Baseball on the Go

The top-grossing app on iTunes last year wasn’t Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Words With Friends or any of the other cheap games guaranteed to be on any iPhone you find. Instead, it was a $15 app, MLB.com’s At Bat which is designed for those fans who prefer to watch games instead of play them.

At Bat 11, which is available on Apple devices, Android and BlackBerry, includes a handful of new features  for the opening of the 2011 baseball season. The biggest improvement will only work this month, and only for Apple devices: free live video of every out-of-market game. (The feature costs $100 for the remainder of the season.)

At Bat 11 is much better than the previous versions in many ways, depending on what device you use and where you use it. Android users get the biggest upgrade, in that the app finally displays live video. All season they can watch one free game daily. For fans at the ballpark, At Bat is also much better than last year's version because of a new set of features meant specifically for them.

Those who actually go to the games with an iPhone,  iPod Touch or Android phone get a bonusn in the form of the app’s At the Ballpark feature. Apple users receive detailed maps of the site, video highlights and, depending on the ballpark, even discounts on concessions (which we all know can be outrageously expensive).

IPad users of the app miss out on the ballpark-related perks, but they’ll see other improvements in the appearance and quality of information. Take, for instance, the field view, where you can watch an animated, pitch-by-pitch version of every game as it progresses.

Like last year, the screen shows the play from the home-plate umpire’s  view. This year, MLB.com used images from the Sony PlayStation 3 game, MLB 11 The Show, to display a more realistic view of the stadiums. Later this season, those life-like graphics will extend to the batting stances of individual players. The improvements are not limited to look only, though; one of the app's landmark features is the pitch-location feature, which gets a big improvement.

                                         Image: www.lootninja.com


Each pitch still arcs toward viewers in the same path, likewise, the ball’s path is color-coded to denote the pitch type, but when the pitch reaches the plate, a label appears (e.g. 78 MPH Curve Ball). If you click on that label, the screen shows a side view of the pitch, the pitcher’s release point, where the pitch broke and how many inches it broke.

                                         Image: www.geardiary.com

Because of the advancements in technology and the convince they provide, we are able to constantly be in contact with our team, and it will keep improving without a doubt. Perhaps one day there will be an app that works in 3D and will allow you to feel as if you are sitting at the ball park while you are actually at work.