Double Header, Game One: Baseball for Geeks

I grew up watching St. Louis Cardinal baseball with my dad. When we traveled, we’d listen on the radio, at home we watched games on television and at least once each summer we would see the Cards play in person at Busch Stadium. If we were away from TV and radio, we had to be content with news reports after the game and national sportscasts’ video highlights. But now it’s 2010 and the tech-savvy baseball fan enjoys quite a few more options.

Here’s how I follow my team when I’m on the run:

• MLB At Bat 2010 Available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android The most expensive app on my iPhone, at $14.95 this year, it performs smashingly well and provides pitch-by-pitch action, audio play-by-play, video highlights, standings, box scores and plenty of statistics. Though not social, it’s easy for me to find games, track standings and keep up with news via the blog feed.
• Twitter I’ve saved hashtag searches for both #stlcards and #stlcardinals (#stlcards seems to be more popular). I use Tweetie2 for iPhone and follow the saved search on these hashtags to (discreetly when necessary) get minute-by-minute updates on the game‘s progress and be amused and entertained by other fans’ comments.
  Must follow: Official Cards Twitter feed and Matthew Leach, formerly with ESPN and mlb.com, now covering the team
• Facebook I love the online camaraderie I have with my Facebook friends who are Cardinal fans. In April, the Cardinals played a 20-inning game, the second-longest in franchise history, as my family and I were traveling back to Memphis from Nashville. Listening to the game in the car via iPhone became a virtual baseball watch party as my friends and I followed the suspenseful game and exchanged comments and updates. Regular sports fans invite friends over to watch a big game with snacks and beer; geeks on the run follow it with far-away friends via iPhone, Twitter and Facebook. Must follow: Cardinals on Facebook
• Related Blogs:
  • Cardinals pitching prospect David Kopp reports from the Minors
  • Cardinal left fielder Matt Holiday (has not been updated since last fall)
  • My favorite: Obviously, You’re Not a Golfer by Matthew Leach

Do you follow your favorite team?

On deck for next week: Double Header, Game Two: Leverage Social Energy to Build Loyalty for Your Brand or Organization

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