Major League Baseball Advanced Media unveils its latest development in digital broadcast technology this weekend with MLB Plus, a live stream that debuts with the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry at 7 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday in Boston.
Orchestrated from both MLB.com Studios and correspondents as well as technical resources at the ballpark, MLB Plus is a new way to enjoy baseball. Reflecting today's industry trends and fan interest, it adds interactivity and advanced analytics with a particular focus on Statcast™, which is powered by Amazon Web Services.
• In MLB Plus, a more advanced way to watch
MLB Plus will place a real-time emphasis on the numbers and metrics used by many of the game's current decision-makers, from spin rate and outfield positioning to exit velocity and lead distance. In addition, MLB Plus will supplement the action with videos explaining the technology used and in-depth prospect reports.
On-air analysts include former World Series player Fernando Perez, MLB.com national correspondent Alyson Footer, Sports on Earth senior writer Will Leitch, MLB.com stats analyst Mike Petriello, MLB.com analyst and former general manager Jim Duquette, and Daron Sutton, the show's host and former TV/radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Angels, Brewers and D-backs.
"MLB Plus, as we introduce and evolve it, will showcase and experiment with the enormous amount of next-generation data and thinking that is available in today's game, including, but not limited to, Statcast™," said Petriello, also host of the Statcast™ Podcast. "Combining the best of traditional broadcasts, including viewpoints from former Major League players and executives, with the most interesting new numbers and analytics available, the MLB Plus broadcast should be unlike anything fans have seen before."
And thanks to Statcast™, metrics like spin rate, exit velocity and launch angle will be featured right alongside traditional stats such as home runs, on-base percentage and slugging.
Your involvement is a big part of MLB Plus. Fans can drive the action of the show, as some of the best in-game tweets will be read. Just include #MLBPlus in your tweet.
MLB Plus is available via Web media player as well as the following devices: All iPhones, iPads, Android handsets and tablets, select Amazon devices, Windows 8, Apple TV 4/tvOS and Apple TV 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360, PlayStations 3, 4 and Vita, Fire TV/Android TV, HTML5 (LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and TIVO).
The same Yankees-Red Sox games on Friday and Saturday also will be televised live by MLB Network. MLB Plus will be available as a companion to each MLB Network Showcase game.