majorleaguebaseball
Latest
Sports service DAZN lets you stream four games at once
Sports streaming platform DAZN offers a wide variety of live and on-demand matches across several sports. To help you catch as much of the action as possible, it's adding a multiview option that lets you watch up to four streams at once.
Sports streaming service DAZN adds baseball with MLB deal
DAZN might have only arrived in the US a couple of months ago, but the sports streaming service is already making strides in expanding its portfolio to cater to all types of sports fans. The latest move is a three-year, live digital rights deal with Major League Baseball.
MLB is bringing biometric ticketing to select ballparks
Clear announced a new partnership today with Major League Baseball and Tickets.com that will let fans opt for biometric ticketing at certain MLB ballparks. Those who link their Clear accounts to their MLB.com accounts will be able to use their fingerprint instead of a paper or mobile ticket at participating ballparks. Clear plans to pilot this system at a small number of parks later this season and a wider rollout to Tickets.com-enabled ballparks is scheduled for the beginning of 2019. "Our collaboration with Clear is an important new technology initiative, delivering safe, simple and seamless experiences for fans," Noah Garden, MLB's executive vice president of business, said in a statement. "Developing a partnership that will unify emerging identity technology and ticketing is reflective of our commitments to always improving ballpark accessibility and maintaining critical security standards."
Twitter will stream another season of Major League Baseball
Just because Facebook has forged a deal with Major League Baseball to livestream 25 of its day games exclusively doesn't mean other social networks can't get a piece of the action. MLB games are also coming to Twitter, now that the two have renewed their partnership. Twitter is livestreaming one day game a week for free from April to September 2018, starting with the Texas Rangers versus the Oakland Athletics on April 5th at 3:35 PM ET.
Facebook adds weekly MLB games to its streaming slate
Back in February, Reuters reported that Facebook wanted to stream weekly Major League Baseball games as part of its big live video push. Well, the social network got its wish. Today, Facebook announced a deal with MLB to show weekly baseball games live on Fridays starting this week. Tomorrow night, you'll be able to watch the Rockies battle the Reds at 7:10 ET on the league's Facebook page. A full schedule of games hasn't been released. The company isn't the first to livestream games from the league though, both Twitter and Yahoo have dabbled in weekly baseball coverage before. In fact, Twitter still offers some live baseball action and it's on Fridays, too. The next game there is tomorrow night when the Yankees take on the Rays.
Major League Baseball approves another wearable for in-game use
Major League Baseball began allowing players to use two wearable devices during games before the 2016 season started. The league is now adding another gadget to its approved list: the Whoop Strap. While the device has been around for awhile now, players can wear the continuous biometric monitoring wristband during games when 2017 season starts in a matter of weeks. Whoop Strap tracks strain, recovery and sleep to give athletes, coaches and trainers an overall look at a player's health.
Blast Motion's swing sensor data is coming to baseball broadcasts
Major League Baseball had already approved Blast Motion's swing analyzer for use in training sessions, but now that the gadget is official hitting sensor of the league, it's going to be used for a lot more. Data from the $150 device will be used in television broadcasts, starting with the MLB All-Star Futures Game on July 10th. While that matchup is only an exhibition of the baseball's up-and-coming young talent, Blast says other "select television broadcasts" will feature stats collected by the swing tracker.
Major League Baseball team uses VR for batting practice
Virtual reality made its way into the NFL last year, when the Dallas Cowboys became the first team in the league to use the technology for training. Now, on the Major League Baseball side, a similar path is being followed by the Tampa Bay Rays. The team has started utilizing a simulator from EON Sports VR known as iCube, which lets players step inside a virtual batting cage and practice their swing. Coaches are fans of this method because it takes less physical wear on an individual, plus it allows batters to experience throws that mimic those of pitchers across MLB -- like Giants' own Madison Bumgarner.
Major League Baseball approves wearable tech for in-game use
Major League Baseball season started this week, and the league's rules committee will allow wearables to hit the diamond for the first time. During games, MLB players can wear a Motus Baseball Sleeve to keep tabs on elbow stress and the Zephyr Bioharness heart and breathing monitor. For now, those are the only two approved devices for in-game use. Yes, this means gadgets like Jawbone, Fitbit or other more consumer-friendly devices are still prohibited.
Apple and the MLB team up to put iPad Pros in the dugout
When the commentators during a baseball broadcast refer to the tablets Major League Baseball coaches are holding as "iPads," unlike pro football announcers, they'll actually be correct. Apple and the MLB have signed a deal that'll put 12.9-inch iPad Pros in dugouts and bullpens around the league, offering up everything from performance stats, videos of plays from past games to pitcher-batter matchups, according to The Wall Street Journal. All that data comes from a custom app co-developed by Apple and the league, MLB Dugout.
Major League Baseball takes Snapchat to the dugout during games
Snapchat isn't new to sports coverage, but with Major League Baseball this season, the social channel is making a big push at the ballpark. The collaboration between the app and the league kicks off next Friday (March 11th) when MLB will allow players to use cellphones in the dugout for the first time. Before, during and after Spring Training games, players will be permitted to post their own snaps and selfies. Oh yeah, there's a special selfie stick for the occasion: the SnapBat. Yes, really.
