10 Apps and Gadgets to Take Out to the Ballgame
Teams have a hand in fans' wallets the minute they step to the ticket counter, but free and low-cost apps for stat geeks, fantasy baseball freaks and fickle game watchers make it a bit easier to enjoy the game without dumping a truckload of money onto the field. It's also an incredibly long season that has almost five full months left to go, which makes an app purchase a huge value.
We went flipping through the various app stores and found the 10 most essential baseball apps of the 2012 season. These apps are all top contenders for your time and money this season, even if your team isn't:
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MLB.com At Bat 12
Platform: Apple(AAPL) iOS and Google(GOOG) Android
Price: Free to $14.99
Shocked that the MLB would charge nearly $15 for an app? It's the same league that thinks it's awesome to charge an average of nearly $30 a game for tickets, so don't sigh too deeply. At least those 15 bills buy you pitch-by-pitch updates, video highlights from games in progress and live radio broadcasts to go with free At Bat Lite content such as scores, news from MLB.com, schedules, rosters and team standings. Want a better deal? Download MLB's free At The Ballpark app and get a directory of your local ballpark, team schedule and ticket info and -- for Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros fans -- mobile food and beverage ordering.
Baseball Trade Rumors
Platform: iOS
Price: $2.99
It's a one-trick app, but it does that trick better than anyone in the business. MLBTradeRumors.com is on top of trades from the offseason to midseason replacements, so if your squad turns out to have a fragile pitcher in the starting rotation or needs a bat for a second-hand playoff push, this is the app that's going to tell you who's coming your team's way and how much his services will cost.
