MLB.com offers high def MLB.TV with full season of portability
Live baseball available on several platforms including Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, announced that the eighth season of MLB.TV, one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet, is now available at http://www.mlb.tv/ with portability for the upcoming 2010 season.
In addition to the PC-based accessibility more than two million subscribers have enjoyed over the past seven seasons, fans for the first time will be able to take a complete season of 2,430 games on MLB.TV wherever they go through a variety of interactive media platforms, including the newly unveiled Apple iPad and the MLB.com At Bat 2010 app for iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices. Additional platform offerings for live streaming are expected to be announced and available to subscribers for Opening Day.
The 2010 MLB.TV media player will deliver a fleet of enhancements in a convenient, cutting-edge Adobe Flash format, offering an unparalleled live viewing experience for every out-of-market regular season game.
In addition to portability, some of the features available in 2010 MLB.TV include:
HD Quality Picture – MLB.com’s proprietary speed detection allows high-speed users to receive live high definition video at the industry standard of 720p on any size monitor.
Home and Away Feeds - Watch or listen to either the home or away teams’ broadcasts.
Live Game DVR Functionality – Pause and rewind or fast-forward live games.
Clickable Linescores – Go directly to any half-inning to watch only that portion of the game.
Multi-Game Viewing Options - Watch up to four games simultaneously.
Picture-in-Picture – Choose one game and track another or watch in-game highlights simultaneously in a secondary window.
Live Game Highlights - Real-time highlights and player stats automatically load into the media player. With one click, the clip instantly launches in a picture-in-picture window.
Player Tracker - Customize alerts to feature entire fantasy rosters or just a list of favorite players. Subscribers will be notified any time a listed player is on deck. Click the real-time alert to watch live at-bat look-ins.
Spring Training – Watch more than 150 live games from Florida and Arizona as teams prepare for the 2010 season.
Source: MLB.com
MLB.com unveils 2009 This Year in Baseball award winners
MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, announced the results of online voting in its eighth annual This Year in Baseball Awards during a live hour-long video webcast from its New York City studios. The voting saw a record 12 million votes cast as the top players and moments from the 2009 season were chosen from 14 different categories, as well as a new honor, none of which were restricted to individual League affiliation.
“These year-end awards are a privilege to present and have grown in importance, both in terms of fan participation and in how they are received by the winners,” said Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content, and Editor-in-Chief, MLB.com. “We are grateful for every vote, and more, for the platform to celebrate greatness in baseball and to continue to identify ways to expand this significant, deserved recognition.”
A complete list of 2009 winners is below:
Hitter of the Year: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins (.365, 28 HR, 96 RBIs)
Starting Pitcher of the Year: Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals (16-8, 2.16 ERA, 242 Ks)
Closer of the Year: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (44 SV, 1.76 ERA)
Setup Man of the Year: Jeremy Affeldt, San Francisco Giants (74 G, 1.73 ERA)
Rookie of the Year: J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies (12-4, 2.93 ERA)
Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies (92-70, NL Wild Card)
Executive of the Year: Ruben Amaro Jr., Philadelphia Phillies (93-69, NL East champs)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox (.994 FPCT)
Unsung Star of the Year: Jayson Werth, Philadelphia Phillies (36 HR, 99 RBIs, 20 SB)
Performance of the Year: Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox (Perfect game, 7/23)
Play of the Year: Dewayne Wise, Chicago White Sox (Catch preserved perfect game, 7/23)
Moment of the Year: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (Passed Gehrig for NYY hits, 9/11)
Postseason Moment of the Year: Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (WS Game 4)
Oddity of the Year: Phillies fanatic (Dad’s catch thrown back by daughter, 9/15)
A special, first-ever X-Factor of the Year was awarded to former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre through a media-only vote by MLB.com editors, reporters and multimedia personnel. In 2010, this category will be added to the overall voting process. The 2010 This Year in Baseball Awards will include additional exciting enhancements to be unveiled at a later date.
Awards will be presented individually to this year’s winners in on-field pre-game ceremonies during the 2010 regular season.
Source: MLB.com
Victorino, Inge Win Record-Breaking All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote Races
Fans of Tigers, Phillies help first-time All-Stars earn St. Louis spots
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge were chosen by fans as the winners of the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote in record-shattering voting exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual Club sites.
