Options for following your favorite MLB team in 2007 Apr01 '07

Tomorrow, baseball begins it's 2007 season, and each year I try to find better ways to keep up with it. With a full-time job, and commitments in other areas of my life, it's very hard to follow the 162 seasonal games with any sense of balance. And that's just for my favorite team - the Cubs. I also like to follow other teams, to see how they're doing. This just adds more to my plate.

If I'm not careful, it just becomes another chore - a full-time job unto itself.

The idea is to keep things balanced and interesting - not spending too much time absorbed in it, but just enough to know what's going on, and still being able to attend to other areas of my life.

Using the latest technology, there are usually some very good options available. Major League Baseball is very involved with new media trends.

Free email alerts

The simplest way to stay involved (from a distance) with your favorite MLB team is to sign up for the free email alerts. Your inbox will promptly display postgame alerts and breaking game news for your favorite team.

Screenshot of MLB.com email alerts

Screenshot of MLB.com email alerts

Mobile updates/alerts

If you're away from the computer a lot, but still want to stay informed, MLB Mobile might be your answer.

For a small fee (approx. $4 per month), you'll get postgame alerts and breaking game news for your favorite team, automatically sent to your mobile device as an SMS message.

Screenshot of MLB.com Team alerts

New in 2007 is player alerts, allowing you to select specific players, and be informed of their daily activity and stats.

Screenshot of MLB.com Team alerts

If you'd rather not be sent a message automatically (standard message rates apply), you can receive an update on-demand, by directly sending a text message to MLB's SMS number: 65246. Wait a few seconds, and then you should receive a reply text message, providing details about your request.

Screenshot of MLB.com Text message notice

Screenshot of MLB.com TEAMTXT

This is similar to Google's SMS services. And speaking of Google, they also offer on-demand sports score updates, by simply texting the team name to Google's SMS number, which is 466453.

What about video?

All the options above are great for updates, but what if you want to actually watch the games, like most baseball fans?

Thankfully, MLB.TV offers some nice packages for fans looking to watch games online, through a web browser. Packages start at $14.95 per month, and include options for video, or just audio.

Keep in mind, "local games" are blacked out by default. So unfortunately you can't use MLB.TV to follow your local team.

Also new in 2007, Apple's iTunes is offering access to MLB content. These would not be full games, but rather highlights of games around the league. Individual highlight packages start at $1.99 per download, with subscription options available on a weekly or seasonal basis.

When all else fails...

When all else fails, go for the traditional methods, ie: local newspaper, web sites, or even the ol' AM radio.

Sometimes I find the best experience is listening to the AM radio broadcasts - there's just something so authentic about it. Kind of like baseball itself. It's truly a magical game.

Categories: Sports , Technology

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if i have unlimited text messaging, and when it says standard text messaging rates apply will i have to pay anyting? ... Read more.

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matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.

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