Here’s a look at the baseball apps you’ll find on BBRT’s IPhone – for baseballs news, statistical analysis, history or just plain fun. Most of these run from free to $1.99, except for MLB At Bat 12 at $14.99, but worth it for a true baseball geek.
Baseball News
MLB At Bat 12 … BBRT’s number one source of in-season info. Lots of baseball news, schedules, box scores, Game Day pitch-by-pitch coverage, standings, stats leaders and good, timely video. Free live video stream of one game a day, and you can listen to any game through your phone – just like the days of the good-old transistor radio, only with infinite range. Pricey at $14.99, but well worth it.
EvriThing Baseball … Pulls baseball news from literally thousands of sources and organizes them for easy access (in what the app terms “channels”). There’s Scoreboard and Standings channels, as well as channels for General BB news, Trade Talk, Roster Moves, Injury Reports and one for each ML team. And, to top it all off, it’s free. If you’re looking for a no-cost baseball news app, this is for you.
Sporting News Pro Baseball … Baseball info organized by News (general news), Scores, Stats and Fantasy News. Identify your favorite team and have quick access to the latest developments. Another free source of baseball news.
Analysis
Bill James Baseball IQ … For true BB stats geeks, in depth analysis of player strengths, weaknesses and trends – based on every pitch thrown over the past four seasons. Goes way beyond traditional stats like batting average, RBIs, ERA, etc. and into such areas as where, when and how a player gets his hits or makes his outs – or what pitch a hurler is likely to toss, in what location and on what count. “Some” of the categories: Hit Locators (where the batter is likely to hit the ball in a specific situation); Hit Zone (where the batter gets his hits); Pitch Location (where the pitcher is likely to spot the ball); Match-Ups (batter/pitcher lifetime results) – and MUCH more. How detailed can you get? I just looked up what pitch location Jered Weaver had used to strikeout Danny Valencia on two and two counts over the past four seasons. Basically, as you learn to use this app, it will take you to statistical levels (depths and heights) you never reached before. Again, free. Ain’t life sweet?
History
Baseball Memories … This app makes more than 200,000 games played between 1871-2009 available to you (depending on records kept at the time). You can access the final line score (with line-up), the box score, a text play-by-play or a play-by-play on-screen simulation. You can pull up games by year, date and / or team. A bit addicting for a baseball geek like me, but a treasure trove of history for $1.99.
Fun
Baseball Legends … More than 1,000 baseball trivia questions offered up in regular mode (ten seconds per question) or time trials (answer as many as you can in 90 seconds). Degree of difficulty ranges from “gimmees” to “You’ve got to be kidding!” No one gets shut out, but there are few four-for-fours either. The points you earn for correct answers enable you to unlock video, photos and audio from baseball history – such “fan treats” as Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on first?” routine, Babe Ruth’s speech announcing he is leaving the Yankees, Roger Clemens talking about his fifth Cy Young. A fun pick-up for 99 cents.
Flick Home Run … Hitting homers with a flick of the finger (you can also swing and miss, foul one off or pop up). Fun diversion when things are going slow, as you work to get the appropriate “flick” on an array of fast balls and floaters the move across your screen. Points for distance – and you can “leave the park and hit buildings, automobiles, etc. A free and 99-cent version – and you can purchase advanced skills.
Hit the Deck Baseball … Electronic version of the old classic mechanical baseball 
pinball game, with flippers, lights bells and all the excitement of being in an old-style arcade. Had a little trouble with tracking all-time high score, but still loads of retro fun for “geezers” like BBRT. (99 cents)
ESPN Fantasy Baseball … Let’s me run my ESPN Fantasy Baseball team from the IPhone. (Free)
