Google Glass App Reinvents Ballpark Experience

- by Hugh Berry

With baseball season coming to a close, October is a gloomy month. But there's something new to look forward to besides spring training. A team of developers wants to reinvent the ballpark experience with an app called Blue. It's always better to see the game in person than at home on TV, but there's still some give-and-take. Live games don't offer some of the commentary and stat-keeping television does and Blue wants to change that using Google Glass.

Google Glass is the new wearable tech, resembling a pair of eyeglasses, and lets users view a small screen in the corner of their vision without lifting a finger. Glass has a camera that shoots pictures and records video, gives updates ranging from sports to weather and connects with others on the Web.

Think about the last time you were left in the dark on a strange call — a runner gets called back to first, a batter gets ejected for mouthing the ump, or maybe a ball bounces off the top of the wall and you don't understand why it's not a home run. Blue is here to fill the gap. The app updates users in real time with stats like pitch types and speeds, rosters, hits and everything in between. The app even continues to run when you leave your seat to grab a beer or use the john.

Need to check some stats? Google Glass has you covered.

The skeptic might say, "I can see all that on my phone. Why would I wear these goggles just to see stats?" That's true, apps like Scorecenter and MLB At Bat give all the stats a man could need, but think how often you'd look away from the game to see how fast Halladay's fastball was or Ryan Howard's RISP average. Blue does all this with zero toggling or diversion of attention.

Image by loiclemeur via Flickr.

As for the aesthetics of Google Glass, that will likely change. It's still only available to developers and beta testers and third-party companies like Oakley are already looking for ways to implement the technology into some cooler frames. Companies like Air Optix want to have Google Glass tech built right into contact lenses.

Glass isn't available to the public until 2014, but it and Blue should be ready for the 2014 season opener. Until then, pitchers and catchers report in February.