital variety, with the creation of the MLB The Show Players League, a 30-player video game tournament that will take place throughout April and beyond.

Ty Buttrey is the Angels representative. He’s been practicing:

One player from all 30 MLB teams comprise the league, and the regular season will consist of a round robin tournament in which every player will play a three-inning game against every other player, totaling 29 regular season games. That will be followed by a postseason “which will largely mirror the MLB postseason format and culminate in a World Series.”

The games will be streamed on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook for both MLB and MLB The Show. Also, from Polygon:

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9 p.m. EDT, the league will hold “Prime Time Streams” with commentary and conversation from Robert Flores, the MLB Network broadcaster. Reporter Heidi Watney, who also appears in MLB The Show 20, will participate with real-life commentary between games on the state of the league’s pennant race.

Action gets underway Friday night at 6 p.m. PT, with Blake Snell playing Amir Garrett, who won the MLB The Show Player Tournament in late March. The individual matchups and schedule will be revealed soon.

Buttrey said on Instagram he plays a four-game series against four opponents on Saturday. He will be live streaming his practice session Friday at noon PT on YouTube, during which he will answer questions from fans.

Buttrey told Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times, “Shohei Ohtani for me is going to be throwing all three innings.”

Players are playing to benefit local Boys & Girls Clubs in their various communities. MLB, MLBPA, and Sony are contributing $5,000 on behalf of each player to their local Boys & Girls Club, and the championship winner’s local club gets an additional $25,000.

Here are the 30 participants in the MLB The Show Players League: