'You thought I was a pitcher?' MLB The Show hilarity

We’ve learned a lot during the MLB The Show Players League.

We’ve learned that Fernando Tatis Jr. is just as energetic on the couch as he is on the field or on the bases. We’ve learned that Joey Gallo is an early favorite in this tournament who’s quickly earned the respect of his peers. We’ve learned that Luke Jackson has an eclectic wardrobe that apparently includes video game-themed attire.

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And at some point during this tournament, Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle learned that the Royals’ Brett Phillips is not a pitcher.

Let’s go to the tape.

“Is it true when I came up to the plate against you in the video game,” Phillips asked Kahnle, “you thought I was a pitcher?”

“At first I did, yeah,” Kahnle admitted, with MLB Network’s Robert Flores moderating the conversation. “Then I realized. I was like, ‘Wait, he’s not a pitcher.’ So, I’m all over the place. I’m so sorry.”

Phillips found the humor in Kahnle’s confusion, at least. The Kansas City outfielder – repeat, O-U-T-F-I-E-L-D-E-R – doubled over and broke into his famous laugh, the kind of joy we all need without real-life Major League Baseball in our lives right now.

"My name is Brett Phillips. I'm an outfielder with the Kansas City Royals,” Phillips responded. “You and yourself and the rest of the viewers may not know me, but I do play professional baseball -- and I'm decent at it."

Funny thing is, Phillips’ standout trait on the field is his throwing arm. Perhaps you remember the 104-mph missile he launched from center field in September 2017, for instance, back when he was a Brewers prospect. (And, again, we cannot stress this enough: an outfield prospect.) The next day, after some prodding from Phillips, MLB Pipeline acknowledged his 80-grade arm with an updated scouting report.

See? We’re learning a lot about Brett Phillips, and in some cases, we’re learning a lot about ourselves. Let’s see what else we learned during Monday night’s Players League action.

Down goes Gallo
It was a rare off-night for Gallo (Rangers), who went 2-2 after entering the night 15-1. But he did manage to win his first game against Tatis (Padres) with yet another walk-off homer by Willie Calhoun. That prompted Gallo to lavish his teammate with praise, saying, “Willie is my best player. Absolute best player -- 0-2 count, just swinging for the fences – I love it.”

His next challenger was Lucas Giolito (White Sox), who lost his first game, 4-2, to Josh Hader (Brewers). But Giolito finally stopped Gallo, who still owns the league’s best record, with three strong innings from Dallas Keuchel and a walk-off homer by Tim Anderson.

At one point afterward, Giolito was trying to come up with a way he could start Keuchel in every game. It’s a bold strategy.

"If I have Dallas Keuchel on the mound,” Giolito said later, “I can beat anybody."

Jon Duplantier (D-backs) then rode Madison Bumgarner to victory over Gallo, setting up a matchup between Duplantier and Giolito. Trailing by two in the third inning, Duplantier tried to take third base on a flyout to right field, but Giolito wasn’t having it. Game over.

"We've got cannons in the outfield,” Giolito said. “Why is he running? You can't make the last out of the game at third!”

Giolito learned a valuable lesson from his slow start and big finish -- or, as he put it, a “fat ‘L’ to start and then we figured it out.” Much like he has to warm up before taking the mound in a game, he apparently must also prepare for his Players League games.

Tatis goes off
The young Padres star got off to a rough start with his loss to Gallo, but he bounced back by beating Hader then dominating Kahnle, 11-4. What’s more, Tatis lit up Kahnle with ace Gerrit Cole starting.

The biggest hit was Wil Myers’ grand slam in the first inning, which set off a characteristically joyous celebration in the Tatis residence.

Tatis kept piling on, too. Facing reliever Jonathan Holder in the second inning, Tatis hit a double to right with Manny Machado and sent virtual Tatis home from first base. When virtual Tatis slid home safely, real-life Tatis accurately observed, “I’m too fast, man. Even in the video game, bro. Sorry about it.”

Going rogue
Jackson asked his Twitter followers what he should wear while streaming his Players League games, and he came through with a unique look on Monday night.

Jackson donned what looked like a warlock’s robe, complete with a hood and everything, that he revealed to be the “Bloodfang” armor worn by rogue characters in the video game World of Warcraft. (In the spirit of learning things about players, it’s worth mentioning that Giolito outed himself as “a little bit of a WoW-head myself” when he saw Jackson’s attire.)

Jackson might have to don the armor again, as he went 3-1 on Monday night with wins over Carlos Santana (Indians), Gavin Lux (Dodgers) and Phillips. His only loss came against Ty Buttrey (Angels). Jackson even put himself on the mound to finish his final win of the night against Phillips -- who, in case you missed it, is an outfielder for the Kansas City Royals.

"I just lost to that,” Phillips told Giolito, noting Jackson’s outfit.

Sometimes, you just tip your cap
Amir Garrett’s reactions in this tournament -- to his own play and that of his competitors -- are already the stuff of legend. You couldn’t help but feel for him, and feel his pain, when he crushed what looked like a three-run homer in the first inning of his game against Buttrey.

But Buttrey drifted back to the wall, timed his jump perfectly and pulled down the line drive for the second out of the inning. Garrett screamed, put his hands on his hat in disbelief then smiled at maybe the best defensive play of the tournament.

“Hat’s off to him, bro,” Garrett said. “That was awesome.”

Tuesday's games to watch
Thirteen players will log on Tuesday night to continue the tournament, with a few players scheduled for three games and a couple others (Trevor May and Eduardo Rodriguez) set for rare quintuple-headers. One player to watch: the Orioles’ Dwight Smith Jr., who has led his underdog squad to an 11-5 record in the American League East thus far.

Others in action will include David Dahl (Rockies), Niko Goodrum (Tigers), Rhys Hoskins (Phillies), Jesús Luzardo (A’s), Hunter Pence (Giants), Cole Tucker (Pirates), Lux, Giolito, Jackson and Kahnle.

Where to watch
Over the next few weeks, the 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 Network will provide a livestream in which it will select the best one-on-one matchups and look into other game results and friendly banter.