By BART FISHER
Staff Writer
The Super Bowl is over. Pitchers and catchers report in a matter of days. The first Spring Training game of 2010 is less than three weeks away.
Yup! despite what Punxsutawney Phil says, spring is absolutely in the air and with it, our annual panoply of praise for the best sports Web site on the planet, MLB.com.
Just when you think it can’t possible get any better, Major League Baseball’s super-site finds a way to add even more content.
Sure, the NFL, NBA and NHL Web sites are good, but for the sheer volume of information and opportunities for meaningful interaction, nothing comes close to baseball’s site.
You want schedules, you get schedules. you also get loads of stats, records, links to every team, major and minor, game highlights and summaries, free newsletters and more fantasy games than you can possibly find time to play.
The graphics are great and the interface is really easy to navigate, even for a confirmed codger like me. There is literally nothing you would ever want to know about baseball that is not accessible through this premier portal.
Check this out: Fans can now have access to the same game notes clubs make available to beat writers and other members of the media; in real time no less.
That’s right. All you have to do is click on MLB.com Press Pass. The link provides fans with official game notes, the moment they are released by each team. If this was the only feature this site offered, it would still be a very big deal because fans have never had this kind of information at their fingertips before. but it’s only one tiny aspect of what’s available here and the best part is that almost everything is offered free of charge.
What can you do with this treasure trove of new knowledge? Just think of the edge you’ll have over the casual fan or fantasy player. How about using this vast, up-to-the-minute gold mine of data in your own baseball blog read by millions? Posting a blog takes time and know-how you say.
Maybe it used to, but not any more.
If you’d like to second guess the manager of your favorite team, tell the world about a “can’t miss” kid you’ve seen down on the farm or just venture an opinion about an upcoming series or perhaps a trade rumor or two, be their guest.
If you want to blog away like the pros you’re one click away from doing just that via, MLBlogs, right from the master site and once again, at no charge.
When it comes to fantasy games, there is one with a fee attached, but just about everything else from “Free Agent Frenzy” to “MLB Survivor” and the best head-to-head fantasy contest available on the web cost exactly nothing to play.
Did we mention that you can earn $10,000 in cash playing 2010 Fantasy Baseball? Well, you can. but even if you don’t, the loads of new information, the amazing graphics and the playing experience itself will make you a much more knowledgeable fan than you’ve ever been before.
Don’t have the time for a full-fledged fantasy battle of wits? There are not one, but several other ways to get involved.
Take MLB Survivor for example. The site says you can play this one in 15 seconds a day and still wind up with a huge prize. you just click on the game, pick a team that you think will win that day and if it does, you’ve got a streak going.
As long as that streak is intact, you’re in the hunt. finish the season with the longest streak (of 37 wins or more) and you take home season tickets for 2011. If nobody gets to 37 in a row, the player with the longest streak wins a trip to next year’s All-Star game.
There’s a similar game in which you pick a player you think will homer on a particular day and you keep going as long as the player you name actually does “go yard.” The top prize for the season is 10-grand.
MLB.com. There’s simply nothing else like it.