MLB allows Apple Watch in dugouts, but phones remain off limits
For coaching in its annual All-Star Game, Major League Baseball gave Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost an Apple Watch. As you might expect, Yost has been wearing quite a bit -- even during games when cellphones and other devices are banned from the dugouts. The wearable raised some concerns over cheating, but after the league reached out to the manager for an explanation, the Apple Watch can remain on the wrists of team staff seated on the bench. Until now, the only approved device was telephone used to call from the dugout to the bullpen to discuss pitching changes. Of course, without an iPhone close by, the Apple Watch isn't much more than a... well, watch. And that's exactly what Yost told the league. [Image credit: Ed Zurga/Getty Images]
MLB Network starts streaming live broadcasts on mobile devices
If you're a baseball fan, chances are you're already aware of the Major League Baseball's At Bat app for streaming live games with a MLB.tv subscription. Now, the league is bringing it's 24/7 news, analysis and more from the MLB Network to your computer and mobile device, too. As Forbes reports, this is the first time that a league-owned TV network has offered a live authenticated stream of its around-the-clock broadcast on the desktop, iOS and Android. All of the network's studio shows, original programs, game telecasts and more will stream to the At Bat app, but there's a catch: you'll need a cable subscription to access it.
Major League Baseball doesn't want you livestreaming its games (update: it's cool)
You may want to think twice about livestreaming that baseball game for the sake of your friends back home. Major League Baseball tells the Wall Street Journal that it's reminding teams not to allow services like Meerkat and Periscope in their stadiums, since the live video violates broadcast rights. At least some of the organizations are taking that warning seriously -- the San Francisco Giants will be watching their WiFi network for relevant traffic, and may eventually block it.
MLB hopes to ease blackouts on streaming local games
With MLB.tv, Major League Baseball's subscription-based streaming option, your local team's home games are blacked out due to TV and/or cable deals. That could change as early as next season though, as Bob Bowman, the league's head of Advanced Media, expects a revised online viewing agreement soon with broadcasters and teams. Networks pay millions for the rights to beam the action into living rooms, so we'd surmise there's quite a sum of money to discuss. When the restrictions are lifted, you'll likely need a cable plan to access those games -- just like FOX required for the All-Star Game this summer and ESPN does for its streaming option. [Photo credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images]
Livestream the MLB All-Star Game next week thanks to FOX Sports Go
It doesn't matter if you're planning on getting cozy on the couch or watching next week's Major League Baseball All-Star Game while in transit. Thanks to FOX Sports Go, the network that shares the same moniker will stream the game that features the best (or most popular) players from both the American and National Leagues. The app will offer both English and Spanish versions of the event, with the first pitch set for 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, July 15th. If you're looking for pregame coverage, FOX Sports 1's broadcast will be beamed to your gadgets starting at 4:30 PM ET. Folks looking to tune in on the go can nab the FOX Sports Go app on Android, iOS, Kindle and Windows or access the action via the web. [Photo credit: Boston Globe via Getty Images]
'R.B.I. Baseball 14' hits Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on June 24th
We knew MLB would eventually bring R.B.I Baseball 14 to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but now there's an official date. Today, the league announced that the classic title is coming to Microsoft and Sony's new consoles early next week, on June 24th. Now don't expect R.B.I Baseball 14 to match the looks of, say, MLB 14: The Show -- the fully remastered game is more about being easy for anybody to quickly pick up, while still maintaining a fun edge to it overall. Just as it is priced on Xbox 360 and PS3, R.B.I. Baseball 14 will also be $20 on Xbox One and PS4 when it arrives in a few days time.
Cleveland Indians want to put ads where fans can see them
Advertisers and sponsors are extremely valuable to all professional sports teams, and thus it is very important to keep them engaged with the fans. In an effort to make this happen, the Cleveland Indians recently partnered with Tobii, a maker of eye-tracking glasses, to conduct a study that could determine what exactly folks look at throughout their time at Progressive Field. The MLB team says it gave 47 fans a pair of Tobii Glasses to use during the span of three days, which were worn as they watched games from various seating areas at its ballpark. Essentially, using the Tobii Insight research program as the basis, the goal was to see how much time participants spent looking at the main scoreboard and other dynamic signage. In theory, this would detect just how valuable certain locations are inside the stadium -- so, the easier it is for you spot it, the more it could potentially cost for a company to put an ad there.
With R.B.I. Baseball 14, MLB takes a shot at making its own games
Major League Baseball is bringing back a classic. But while resuscitating an old title could sometimes create a double-edged-sword effect of sorts, that's not stopping MLB from taking the chance to reboot the R.B.I. Baseball series. Most importantly, R.B.I. Baseball 14 was developed in-house by MLB's Advanced Media branch, also known as MLBAM, a team that's behind applications like At Bat and whose tech powers the WWE Network streaming service. Up until now, sport games have been all about licensing, so this shift also lets us know how Major League Baseball views that industry. Sure, the experience in R.B.I. Baseball 14 might not be as full-fledged as with, say, Sony's MLB 14 The Show, but it's still interesting to see a professional league leveraging its work as a technology company too.
Your iPhone can now help you find your way around MLB ballparks
iPhone owners should have an easier time getting around the ballpark this season. Following a trial run last year, Major League Baseball is now deploying Bluetooth-based iBeacons at its stadiums. If you use the MLB At the Ballpark app, your iOS 7-equipped device will receive notifications as you visit different points at a given venue. MLB isn't yet saying just what those notices will involve, although the pilot project helped fans find their seats, score discounts and queue up videos. Only Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium and San Diego's Petco Park have the iBeacons so far. However, the league promises that more than 20 parks will have iBeacons when the season starts -- odds are that your home team will be ready on opening day. [Image credit: Brendan C, Flickr]
