Perhaps fed up of Microsoft getting all the glory (or not) for its partnership with the NFL, Apple has joined forces with Major League Baseball to give the iPad Pro a starring role in the big leagues.
From this season, which commences in less than a week, MLB teams will have access to scouting reports and analytical data via Apple’s made-for-professionals tablet (via WSJ).
The lowdown on the opposition’s wicked knuckle-ball and star hitter’s slugging percentage against lefties will be delivered via a specially-designed MLB Dugout app.
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See also: iPad Pro vs Surface Pro 4
The app is the result of a collaboration between MLB’s brilliant Advanced Media division and Apple itself.
In the data-driven world of professional baseball portrayed in Moneyball, the tablets should do wonders for teams currently relying on old fashioned binders filled with stacks of paper.
The introduction marks a major change for the sport, which has more than most attempted to stay true to its traditions. Up until now smartphones, tablets and laptops have been banned from MLB dugouts.
“We’re not just replacing binders with tablets, we’re actually helping them do things that weren’t possible before,” says Apple’s PR guru Phil Schiller.
Microsoft has been providing coaching assistance to NFL players and coaches through the Surface Pro partnership for a couple of years now.
Now Apple has its nose in the game and, on the surface, looks to have pitched a shutout.