America’s Pastime gets with the Present

Every now and then, we like to take a look at what mobile apps are making their mark. The way we use technology is changing with the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, and there some pretty impressive tools to help you stay organized and entertained. With Major League Baseball season upon us, we thought we’d check out a few of the official MLB apps that are giving the people what they want (and possibly $5.6 million).

For the baseball fans in 2012, MLB has rolled out the new and improved MLB At Bat app. You get scores, news, and video highlights from previous games. The initial app is free to download and includes in app purchases for audio for all MLB games all season long, including the playoffs and World Series. Video streaming is also available, but only for the regular season. The audio package costs $14.99 for the season, and the video package is $24.99 per month. This app is available for both Apple and Android platforms.

Along with its At Bat app, MLB.com has included a few more for the diehards:

At the Ballpark (free and available for Apple and Android platforms) is for the fans who visit the MLB ballparks. You can check in, buy tickets, and get directions to any of the 30 MLB ballparks, and this app gives you special offers and exclusive content. It also incorporates social media.

Beat the Streak (free and available on the Apple platform only) is designed to get the fantasy sports players involved in the 2012 season. The idea is to select at least one and up to two players each day of the season to get at least one hit during the game to reach 57 consecutive hits to beat the 56 game hit streak of the late and great Joe DiMaggio. The first person to do so will win $5.6 million!

Then, there’s Full Count (free on Apple and Android devices) for live streaming video of highlights for every game.

MLB.com, along with all of our glorious mobile devices, is making it very difficult for baseball fans to be out of the loop with what’s going on in the game today. Any fan of any team can access news, stats, standings, ballpark information, and highlights of any game and/or team in Major League Baseball. With the amount of sophisticated technology used to develop apps for smartphones and tablets these days, it isn’t hard to believe the type of all-access media available. We can only expect it to get better from here on out.