You have waited months for the baseball season to begin. The length of time you have through which you have actually had to suffer is/was dependent on how well your favorite baseball team did/does during the regular season and (if your lucky) the playoffs. When the much anticipated new season finally arrives, life predictably and inevitable interferes with your enjoyment. Business meetings, college classes, your children’s special events always seem to happen at the same time as the baseball game you cannot wait to see. Though there are times you may be able to finagle a way to attend to your responsibilities and still enjoy the game, there are times when no amount of juggling or scheduling will fix the problem. And you just know because you are missing the game, something momentous and historic will occur because you are going to miss it.
Since the dawn of man (okay maybe that is a slight exaggeration), or at least since the dawn of baseball, baseball fans everywhere have had to live with and accept such circumstances. Some were able to get away with hidden radios. Others employed the neck crane; twisting their necks to try and see the television positioned at an impossible angle for viewing. But both techniques were flawed and exposed the avid baseball fan to reprimand and punishment when caught; which was pretty much a guarantee. That was the case until the advent of the mobile phone. Dedicated fans of the sport of baseball recognized an opportunity with the device and ingenious entrepreneurs recognized an opportunity. Tools could be created to keep these unfairly persecuted baseball fans in touch and current with up to the minute updates and information.
1. MLB.com Game day Audio: Never miss a home game again. With the live audio broadcasts fed straight to your phone, you will hear everything that goes on. Some away games are also available. The Blackberry Bold, Storm and Curve 8900 can access this option through the MLB.com Mobile Premium subscription package offered to Mobile Web users. iPhone and iPod touch will receive access with the MLB.com At Bat 2009 application. Windows Mobile Devices can also receive the audio feeds by subscribing at MLB.com to the Game day audio Mobile link. Other mobile devices which have streaming media playback capabilities can subscribe such as AT&T and Sprint. Check out the MLB.com website for details.
2. MLB Mobile 3-D game: Perhaps you may never have the opportunity to play professional baseball; but with the mobile 3-D game offered at MLB.com you can get one step closer to the real thing. Create your own custom team or use your favorite team. Update your roster. Enjoy interactive replays. Engage your favorite team in a full season of games with the season mode. Experience the thrill of playing in the World Series by playing the World Series Mode on the game.
3. At Bat Lite for the iPhone: Stay in the loop with up to the minute score updates. Receive current league standings. Access the entire schedule for the season. All of this is available for no cost at the App Store on MLB.com.
4. Team text and/or video Alerts: Receive up to 20 alerts via text message each week. Alerts sent during the game will tell you when lead changes occur and home runs are hit. The alerts will include summaries of the games. You can also expect an outline of the game highlights as they happen and lead changes so you don’t miss out. Breaking news reports and classic news are also featured with this application. The Team Video Alerts can be delivered to mobile devices with internet data plans and supported video capabilities. In addition to the text data, subscribers can opt to receive video messages delivered to their device. Enjoy up to five video alerts during each baseball game.
5. MLB.com Blackberry Desktop Icon: BlackBerry owners can download the MLB.com icon for a direct link to the MLB.com official web site. The icon serves as a one-click ticket to the latest news, updates, schedules, team rosters, player stats and anything else a baseball fan could want.
6. Baseball Calculator 2.1: Finally, someone understands the need to know exactly how fast that ball is going. With the baseball calculator, just click the start when the baseball is pitched and hit stop when the ball is hit or caught. The speed of the ball will automatically be calculated for you. The calendar feature provides both the best ball speed of the day and the average. You can view historical information. The graph provides an easy read of the data.
7. The Mickey Mantle Novel 1.0: Baseball lovers can read the novel written about the most famous baseball star of all time; Mickey Mantle, directly on their mobile device. This novel is a must read. You can read the book all it once or select by chapters. The book regales the reader with tales of the great star. Hear stories from his personal life, his great baseball moments, and enjoy the retelling of his favorite lewd jokes and references. Read about his alleged secret affair with the sexiest woman of all time, Marilyn Monroe. No self-respecting baseball fan will miss out on the opportunity to get the inside track on the man synonymous with the sport of baseball.
8. PDA Baseball Stats 3.51: More than 16,000 baseball players are stored in this free database which references teams dating back to the 1870’s. Just choose a name from the list provided. The database will pull up everything you could want to know about the player. Learn the date and place of birth and, if applicable, death. Find out where the athlete went to college. Know which hand the baseball star throws with and which he bats with. Get the height and weight and the date they turned pro. You can even find out what the baseball players made and what their nickname was.
9. Live Baseball Browser 1.1.7: Is your device internet capable with a WiFi connection? Do you have a subscription to the streaming media product at MLB.com? If so, you can watch the live baseball games on your mobile device. Not only will you get to see the games, you also receive the highlight clips. So the next time your game day plans are interrupted or superseded by an event you cannot afford to miss, you can rest easy knowing you can view the game while still attending to your responsibilities.
10. Sports Trivia (Baseball Pack 1) for Symbian 1.2: The 200 question trivia game will test your knowledge of your favorite teams and coaches throughout baseball history. The questions cover stats and great all-time records. You can track your scores and your times. This is the perfect game for baseball fans to help pass the time or as a fun introduction at parties or social events.
11. MLB Wallpapers and ringtones: What could be better than seeing your favorite team’s logo displayed on your screen each and every time you look at it? Choose from a variety of option available at MLB.com. You can select a logo, a mascot, or a specific player from the past couple of years. The vintage logos rouse sentiment for baseball nostalgia and the ringtones are guaranteed to make you feel as if you’re at the game every time your phone rings.
