For years, bleacher bums could pretend that their home run ball was hit by Barry Bonds, rather than Duane Kuiper. No longer. Major League Baseball will now validate home runs with a special hologram, which fans can verify in an online database.
In addition, through a partnership with IBM, a special portal will be made available to umpires to allow them to plan schedules, plan for inclement weather, or receive a heads up on a possible beanball war that might break out.
It's all part of a sport where statistical information is as valued as the ability to hit a slider. To Larry Bowden, vice president of portal software for IBM, the system simply integrates a ton of statistics from numerous sources pretty much what IBM's customers already require from the software company.
MLB has already used holograms to label merchandise such as game uniforms with a special numbered hologram; a pilot program began last year. MLB employs 135 trained and bonded authenticators serving all 30 MLB franchises, whose sole job is to verify and authenticate licensed MLB merchandise and record the numbers in a online database where individual items can be verified for authenticity.
In addition, through a partnership with IBM, a special portal will be made available to umpires to allow them to plan schedules, plan for inclement weather, or receive a heads up on a possible beanball war that might break out.
It's all part of a sport where statistical information is as valued as the ability to hit a slider. To Larry Bowden, vice president of portal software for IBM, the system simply integrates a ton of statistics from numerous sources pretty much what IBM's customers already require from the software company.
MLB has already used holograms to label merchandise such as game uniforms with a special numbered hologram; a pilot program began last year. MLB employs 135 trained and bonded authenticators serving all 30 MLB franchises, whose sole job is to verify and authenticate licensed MLB merchandise and record the numbers in a online database where individual items can be verified for authenticity.
