Mobile Tech for Baseball Fans: Recent Trends

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There are a few things about baseball that almost everyone loves, including classic diamonds like Wrigley Field, the shout of a vendor across the aisle selling peanuts and popcorn, the crack of the bat when your favorite player hits a home run.

… And everyone snapping a photo on their smartphone after that major moment happens.

Tech trends are unavoidable in today’s society, and they’ve made their way into the world of baseball. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Mobile tech trends can actually be a baseball fan’s best friend and completely change your game-watching experience.

Technology is changing the relationship between fans and teams. It’s making it easier to feel more connected to your favorite players, teams, and traditions, while putting you more “in the game” than ever before.

Technology and baseball working together is nothing new. The league has started to use artificial intelligence for scouting purposes and to provide real-time statistics to fans across the world. But what mobile tech trends from the baseball industry can have the biggest impact on you, as a fan?

Getting to the Game

There’s nothing worse than gearing up for a big game, having your tickets at the ready, putting on your favorite jersey, and hopping into the car … only to be stuck in traffic for hours while you’re trying to get to the stadium. Traffic can often be a problem on game days, especially in large cities. It’s a common complaint from fans. Even the Atlanta Braves’ new stadium has been met with some flak because of the traffic surrounding it and the difficulty fans have finding adequate parking.

While technology may not yet have the ability to teleport you to your favorite game, it can help to give you the best routes and keep you from getting bored at the same time.

Using Google Maps on your phone to get to the game can give you all of the information you need, including travel time that incorporates traffic, so you won’t be late and miss the first pitch. You can also “customize” your route to avoid things like tolls and construction, so you might end up on an alternate path that gets you there faster!

You can keep yourself occupied during your drive by listening to an MLB podcast. Baseball and radio have always gone hand-in-hand. In fact, it’s the most listened to sport on the radio. So it only makes sense that baseball podcasts are equally-popular. Plus, you can find a variety of different topics from the MLB when it comes to podcast programming, including favorites like:

• Full Account — Baseball’s best-untold stories
• Morning Lineup — Latest trending topics in the MLB
• MLB Pipeline — Unfolding stories and breaking news
• The Vault — Original archived game broadcasts

The Full Game-Day Experience

The MLB has continuously worked to make the fan experience a more interactive one, and technology makes that easier than ever. Several years ago, an app called Blue was integrated with Google Glass to let fans at a game see real-time information and statistics. Today, augmented reality and virtual reality are being utilized to boost user experience. For example, the MLB Ballparks app gives fans live data when they’re in the stadium so they can interact with data visualizations.

Even if you can’t get to a game, you can watch our favorites on your phone or tablet using the MLB app (formerly At Bat ‘11), for a small subscription price.

Mobile tech has increased fans’ ability to see live statistics and learn more about real-time data whether you’re in the park or watching from home. It allows you to enjoy your game-day experience no matter where you are.

A Part of the Team With Technology

Aside from statistics, one of the biggest trends in mobile tech for baseball fans is relationship management. The user experience (UX) is important in every industry, and technology has found ways to capitalize on that, especially when it comes to personalization and relationship-building.

In the business world, for example, the more data that is collected about you, the more personalized your experiences can be. If you do a lot of online shopping and frequent specific websites or tend to buy certain things, you’ll likely start to see more advertisements for those stores, or certain businesses may even give you better deals on the things you buy frequently.

Personalization and user experience in the sports field isn’t much different. Voice recognition devices like Alexa make it easy to get real-time data and statistics about your favorite teams and can use past data to predict the outcomes of upcoming games, which can be a big help for those getting into sports betting.

Teams are getting on board with technology catered to fans, too. The LA Dodgers have their own loyalty program that fans can sign up for online or through a mobile app. Season ticket holders who are a part of the program can receive things like vouchers, discounts, autographs from players, and other rewards that are beyond enticing for any diehard Dodgers fan.

Some teams are even partnering with existing apps that are popular with fans to improve the game experience. In 2019, the New York Yankees joined forces with food delivery service Postmates to allow fans to order food and drinks from the concessions and have them delivered to their seats. This allows those mobile users to skip long lines and avoid missing any big moments in the game.

As mobile technology continues to advance and change, it’s likely the sports industry will continue to advance with it to improve the fan experience, whether you’re at the game or watching from home. America’s favorite pastime is looking toward the future, and making life a little bit more convenient for all of us who live for Opening Day!