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"Major League Baseball is expanding its use of mobile ticketing via Apple's Passbook app to include 13 stadiums this season. \nMobile ticketing began in the final two weeks of the regular MLB season last year as iOS 6 launched.  \nAt that time only four teams supported the app: the New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals.\nAt a fan event in new York City Tuesday night, MLB said it was tripling the number of teams which would support Passbook on opening day, with additional teams added throughout the season. \nThe expansion of electronic ticketing is expected to be a home run for fans. In the two-week trial period last year 12% of single-game tickets purchased were stored to Passbook.\n\nOne of the advantages to the Passbook ticketing, in addition to always having your ticket with you (since you're never without your phone, right?), is you can get a seat upgrade on your way into the stadium if there are any available.\nMLB showed off other upgrades to its digital products at the event. Along with MLB.TV, and new video content for the MLB at Bat 2013 app, there was its newest partner,  MLB.com Academy  \u2014 an automated swing analysis and coaching tool for kids. Future sluggers can upload video, and receive interactive instructional videos showing how they can improve their swing. \nMLB's digital division also showed off some new social initiatives. Andrew Patterson, MLB Director of New Media told Mashable they've really built up their social presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. \"One of the big things for us is trying to bring those platforms into the actual baseball experience.\" \nThey're also using Vine, Twitter's new six-second video app, for events like Bobble-head reveals. \nSEE ALSO: How Instagram Is Taking Over Major League Baseball\n\n\"The question for us is not how can we do video but how can we use the properties of Vine to really start making some interesting and creative content that really excites fans,\" he said. \nThe real question is, with all the ways fans want to connect and share pictures and videos at the ballpark, what about frustration with Internet connectivity? Patterson says that's on deck \u2014 baseball is making an investment to start wiring stadiums to make sure the connectivity is there. \n\"That phone experience is such a large part of it. We have an entire app designed just for that in-ballpark experience, so we're investing the technology to make sure it's in all 30 stadiums so fans can really ... have that social and mobile experience while they're at the ballpark.\" \nImages courtesy of Apple, MLB"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/02/27/mlb-expands-passbook-ticketing/>