Get on Play Store"MLB" is an official Major League Baseball sport game, offering live coverage and single-player action. However, the gaming experience is disturbed by frequent ads, missing optimization, and an abundance of bugs. As the #1 source for live baseball, MLB app provides a unique and immersive baseball experience for its users, despite its current technical shortcomings.
Phone
Android
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- monetization434 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the MLB app has drawn significant criticism from users, who express frustration over the excessive and intrusive nature of advertisements, even for those who pay for subscriptions. Many report that ads interrupt live broadcasts, often playing repetitively and at a louder volume than the game audio, leading to a diminished user experience. Users feel that the app prioritizes ad revenue over functionality, with some suggesting that the app has become more about advertising than providing quality content.
“I plan to do some in-app purchases - the real test.”
“All bad, yet I pay to get no ads but still getting ads. This only appeared last month or so; that's why I'm giving one star and now I am canceling my monthly subscription. There's no trade-off, just all rip-off.”
“I pay for this app and constantly get hit with pop-up ads that won't go away.”
“It's unbelievable how intrusive the ads are in the scores page.”
“I pay to not watch ads.”
- stability284 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The app is plagued by significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent freezes, glitches, and slow performance across various devices. Many have expressed frustration over the app's inability to maintain a consistent streaming experience, particularly during games, leading to interruptions and a poor user experience. Despite some positive features, the overwhelming consensus is that the app requires urgent attention from developers to address its numerous technical problems.
“This app runs great and loads quickly.”
“It runs great.”
“It's often slow and buggy.”
“I should be able to navigate the app while watching a game, and when I switch to full screen, 9 out of 10 times it glitches out and won't display. Horrible job by app developers not paying attention to bugs and overall user experience.”
“The app is slow and sluggish and always freezes.”
- optimization50 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 62 % negative mentions
The optimization of the app has received significant criticism, particularly regarding its performance on Chromecast, where users frequently experience stuttering and buffering issues despite having high-speed internet. Many reviewers express disappointment, noting that the app's performance varies widely across different devices, with some users reporting smooth operation while others face persistent problems. Overall, the app is seen as needing substantial improvements to deliver a reliable and high-quality user experience, especially for streaming live games.
“The app has nice quality and usually runs smoothly.”
“Great app, runs smoothly, never have issues loading live game and the same app is even better on my Google Smart TV.”
“App is optimized to play in full screen mode on my Note 8.”
“Very disappointed in the app performance, considering the $$!”
“This app has the poorest performance with Chromecast that I've ever experienced, by far.”
“Performance is awful.”
- story30 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the app has received mixed reviews, with users appreciating the variety of content but expressing frustration over technical issues such as crashes, glitches, and poor navigation. Many find the "game story" feature cumbersome, as it mimics social media formats that are not well-suited for sports highlights, leading to cropped visuals and excessive notifications. Overall, while the app aims to keep users informed about game narratives, its execution has left many feeling dissatisfied and hindered by persistent technical problems.
“When I don't get to watch the games, I go back to watch the story.”
“I use this daily during the season to stay current on games, stats, and storylines.”
“It's a story about one element of the game.”
“The 'game story' feature shows game highlights like an Instagram or Snapchat story stuck in portrait mode, which crops off the shot.”
“Such a waste of time; it was better before when you could see the whole story with one click and not have to connect to somewhere else.”
“When you click on a story and it has a video, most of the time the video just shows a spinning circle, and you never get to watch it.”
- graphics25 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
Overall, user reviews of the graphics in the app are mixed, with some praising the sharp and vibrant visuals and improved aesthetics, while others criticize the functionality and navigation issues, particularly on older devices. Many users report bugs and lag, especially in the streaming audio and pitch graphics, which detracts from the overall experience. While some find the graphics appealing, others express frustration with overlapping text and the app's inability to load properly.
“Graphics are sharp and vibrant.”
“I enjoy the graphics; the audio is wonderful.”
“Game day pitch by pitch and play results and graphics are excellent.”
“Please consider an audio-only version for users with less-than-cutting-edge devices that can't support all the graphic/video enhancements which the development team continues to add for newer hardware.”
“Poor graphics, more difficult navigation, overlapping text and it's harder to find stuff.”
“New graphics are terrible!”
- music17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the app has received significant criticism for its intrusive nature, often interrupting other audio applications and forcing users to restart the app to regain control of their music. Users report repetitive and loud commercial breaks, along with a lack of seamless integration with other audio services, leading to frustration and a diminished overall experience. Additionally, the app's audio levels are inconsistent, further detracting from the enjoyment of both the game and music.
“Sometimes the game audio is lower than music apps, but overall a good service.”
“Youtube music cranks up nice and loud, so I know it's MLB's app, not my phone.”
“Hey, sometimes I am listening to music or something and want to check scores.”
“The reason it's not 5 stars is the commercial breaks are filled with flashback highlights with the same loop of music over and over.”
“Works better than last year, but completely hijacks Android Auto so that I can't play music without force stopping the app.”
“It interrupts my music that is already playing.”
- humor8 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The humor in user reviews often highlights the irony and absurdity of the app's functionality and subscription model, with users finding amusement in the app's failures, such as non-working features and frustrating billing practices. Additionally, some users appreciate the humor in commercials, while others express a sense of dark humor regarding the ongoing issues that remain unresolved over the years. Overall, the humor reflects a mix of frustration and wit in the face of persistent problems.
“In a world where most don't have cable anymore, locking in-market games behind regional sports networks is a hilariously effective way to make fans either illegally stream games or stop watching.”
“Funny thing is, they always seem to have my account information when it comes time to bill me.”
“Love some of the commercials, funny.”
“Not funny when the subscription is non-refundable.”
“The jokes fell flat and felt forced throughout the game.”
“I expected humor, but it was more cringeworthy than entertaining.”
- gameplay6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Gameplay is generally solid, with effective video performance, but users express frustration over frequent radio feed interruptions and inconsistent audio levels, particularly with loud commercials disrupting the experience. Additionally, the ability to scrub through live gameplay is a welcomed feature.
“Gameplay view is solid, video works well.”
“You can scrub live gameplay on the app now?!”
“Wish there was a comment section for gameplay.”
“Gameplay view is solid, video works well, but the radio feed drops out every few minutes every single game.”
“Now the radio is playing commercials during gameplay.”
“Quiet during gameplay, excessively loud at advertisements.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the cumbersome navigation and login process. The lack of an effective search function exacerbates the issue, making it difficult to access favorite features and content. Overall, the experience is described as tedious and often intolerable, especially when compounded by annoying ads.
“This is tedious at best, but if any of those ads are especially annoying, it is intolerable.”
“The ability to move forward within a game is tedious and inaccurate.”
“Do you realize how tedious it is to log in using the on-screen keyboard with arrow buttons?”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frustrating user interface issues, such as cumbersome navigation with the fast-forward button and unresponsive features like the live button, which detracts from the overall experience.
