MLB brings back baseball with 30-player/team online league

The 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season was delayed due to the coronavirus. If baseball does come back this year, it will not be until at least June. But that isn’t stopping the league and its players from keeping their fans entertained for the time being.

The first week of the inaugural MLB The Show online league is in the books. The three-week long league consists of 30 players from 30 teams. The players need to play 29 games, one against every other player, and the 8 players with the best records will move on to “postseason” play.

The MLB is a stranger to the world of eSports. But with the recent successes of NASCAR’s iRacing league, it comes as no surprise that MLB would want to try to find a way to keep their audience engaged during this difficult period. The MLB games are not being broadcasted on national television like NASCAR’s league, but it is streaming online on platforms like Twitch, Facebook, and others.

The presentation makes it seem like you are watching an episode of “MLB Tonight” on MLB Network. The players call in on a video chat to communicate with one another while the game takes place, and MLB Network’s Robert Flores serves as a commentator and occasionally as a moderator. He was impressed with how quickly the league was put together to provide a form of entertainment for the fans watching at home.

“Players are scattered throughout the country; Florida, Arizona and everywhere in between,” Flores said. “It’s really a technological marvel. A lot of hard work behind the scenes by some talented and hard-working men and women to bring this event to [the fans].”

The league is also helping the players’ local communities. The MLB, MLB Player’s Association (MLBPA) and Sony Interactive Entertainment will donate $5,000 on behalf of each player participating to a Boys & Girls Club affiliate in their community, with the player who wins the championship earning an additional $25,000.

After the first week of play, here are the current division leaders:

In the AL East, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell leads with a 10-2 record. Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox leads the AL Central with a record of 7-4. Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers has the best record in the league and leads the AL West with a record of 11-1. New York Mets leftfielder Jeff McNeil leads the NL east with an 8-3 record. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett has control of the NL Central with an 8-4 record. And the NL West is led by Gavin Lux of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 9-3 record.

The league’s regular season ends on April 28, with its playoffs beginning on April 30.