It’s that time of year again. Baseball time. The weather is slowly starting to warm up and each team starts the year with a clean slate and high hopes.
For fans it’s time to get ready to work baseball back into their schedule and prepare to root for their favorite team throughout the season. In recent years, it has become very easy for fans to follow every pitch whether they are at the ballpark, on the couch or at the grocery store. Twitter, apps and DVR have totally changed how fans consume games and by now every fan has a routine as precise as a Greg Maddux two-seam fastball.
But there is always room to improve on baseball watching habits. The following three apps may not yet have been discovered by the average MLB fan but if given the chance they will be a great supplement to any fan’s game-tracking habits.
1. Beyond the Box
Beyond the Box is a startup app that delivers comprehensive real-time coverage of teams and players on a visually appealing sports timeline. It pulls Instagram and Twitter data from 4,000 media sources and 3,000 athletes to provide national, local, blog, and player perspectives about NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, Soccer, and college sports.
Beyond the Box’s timeline format (as seen in the image below) is ideal for the MLB season. It allows users to swipe through high quality Twitter pics and Instagram photos shared by their favorite teams and players which provides a great glimpse into life around the MLB. It’s an efficient way to stay up to date on news around the league as well as enjoy the great behind the scenes photos throughout the season.
In addition to providing vibrant photos, Beyond the Box provides up to the second global sports coverage from a variety of quality news sources and Twitter accounts. But it is not a typical sports news aggregator. Its ranking and analysis system carefully identifies the best sources about each team or league and only presents authentic and trusted sports coverage. This makes it an ideal app to consume the latest news and analysis while visually seeing what is going on around around the league.
2. Fancred
For the socially active fans who like to share and converse about their experiences at the ballpark while staying on top of the latest news about their team, Fancred is a great option.
Fancred is a social network specifically geared for sports that helps fans find content from a knowledgeable and passionate sports community. The community aspect with Fancred is key and is what ultimately distinguishes this app from other sports apps. With Fancred, users build their sports credibility simply by being a sports fan and interacting with other fans in the network. Fans can share their sports takes, check-in to games, participate in conversations, read and post articles about their teams, and build a following.
A fan’s following is measured with a Fancred Score on a 1-100 scale which indicates activity and engagement levels. The more passionate a fan is about their team or sport, the more engaging their experience will be with other fans in the Fancred community and the higher their score will be. Fans can share their sports takes, links and daily sports activities with their audience and keep the sports talk going.
When fans head out to the ballpark they can check-in at stadiums to let their following know they are at the game. More check-ins equate to a higher Fancred score and helps to recognize fans who regularly attend games as sports community leaders.
Once fans are at the ballpark they can then invite friends and other sports fans from their Fancred community to interact in person and engage with their following while watching their favorite team.
Much like Firemen Ed, Clipper Darrell and the many other famous die-hard fans that have symbolized their team’s fan bases for years, Fancred lets fans build a platform based on their sports passion and could be a fun addition to any MLB fan’s app repertoire this summer.
3. Hungry Fan App
As every baseball fan knows, food is an integral part of the ballpark experience. Whether it’s cotton candy, hot dogs, cracker jacks or whatever adds extra flavor and enjoyment to the game, all fans have their favorite ballpark indulgence. But often it can be difficult to figure out the best options available while at or near the stadium. Fortunately, fans now have Hungry Fan.
Hungry Fan is an app for fans that helps them find, discover, and explore menus and locations for food available at stadiums and arenas in the US & Canada. When at the ball game, fans are no longer limited to the traditional concession stands with long lines and high prices. Today, stadiums offer many different levels of food that ranges from a quick bit to fine dining and cuisine. Hungry Fan helps fans navigate the many options at stadiums and arenas and can even help fans with dietary restrictions find foods that fit their lifestyle.
So next time you’re at the ballpark open up the Hungry App to see which foods are available, where concession stands are, filter by many different criteria (from ‘salads’ to ‘fried’ to ‘gluten-free’), and share your experience and food choice with friends.
With another MLB season upon us be sure and test out adding these three apps to your repertoire when you root for your team. If you’re at home then bust out your tablet and enjoy the clean user interface of Beyond the Box to stay up to date with the latest news from around the league. When attending games take advantage of the Hungry Fan App to see all of the food options in the stadium area and make the most out of your experience. And throughout the season enjoy interacting with fellow fans and demonstrating your passion on Fancred’s social sports network.