The best baseball apps to follow the 2019 season
Users can watch the Major League Baseball Game of the Day for free on the MLB At Bat app. Credit: MLB Advanced Media
The Mets and Yankees open their seasons Thursday, and while there’s always hope in the Bronx, this year there’s a renewed feeling of optimism in Queens. Whether you’re a fan of the home teams or any of the other 28 clubs, these apps can help you follow every pitch or find seats at the ballpark.
MLB At Bat
(iOS, Android; free)
The official app of Major League Baseball has some new features for 2019. While it mainly serves as a pay portal to watch an entire season of games ($20 per year), this year all users can watch the MLB Game of the Day for free. The free version of the app is useful by itself because it offers a lot of stats, real-time scores, news and videos.
Rotoworld
(iOS, Android; free)
While football has become the No. 1 “fantasy” sport, this app is a reminder of the long-ago days when “rotisserie baseball” — where fans pick rosters of real players and use their stats to compete in a league — was the only game in town. For fantasy sports fans, Rotoworld will help you draft your teams and keep track of all statistics.
MLB Ballpark
(iOS, Android; free)
Looking for tickets to a game at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field? You can purchase an e-ticket through the app, which will make your check-in at the stadium easier. For Mets fans, the app offers a seat upgrade feature when you’re in Citi Field. (That functionality is not available for Yankee Stadium.) One complaint: The app used to have a “journal feature” that enriched your ballpark experience, but that is missing for 2019.
MLB Perfect Inning 2019
(iOS, Android; free)
This mobile-only game returns for 2019 with new features and a new face of the Perfect Inning franchise — Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard. The goal of the game is to build a winning team using real MLB players. Like most “freemium” apps, your ultimate success will probably rely on in-app purchases for "diamonds" currency that increases your chances of winning. The graphics are excellent, especially on iPhones and high-end Androids.
Going mobile
Hackers stepped up their assaults last year. Kaspersky Lab researchers tracked 116.5 million cyberattacks in 2018, nearly double the amount in 2017. But as consumers and business users move to mobile, so are the hackers. Kaspersky said cybercriminals are ramping up their mobile hacking, especially with so-called Trojan-Droppers, which typically hide in apps from untrustworthy sites and spread malware on devices.
— PETER KING
Seeing the light
Distracted walking, where pedestrians staring down at their phones don’t pay attention to traffic, is a big problem. But Tel Aviv hopes it has a solution for these “zombie pedestrians.” The Jerusalem Post says the Israeli city is installing ground-level LED signal lights at pedestrian crossings hoping to catch the attention of texting pedestrians. The LEDs mirror the color of the actual traffic light.
— PETER KING
Crowning achievement
Queen Elizabeth II has posted her first Instagram image. The queen posted from the London Science Museum to promote the museum’s summer exhibition. Using an iPad, she shared an image on the official royal family Instagram account of a letter from 19th century inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the current queen’s great-great grandparents.
— AP
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: The shortage of game officials on LI On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to young people who are turning to game officiating as a new career path.
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: The shortage of game officials on LI On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to young people who are turning to game officiating as a new career path.
