[ad_1]
- Players-Only League Includes Five World Series Champions and 11 Former MLB All-Stars
ESPN today, in conjunction with MLB and the MLBPA, announced it will exclusively televise premiere games from the inaugural MLB The Show 20 Players League, beginning tonight, April 23 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The most significant games from the MLB players-only tournament will air on ESPN platforms across five dates, culminating with the best-of-five MLB The Show 20 Players League Championship Series on Sunday, May 3, at 2:30 p.m. ET. All MLB The Show 20 Players League telecasts on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be available to stream via the ESPN App.
MLB The Show 20 Players League schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Telecast | Platform(s) |
| Thu, Apr. 23 | 7-8 p.m. | MLB® The Show™20 Players League Playoffs | ESPN2 / ESPN App |
| Sat, Apr. 25 | 3-4 p.m. | MLB® The Show™20 Players League Playoffs | ESPN2 / ESPN App |
| Wed, Apr. 29 | 10-11 p.m. | MLB® The Show™20 Players League Playoffs | ESPN2 / ESPN App |
| Sat, May 2 | 3-7:30 p.m. | MLB® The Show™20 Players League Quarterfinals and Semifinals | ESPN2 / ESPN App |
| Sun, May 3 | 2:30-5 p.m. | MLB® The Show™20 Players League
Championship Series |
ESPN / ESPN App |
The MLB The Show 20 Players League participants include five World Series Champions, 11 former MLB All-Stars and eight MLB players 25 years old or younger. Each participant plays in a round-robin format (i.e., playing every team one time) throughout the event for a total of 29 regular season, three-inning games. Following this regular season, the top eight teams will advance to the Postseason, which will largely mirror the MLB Postseason format and culminate in the best-of-five Championship Series on May 3.
MLB The Show 20 Players League participants:
| 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 | Jesús 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 |
Matt Vasgersian, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play commentator, serves as one of the voices of MLB The Show 20 and will be featured during the MLB The Show 20 Players League action. Additional voices include MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa, Dan Plesac, Heidi Watney and Robert Flores.
As part of the MLB The Show 20 Players League, MLB, MLBPA and Sony Interactive Entertainment committed $175,000 To Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada.
ESPN will televise the MLB The Show 20 Players League as it continues its commitment to bring the sports community together through its #oneteam initiative.
About Esports at ESPN
ESPN has a long history of delivering live programming, coverage and content to esports fans. It televised and streamed the Overwatch League playoffs and Grand Finals alongside Disney XD in addition to televising the EA SPORTS Madden NFL 18 Championship Series with Disney XD. In 2019, ESPN Events hosted the first-ever Collegiate Esports Championship at Comicpalooza in Houston and also put on two owned and operated events featuring EA’s Apex Legends in conjunction with The ESPYS and X Games Minneapolis 2019. The network also delivered the Street Fighter V World Championship and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U from Evo 2017, as well as hosted the X Games Rocket League Invitational from X Games Minneapolis 2017, and the FIFA Ultimate Team Championship Series across ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3. In 2016, ESPN2 aired the Capcom Cup 2016 Street Fighter V Final in December, the Street Fighter V World Championship in July, and the Madden NFL 16 Championship from EA Play in June. In addition, ESPN X Games teamed up with Xbox to bring Halo 5: Guardians to X Games Aspen 2016, as part of the Halo World Championship Tour.
Since 2016, ESPN.com has also delivered year-round coverage through a dedicated esports vertical featuring some of the most voices in esports. Previously, ESPN3 carried live coverage of BlizzCon and The International Dota 2 Championships in 2014 and 2015, as well as the 2014 League of Legends tournament. The network also previously delivered exclusive live coverage of Heroes of the Dorm in 2015 and 2016, with the final airing live on ESPN2, and the 2015 tournament being the first ever live, televised coverage of a collegiate esports event for ESPN.
-30-
Media contacts: Ben Cafardo at [email protected] | Katie Hughes at [email protected].
[ad_2]
Source link