Baseball fans supported the 10 candidates named by All-Star managers Joe Maddon and Charlie Manuel in unprecedented fashion by casting a record 68.6 million votes since the program commenced on Sunday, July 5 at 2:00 p.m. (EDT). This year’s record number of votes represents an increase of 43.5 percent from the previous mark of 47.8 million set in 2008. Since its inception in 2002, the All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote has now recorded nearly 200 million votes.
The National League winner, Victorino, received the highest total number of votes ever, surpassing Evan Longoria’s nine million in 2008, and led all vote-getters with 15.6 million en route to becoming the second Phillies player to win the balloting (Bobby Abreu, 2004). He was followed by Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants, Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals.
On the American League ballot, Inge became the first Detroit player to win the All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote by holding off Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers to claim the final spot on the All-Star roster with a final tally of 11.8 million votes, the most ever for an American League player. Inge and Kinsler were followed by Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays; and Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Previous winners of the All-Star Sprint Game Final Vote are: Evan Longoria (AL, 2008); Corey Hart (NL, 2008), Hideki Okajima (AL, 2007); Chris Young (NL, 2007); A.J. Pierzynski (AL, 2006); Nomar Garciaparra (NL, 2006); Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005); Roy Oswalt (NL, 2005); Hideki Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Jason Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).
Source: MLB.com
Lead changes, record voting set stage for dramatic finish to All-Star Game Sprint Final vote
Victorino takes NL lead; Inge stays atop AL; Polls close today at 4pm (EDT) Real-time updates available today at 12pm and 2pm on MLB.com and @MLB on Twitter
Shane Victorino gave Philadelphia Phillies fans late-inning heroics last night with his game-winning single and Phillies fans just might be giving the outfielder their own late-inning rally by propelling him into first place on the National League ballot with just under eight hours left in the record-setting All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote on MLB.com and the individual Club sites. The All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote has already surpassed all-time records for total ballots cast and total votes with 33.1 million and 53.4 million, respectively.
In the American League, Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers maintains a narrow advantage over Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers while Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim has gained significant ground in the race for the final spot on the All-Star Team. They are followed by Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays and Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Victorino, who has already accumulated 10.8 million votes to surpass Evan Longoria’s record-setting nine million in 2008, holds a slight edge over his top contender, Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants. Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals round out the standings in the National League.
Mobile voting is available exclusively on Sprint capable mobile phones and fans can send the word “Vote” to 1122 to receive the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote ballot. Standard text rates apply. In Canada, fans should text the word “Vote” to 88555.
Real-time updates for each of the tightly-contested races will be made available today at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. (EDT) on MLB.com and via @MLB on Twitter. The winners will be announced shortly after the conclusion of balloting at 4 p.m. (EDT).
Source: MLB.com
Lead changes highlight Day Two of All-Star Game Sprint Final vote
Sandoval and Kinsler re-gain top spots in tight races after briefly losing them overnight
Both races in this year’s All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote saw lead changes last night after day one frontrunners Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers fell behind Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies and Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers, respectively. At the 48-hour mark, Sandoval and Kinsler have each re-gained those leads with balloting ahead of last year’s record pace as 22.2 million votes have been cast exclusively on MLB.com and the individual Club sites.
While Sandoval and Victorino swapped the top spot on the ballot last night, Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers each have garnered nearly two million votes and are looming in this very close race for the final roster spot on the 2009 National League All-Star Team. They are followed by Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals.
Over in the American League, Inge eclipsed Kinsler for first place last night before the Rangers second baseman re-gained the lead earlier today. Overall, Kinsler, Inge and Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim each have tallied more than two million votes while Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays and Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays are in position to make a run.
The eighth annual All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote ballot commenced exclusively on MLB.com and the individual Club sites at 2 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday and will continue until the voting concludes at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 9, 2009.
Mobile voting is available exclusively on Sprint capable mobile phones and fans can send the word “Vote” to 1122 to receive the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote ballot. Standard text rates apply. In Canada, fans should text the word “Vote” to 88555.
The All-Star Sprint Game Final Vote program has seen nearly 140 million votes cast since its inception in 2002, including last year’s record-setting total when fans chose Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers. Previous winners of the All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote are: Hideki Okajima (AL, 2007); Chris Young (NL, 2007); A.J. Pierzynski (AL, 2006); Nomar Garciaparra (NL, 2006); Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005); Roy Oswalt (NL, 2005); Hideki Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Jason Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).
The 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)/7:00 p.m. (CDT).
Source: MLB.com