MLB.com At Bat: App Review

BreakingModern — Hardcore baseball fans are a strange lot. They want to know, or have access to, any and all statistics about not only their favorite baseball teams, but about all teams. That’s a lot of data to track and process during a season. Fortunately for them, Major League Baseball is well aware of this passion for baseball stats.

That’s why the organization provides the free app MLB.com At Bat.

Who’s Up?

For this review, I am using the free Android version of MLB.com At Bat, but there are also versions available for iOS, Windows Phone and both PC and Mac. For hardcore baseball fans, buying the subscription version of the app will provide the best experience. Subscription options include a monthly fee of $2.99 per month or an annual fee of $19.99 per year.

The statistical and game information gathered by the app is drawn from the MLB website, so the data is actually available outside of the app, but MLB.com At Bat presents that data in a mobile device friendly way. This is handy if you’re out and about and have only a smartphone to track our national pastime.

At Bat

The App

As you might expect, when you fire up MLB.com At Bat, the very first screen you see will ask if you have or want a subscription. The premium features will be worth the subscription price, especially if you have already subscribed to MLB.TV.

When setting up the app, you’ll need to pick your favorite team(s). Because of proximity and the franchise association with the Triple-A Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds have always been my favorite major league team.

At Bat

The Notifications screen lets you choose how often and for what event you wish to be notified for your favorite team. Unfortunately, the Lead Change notification has been going off too often for the Reds this year.

At Bat

Once you’ve set up the app to cover your favorite major league team, you’ll arrive at the main Scoreboard screen where you can keep track of all the baseball games being played that day. At a glance you’ll see starting times, who is pitching, and, if the games are in progress, current scores.

At Bat

If you tap on a specific game, you can get more details including news and potential lineups. You can also buy tickets to the game. The Buy Tickets button will take you directly to the team’s ticket buying section of its website.

Notice the headphone and television icons in the upper-right corner. If you have an MLB.TV subscription, you can listen or watch the game right on your mobile device.

At Bat

You can even vote for your favorite player to be part of the All-Star Game. The 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place on July 14 at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

At Bat

And of course we can’t forget the fantasy baseball fan. The latest baseball news is invaluable when you’re creating your lineup for the week.

At Bat

Play Ball!

The MLB.com At Bat app isn’t perfect, but the League knows what its fans like and what they want from a mobile experience. It has put a tremendous amount of effort into creating an app that provides the scores, news and statistics necessary for a baseball fanatic to track all things major league baseball. However, while the free app will adequately provide scores and track daily baseball happenings, the subscription version will bring baseball to you no matter where you are or what device you have available.

For BMod, I’m .

Featured Image: Louisville Bats. Wikimedia Commons

All Screenshots: Mark Kaelin

Mark Kaelin

Author: Mark Kaelin

Based in Louisville, KY., Mark W. Kaelin is a tech and gadget writer who also covers fine living for us here at BreakingModern.

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