There's An App for That: Top 10 Baseball Apps

As the blog title indicates, I'm a Baseball Junkie.  I'm also a member of #teamiPhone (don't hate) which means my phone is littered with dozens of cool baseball apps to help me get my fix.

Here's a list of my favorite baseball-related apps.

10. Baseball Reference - baseball reference is the go-to place for baseball stats.  This "app" is not really an app, at all... it's a mobile site (that displays an icon on your phone).  I'm not a huge fan of the app/mobile site (truth be told, it's not very user friendly and I often redirect to the full site) but it's free and I use it a lot so it's on here.

9. Baseball Superstars 2012 - this is a arcade style baseball game-playing app.  The stocky characters remind me of the ones you saw in the original RBI Baseball series... but the game play is much more advanced.  It's fairly easy to get comfortable with the controls and once you do get comfortable with the controls, it's easy to get hooked on this one.  Admittedly, I'm not a huge gamer but I spent a couple weeks playing around with this one.

8. Yahoo! Sportacular - this one is far from earth shattering and I wouldn't say you're wrong for using Fox Sports or any other similar app but this is the app that I use to check box scores and access pitch-by-pitch gamecasts.  I think it's the quickest and easiest to navigate and it's free.

7. National Baseball Hall of Fame Trivia - this is is the official trivia app of the National Baseball Hall of Fame... just released last month.  There are a lot of free trivia apps... I've had several of them on my iPhone (Baseball Ultimate Quiz is a good free app) but the thing that I like about this one is that it's official so you know it will be done right (more questions and better maintenance).  The BBHOF Trivia app is $1.99 - something to do when you're in the mood for some baseball trivia.

6. MLB.com At The Ballpark - unfortunately, the "awesomeness" of these apps is only available in certain ballparks right now but if you're in a ballpark that is hooked into the At the Ballpark experience, you should definitely check it out.  These apps allow you to access seating maps, directions and convenience guides for most ballparks but what makes this app really special is the ability to order food and drinks while you're at the game - delivered right to your seat.  Forget the concession lines and give the app a shot... I did and it was a great experience.  Some food items might not be available but the selection at Citizens Bank Park includes pulled pork sandwiches, Hot Dogs and sushi.  You'll pay by credit card (information entered as you order) and the concession attendant usually arrives within 15 minutes with your food/drink stored in a temperature controlled carrying case.  What's not to love?

5. MLB.com At Bat - this is the creme de la creme of all baseball apps (all sports, actually).  Watch live games, listen to live radio broadcasts and see breaking news as it happens.  This app is free if you have an MLB.TV Premium subscription but before you go investing $75 on a yearly premium subscription, you should be careful to understand your team's blackout rules (curse you Comcast!).  If you don't have the MLB.tv subscription, the At Bat app is still available and it's great for checking out the live game of the day and some of the other great features that I mentioned.  It's going to cost you $10 but if you're willing to forego Starbucks for a week, it's worth the sacrifice.  This app falls further down the list for me because of the blackout rules and because it is the most expensive app on my list.  

4. Yahoo! Baseball 2012 - I use Yahoo! for my Fantasy Baseball leagues and, as such, this app is certainly a must-have for me (and anyone else using a Yahoo! fantasy league).  It has improved exponentially year-over-year to the point where there aren't too many things you can't do on the app (that you would otherwise be able to do on a computer, with regards to managing your fantasy team). 

3. FanGraphs - in my opinion, this is the best mobile app for searching player statistics.  It's easy to use and aesthetically better than other apps designed to help you find how many Wins Above Replacement Albert Pujols was worth in 2010 (7.5, in case you were wondering).  It will cost you $2.99 but I think it's worth it.

2. Gamechanger App - this app is a must-have for little league coaches, slow-pitch softball player-managers and the casual fan that enjoys scoring games.  The GameChanger app allows you to enter rosters and effectively keep a scorebook while tracking season stats.  One of the coolest features that I've found is that you can actually broadcast your game scoring to people that might not be able to make it (grandparents and family members that aren't within a reasonable traveling distance)... when you start scoring the game, the app sends you an email which you can forward along.  It might not appeal to the old school fan that prefers to score the games in pencil but this app is awesome for the tech-savvy coach/manager that wants to take things to the next level.

1. Baseball Bloggers Alliance - WARNING... this may sound like a self-promoting shameless plug for the BBA and For Baseball Junkies... but this app is actually really cool. When you start up the app for the first time, it will ask you to customize your blog-viewing experience by picking independent BBA blogs of interest.  From that point on, whenever you click to open the app, you'll see the recent posts from the blogs you have chosen.  I have it set up to pull posts from blogs on our Blog Roll (FBJ is not listed on the app yet - I am working on it).  I highly recommend that you check it out.