THE HACKERS AT BREAKFASTNY LAUNCH BASEBALL INTO THE HEAVENS
Analytical types have long been drawn to baseball - evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote a book about his love of the sport, and that doyenne of data, Nate Silver, got his start as a baseball numbers cruncher.
This year the MLB Fan Cave on 4th and Broadway is offering a rare treat for the numerically-minded baseball fan. It's called Mission Control - a 20-foot-long wall of toggles, dials, and video screens tracking the statistics on every Major League baseball game and ballpark with a decidedly old-school NASA feel.
The project is the latest creation from the mad geniuses at Brooklyn creative shop BreakfastNY. "The touch screen has become so pervasive, there's something really substantial about input systems where you can flip a switch," Michael Lipton, co-founder and Account Director at BreakfastNY told us.
Of course those old-school interfaces are hiding some serious technology - the machine's software uses seven different languages and 13 APIs. "We're pulling in a lot of data and stats from baseball games, obviously, but there's a whole social component as well," Lipton said. "Who's checking in on Foursquare at the stadiums right now, Instagram photos of the games... There's a lot going on."
To get a look at Mission Control, check out the full schedule of events and tours at the MLB Fan Cave here. And have a look at some more of BreakfastNY's wonderful toys here.
Now go forth (and commence countdown).
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