Key Takeaways
- MLB’s Vision Pro app offers an immersive experience with live data and 3D stadium views, making you feel like you’re at the ballpark.
- The app provides unique perspectives like a batter’s view or the pitcher’s view, enhancing the viewing experience beyond traditional TV broadcasts.
- The app’s high-resolution graphics and real-time data offer a captivating way to watch baseball, creating a deeper connection to the game.
Short of being able to smell freshly cut grass and salty peanut shells, using the MLB app on Apple’s Vision Pro is scary close to feeling like you’re at a ballpark watching America’s pastime. I’ve used all of MLB’s apps on different devices and its Vision Pro implementation is by far my favorite way to watch a Padres game.
What the MLB Experience Is Like on a Vision Pro
Major League Baseball has been on the cutting edge of streaming and other technologies for quite a while now. The latest version of the MLB Vision Pro app brings together live batter and field data along with new 3D stadium graphics to make it feel like you’re in the middle of all the action.
The app now has two main parts to it. You can watch a baseball game on a big screen floating in front of you like you might expect, or you can go further and enter the Gameday mode for more immersive viewing.
Inside Gameday on Vision Pro (currently labeled beta) are options to view what a batter sees with balls and strikes, the pitcher’s view, or views from behind home plate, which can show where all the players are moving on the field in real-time.
There are no other fans in the stands and the stadium is not to scale, but the feeling of seeing different stadiums from a fan’s perspective is quite remarkable.
How MLB’s Tech All Ties Together
The experience relies all on the pieces, but the new stadium graphics are still the most impressive part of the newest MLB app on Vision Pro.
“Practically speaking we have a robust library of 3D ballpark assets we leverage for a variety of products, constantly updated to feature the latest representations of our 30 amazing ballparks,” Jamie Leece, Senior Vice President, Gaming & VR told me over email. “With that said, each platform is unique and our creative team worked tirelessly to make sure each park looks amazing on Apple Vision Pro, from lighting, to time of day to rendering options. We think all 30 parks look great on device and really give a feel for what it’s like to experience a game at your favorite ballpark.”
Even if you don’t have a Vision Pro, you can get a sense of how players move around the field with a field view in Gameday on an iPhone or iPad. It shows circular discs with players’ numbers on them to indicate where people are moving. However, this data isn’t Vision Pro specific.
“Every ballpark is equipped with high-resolution, high-frame-rate video cameras that track ball and player movement to visualize instant action at the park. This data makes up the award-winning Statcast system and is applied across a number of products and features inside the MLB ecosystem, but for Apple Vision Pro this gave us a wealth of data to provide our fans deeper, real-time insight into the games they’re watching,” Leece wrote. “The combination of live games, live data, and 3D visualization come together to provide an experience that is the first of its kind and something truly unique to the Apple Vision Pro.”
As for what’s next, Leece says that’s still to be determined based on fan response. “The platform truly inspires the creative impulses of our team at MLB and we are looking closely at how our fans are responding to what we have created so far and combining that with what our fans are excited about will be our north star.”
If Baseball Is Life Then Using a Vision Pro Is Like Being There
I have a deep love for the San Diego Padres, thanks to my mom and grandma. I can’t escape it, for better or worse. And now, with the latest MLB app on Vision Pro, I feel even more connected to the team.
It’s much easier to get a sense of the plays unfolding on the field beyond what you can see on TV. My preferred viewing angle is the high home plate view so I can see the field and players in front of me, below the TV broadcast. It’s hard to overstate how captivating the new 3D ballpark graphics are. The detail and resolution are fantastic.
If you don’t go to baseball games often, it’s easy to forget that players are constantly moving around the field, they’re rarely stationary. In the Vision Pro app, you can see outfielders come together in center field during pitching changes. You can see how far runners on first base make it to second before retreating when there’s a pop fly to the outfield.
One of the first things I noticed the most, however, was foul balls. On TV, it’s almost impossible to gauge where the ball goes off the bat. Inside Gameday on Vision Pro, you can instantly see the ball slicing or hooking. Height and speed stats are displayed on those foul balls too.
At first, putting on the headset and sitting in different stadiums is an active experience. There’s an urge to look around constantly. But after an inning or two, normalcy sets in, and it really does feel like you’re in a baseball environment. The crowd noise from the broadcast fills in the audio atmosphere, which goes a long way into tricking your mind that you’re not in your living room anymore.
MLB’s Vision Pro app has come a long way in just a few months. Eventually, I hope it gets to the point of being able to watch a baseball game with other people in real time too. In the meantime, Gameday on Vision Pro is still in beta. It’s early days. I’m hopeful for minor improvements as it progresses. I’d love to be able to toggle the scenery to be day or night, depending on when the game is being played or what time it is for me. Of course, I’d also love for cityscapes to be added beyond the stadium’s boundaries. Plenty of stadiums in places like Chicago, San Diego, and Pittsburg get extra charm from city sightlines.
Also, I don’t know if it’s a good idea, but I’d love the TV broadcast to show up on the stadium’s video board. Right now, the TV broadcast blocks some of the field so having the video more integrated into the stadium seems like a neat solution.
I can hardly wait for future visionOS developments and do wish they would come even faster, but in the meantime, apps like MLB are fulfilling the kinds of experiences I was hoping to get from the Vision Pro when I bought it. The app is such a perfect mix of visuals, data, and entertainment all rolled together. Here’s hoping I’m still watching the Padres in the Vision Pro when October rolls around.
