Show HN: Follow every MLB game. Real time. New score alerts(mlb.watchbotapp.com) |
Show HN: Follow every MLB game. Real time. New score alerts(mlb.watchbotapp.com) |
Yes, MLB has/had multiple wide open APIs for grabbing real-time data. You can get 100+ data points for every single pitch, including how fast the ball is spinning as it leaves the pitchers hand.
The major, major, major caveat is that the API includes a notice stating that usage of their API is for non-commercial purposes only, unless you have prior written permission. I’ve spoken with people that have tried to walk the line very closely, and they universally state that MLB lawyers are tenacious (but fair).
I doubt this service has any chance of surviving without some sort of license - if they’re using the MLB APIs.
Using the team logos is likely not permissible, legally speaking, although I hope I’m wrong. Projects like these are great.
Although let me tell you, we did not learn any math in that class.
* Also betting
* also oddball interesting games that you may not have the time to watch
* also once upon a time this is how you followed sports, you maybe saw 1-2 games a week and the rest was in the newspaper.
* favorite team on the TV, app following action around the league in real time.
* favorite team game over or off day, bounce around interesting games on the TV (I'm an MLB.tv subscriber). Braves down 1 in the 9th and Acuña coming up let me flip that game on. Cole is on the mound for the Yanks let's see how he looks. Etc.
* keep tabs on games I have bets on.
Baseball is a daily sport. If you have a favorite team that's the one game that's on the TV. But I'm still interested in what's happening around the league. So have the app on the tablet with every other game and new scoring alerts.
Like you could get second-by-second data on who was on the ice despite the fact that they change those players without a stoppage in time.
The downside back then was that usually the API consisted of just rendered JSON blobs at certain endpoints and they weren't documented at all.
But hey, better than undocumented XML or needing to actually scrape the webpages, Heh.