While we await the eventual resumption of the Major League Baseball season, the league is looking for ways to keep fans entertained.
According to ESPN‘s Joon Lee, MLB is set to launch a 29-game season in an MLB The Show league, with a player representing each team. First baseman Rhys Hoskins will represent the Phillies in the league.
Hoskins was the Phillies representative in a matchup with the Miami Marlins on the game on March 26, which was initially slated to be MLB opening day. Hoskins beat shortstop Miguel Rojas 2-0 behind a strong outing by Aaron Nola and a late Bryce Harper home run.
The games are set to begin Friday night at 9 p.m. ET and will be played every one to two days. The playoffs are set to being on April 30 and will feature the top eight teams in the league, and the World Series will take place on May 2.
Lee notes that the games will be between three and five innings and will all feature consistent rules. They will be streamed on all participants Twitch accounts and some could be picked up by MLB broadcast partners. Additionally, some games will feature fan interaction with the players, which will be facilitated by MLB Network‘s Robert Flores.
There will be a couple former Phillies representing teams in this league. Hunter Pence, who spent parts of the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the team, is set to represent the San Francisco Giants. Carlos Santana, who infamously smashed TVs in the clubhouse
during his lone season in Philadelphia in 2018, will represent the Cleveland Indians.It is unclear if and when the MLB regular season will begin. But until then, fans will continue to be given opportunities from the league to remain engaged, whether it be this virtual league or flashback games that continue to be broadcast on several MLB platforms.