NEW YORK -- Select games from the final 10 days of the MLB The Show Players League, including its playoff tournament, will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and MLB Network starting Thursday night.
ESPN2 will broadcast select regular-season games Thursday and Saturday, while MLB Network will broadcast select regular-season showdowns on Saturday. MLB Network will also be airing a one-hour MLB The Show: Recap program on Sunday featuring highlights from video game contests. The playoff tournament is slated to begin on May 1 on FS1 with a best-of-three series. The quarterfinals will air on May 2 on ESPN2. On May 2, ESPN2 and FS1 will air the best-of-three semifinal series, with the winners of each semifinal facing off in a best-of-five championship series that will air on ESPN on May 3.
The winner of the championship will earn a $25,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club affiliate in its community. At the start of the Players League, MLB, the players' association and Sony Interactive Entertainment donated $5,000 on behalf of each player to the Boys & Girls Clubs.
If the season ended today, the top eight players and their teams would reach the playoffs, including Joey Gallo (17-3) of the Texas Rangers, Blake Snell (13-3) of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jeff McNeil (14-4) of the New York Mets, Bo Bichette (9-3) of the Toronto Blue Jays, Gavin Lux (14-5) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lucas Giolito (13-5) of the Chicago White Sox, Fernando Tatis Jr. (13-6) of the San Diego Padres and Trevor May (11-6) of the Minnesota Twins, while players like Dwight Smith Jr. (14-8) of the Baltimore Orioles, Amir Garrett (12-8) of the Cincinnati Reds and Tommy Kahnle (11-7) of the Yankees try to climb into a playoff spot.
SCHEDULE
Thursday: Blake Snell vs. Lucas Giolito; Bo Bichette vs. Trevor May, ESPN2
Saturday: TBD, ESPN2
Sunday: TBD, MLB Network
Wednesday: TBD, ESPN2
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
May 1: Quarterfinals (best-of-three), FS1
May 2: Quarterfinals and semifinals (best-of-three), ESPN2 and FS1
May 3: Championship (best-of-five), ESPN