Major League Baseball (MLB) has streamed its first regular season game – the Los Angeles Angels vs. the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, Tampa – through its interactive, virtual ballpark.
Spectators anywhere in the world with an internet connection could watch the game in three dimensions, from unprecedented vantage points, and chat with one another at the same time. They could also watch the traditional broadcast on boards within the virtual park, wander the park, play trivia games or take part in a scavenger hunt.
The system behind the stream is called Gameday 3D, which MLB launched earlier in the season. It uses the same Sony Hawk-Eye cameras that blend doppler radar and high-definition video to generate Statcast data (pitch spin and speed, launch angles, batted distance, etc.) at real-life MLB ballparks.
