Review: MLB.com’s Condensed Games

With so much of his time being spent executing things, today’s busy executive isn’t always in a position to enjoy every single game every single night on the entire baseball schedule. It’s to address this situation, undoubtedly, that Major League Baseball offers condensed games at their Media Center landing page.

The author has spent some time forming opinions about these condensed games, so that you don’t have to. Here they are (i.e. the aforementioned opinions), delivered in an authoritative voice via the magic of bullet point.

Regard:

• The first thing one will note is that the condensed games are delivered sans commentary — i.e. with natural ballpark sounds only. This is perhaps the best thing about them. Though commentary — especially when deliverd by broadcasters like Vin Scully or (in this author’s opinion) Len Kasper or Don Orsillo/Jerry Remy — though commentary certainly has its place, the quality of it is pretty uneven across the league. And while calls of dramatic plays can certainly enhance the experience of same, commentary is generally most effective during the game’s more subdued intervals. As the condensed games are composed almost exclusively by action, it’s a pleasure to participate in the ballpark sounds alone.

• The footage you’ll find includes many, but not all, of a game’s at-bats. In the Yankee-Red Sox game embedded (poorly) above, for example, routine outs that are also the first out of the inning appear to be omitted. Instant replays from multiple cameras and at varying speeds are provided for plays of note (home runs, stolen bases, defensive highlights, etc). Generally only the last pitch of an at-bat is shown — except in the case of a stolen base, for example.

• Something the viewer won’t experience is some of ancillary benefits of a real-time broadcast. Like close-up shots of sweet mustaches, for example. Or fans groping other fans. The focus in the condensed games is to isolate those events which led most directly to the result of the game. Certainly that’s one pleasure of watching a baseball game — but it’s not the only pleasure.

• The video quality is excellent — which is fine for those whose computers/internet connections are appropriately equipped to handle the accompanying demands on processor speed (and other matters technological). Ideally, there’d be a feature allowing the viewer either to (a) alter the size of the viewing window or (b) alter the video quality.

• The “embed” feature appears to not work. Perhaps the reader sees otherwise, but all I see in the embedded video above is a black box with the MLB logo in the bottom left corner. If I click on the black box, my browser opens the relevant video in a new window. This willn’t be a problem for most people, but it makes it more difficult for people tasked with writing about baseball (like Carson Cistulli, for instance) to share the experience with a certain bespectacled readership.