ARLINGTON -- Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo has learned what real-life managers already know.
Managing Joey Gallo is not easy, even if it’s just playing "MLB The Show," a popular video game.
“He has a lot of power but low contact,” Gallo said. “He is pretty frustrating, just like in real life.”
Gallo is going to manage “Cyber Gallo” and the rest of his teammates. Beginning Friday, 30 players will put their virtual talents to the test in the first “MLB The Show” online league.
The Players League will be livestreamed 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.
Aside from those streams, in order to provide a full gameday experience, MLB will provide a live stream in which it will select the best one-on-one matchups and look into other game results and friendly banter.
The league will consist of 29 games for each player, one against each of the other participants, and will run for approximately three weeks. The top eight players will then advance to the “postseason.” The players on each team’s roster are given ratings based on past performance at the Major League level.
“It is definitely going to be competitive,” Gallo said. “I’m a little nervous because The Show has our roster rated low. It is definitely going to be a grind for me to be playing against the Yankees and their roster. It’s definitely going to be competitive. I have been thinking about it a lot. I didn’t realize it was a national event; I thought it was a small thing.”
The pressure is on. The “MLB The Show” Players League will provide fans an opportunity to watch their favorite players play the video game, while also allowing them to interact with them through various streaming services.
“They posted it on Instagram and [fans] are already going: ‘Let’s go Gallo, you better win,’” Gallo said. “I’m thinking, ‘Here we go.’ I thought I was going to get away from being yelled at 24/7.”
No chance. He is now the manager, so he’ll hear about it all the time.
“They don’t think we are very good because they have a lot of guys with really low ratings,” Gallo said. “My bullpen is all messed up because the guys I thought were rated high aren’t rated that high. I’m just going to kind of wing it. You just have fun. If I win, that’s great. It’s just more about the experience and letting the fans see us play the game. I haven’t put much thought into the strategy.”
While the competition will provide something for baseball fans to watch during social distancing, it will also be done for a charitable cause.
Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association and Sony Interactive Entertainment will donate $5,000 on behalf of each participating player to a Boys & Girls Club affiliate in their team’s community. The stakes of the competition are enhanced, with the championship player earning an additional $25,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club in his community. That adds up to $175,000 in donations.
“It’s great to help any way we can," Gallo said. “For us as a team, we have been talking about it. We want to do more stuff online for the fan. We are not getting to play, and they are not getting to watch us. Trying to find ways to get the fans involved and interact with them, let them see our personalities and what we like to do off the field. That’s part of the reason why I want to do it. I think it is pretty cool.”