At Bat tops app rankings across North America in 2015 debut

MLB.com At Bat dominated North America in its first three days as excitement builds among baseball fans for the start of Spring Training games today. As of this morning after its 2015 debut this weekend, At Bat stood atop the app store rankings in the U.S. and Canada as the highest grossing sports app on both iPhone and iPad.   Buoyed by its new bilingual offering in 2015, At Bat also achieved similar top rankings among sports apps in Mexico. 

The new Spanish language capabilities developed for At Bat are part of a larger MLB effort to expand its important relationship with Latino fans. To further that effort, Major League Baseball has named LatinWorks, the award-winning, full-service cultural branding firm, as the league's creative agency to reach Latino fans. LatinWorks will direct MLB's national campaign to emphasize its multicultural diversity and connect with its Latino fans more directly and extensively. There were 193 foreign-born Latino Major League Baseball players, equaling 22.6% of the league, on Opening Day rosters last season, playing alongside many U.S.-born players of Latino descent.

"We are committed to reaching fans across different cultures and backgrounds reflecting the significant cultural diversity of Major League Baseball rosters," said Tony Petitti, MLB Chief Operating Officer. "With multiple recommendations from MLB partners and an expertise in reaching the Latino audience, LatinWorks will help MLB continue to connect with this important and growing fan base."

"Our partnership with MLB is a marriage of a unique vision for the future of both the country and its pastime-one that has been at the core of our agency's philosophy for many years," stated Manny Flores, LatinWorks CEO. "We couldn't be more excited to work with the League on its national campaign reaching the Latino fan."

LatinWorks' creative for MLB will incorporate a multi-platform national campaign for the upcoming season, as well as strategic brand activations surrounding MLB Jewel Events including Opening Day, All-Star Game, and Hispanic Heritage Month. The agency's marketing campaign will be unveiled nationally later this month.

In addition to At Bat and its comprehensive bilingual accessibility, Latino fans also will have extensive Spanish-language access to all 30 MLB Clubs through MLB.TV, which will introduce a new audio option in 2015. This technology will give MLB.TV subscribers the ability to switch the live audio feed from the television to Spanish-language radio announcers without disrupting the live video broadcast.