Over the last two weeks, the MLB The Show Players League has been streaming on Twitch and has provided baseball fans with some competition while we wait for baseball to return. It has also delivered plenty of hilarious moments.
Brett Phillips’ laugh has become a Twitter sensation and one of the best things you’ll ever hear. Fernando Tatis Jr. has shown that he’s just as fun to watch, even through a video game. Joey Gallo has demonstrated that he doesn’t just smash baseballs in real life. Cole Tucker beaned the first batter against Amir Garrett and said that was “for the homies,” referring to the pair of brawls between the Pirates and Reds last season.
Lance McCullers also shared his “more tragic than Shakespeare” story as his delivery driver clearly took a bite of his burrito, creating an unbelievable moment with Phillips and MLB Network’s Robert Flores.
Now everyone will get a chance to experience the competitive action and the funny moments on live TV. MLB announced on Thursday that ESPN2 and MLB Network will televise a select number of games, starting Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Pitchers Blake Snell (Rays) and Lucas Giolito (White Sox) will get the games started in a key matchup for playoff positioning. Bo Bichette (Blue Jays) and Trevor May (Twins) will follow the two hurlers in another big regular-season game.
Aside from the two games that will be televised on ESPN2 on Thursday, MLB announced that ESPN will televise select games on Saturday and Wed., April 29, while MLB Network will broadcast games on Sunday.
The postseason, which consists of the top eight players, will also be televised. FS1 will televise the first two quarterfinal matchups on May 1 and ESPN2 will carry the other two matchups in the round on May 2. The semifinal round will also be held on May 2, with one matchup being carried on FS1 and the other on ESPN2. The virtual World Series, which is a best-of-five series, is set for May 3 on ESPN, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
If the postseason began today, Gallo, Snell, Jeff McNeil (Mets), Bichette, Gavin Lux (Dodgers), Giolito, Tatis Jr. and Trevor May (Twins) would be the eight players competing for the title. Dwight Smith Jr. (Orioles), Tommy Kahnle (Yankees), Jesus Luzardo (A’s) and Garrett are also in the mix.
Outside of the games that will be televised on ESPN2 and MLB Network, you can continue to watch the rest of the action on MLB social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch), MLB Network's Twitch site, "MLB The Show" social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch), the clubs’ social media accounts and MLB.com. Each player will also stream it from their individual Twitch or YouTube accounts.