Apple and MLB have signed a multiyear agreement to "equip every team with iPad Pro tablets to help the coaching staffs make better use of data," according to Nathan Olivarez-Giles of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but teams "will be able to sift through performance stats from current and past seasons, weigh potential pinchhitter matchups, look at 'spray charts' showing where a player is likely to hit a ball ... and videos of play from previous games." MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that giving coaches iPads loaded with player data is the "natural next step for the game, and something teams have called for." He added that the deal "coincides with the lifting of a longstanding ban on using laptops, tablets and smartphones in dugouts." Olivarez-Giles reports MLB will issue team managers and coaches iPad Pros "fitted with rugged cases displaying the league's logo." The software centerpiece "is a custom app called MLB Dugout" that will be built by MLBAM with assistance from Apple. The data available on the iPads "will be proprietary to each team, rather than drawing from a league-wide database." The Apple-MLB deal follows a four-year, $400M agreement between the NFL and Microsoft in '13 that "replaced traditional playbooks with Microsoft Surface tablets" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/30). Manfred said baseball has "traditionally forbidden the use of electronic devices in the dugout for a lot of reasons related to the integrity of the play on the field." But he notes MLB believes the technology and information available via the iPads will make decision making "faster and better ... particularly when there are unexpected events in the game." CBS' Charlie Rose said, "The data revolution means that you can have so much more input in terms of making a decision today" ("CBS This Morning," 3/30).
USAGE IS VOLUNTARY: THE VERGE's Sam Byford notes there is "one difference" in relation to the NFL-Microsoft deal in that iPad use "is optional for MLB teams, whereas Surfaces are mandatory in the NFL" (THEVERGE.com, 3/30). TECH CRUNCH's Fitz Tepper notes it "remains unseen whether MLB will struggle from the same growing pains that the NFL had when making the shift from paper to digital play books" (TECHCRUNCH.com, 3/30).
