As 
the first full workouts of 2014 Spring Training begins this week, Major League Baseball managers may want to give their players gamepads instead of gloves.
A study by the University of California at Riverside, which was published in the current issue of Current Biology, suggests that playing video games can make you a better ballplayer.
The 
gaming world thought it had said R.I.P. to R.B.I. Baseball in 1995, but the long-dormant sports franchise is coming off of the bench.
Major League Baseball has revealed plans to bring back the series that debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. In a succinct announcement, MLB Advanced Media said it would be bringing R.B.I. to “current- and next-generation consoles and smartphones and tablets.” The league didn’t offer any additional details.
It’s 
the bottom of the ninth for fans of baseball video games.
While baseball used to be a viable market segment of the video game world, times have changed. Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the MLB 2K baseball game series, confirmed in May that they won’t renew their exclusive contract with MLB and has strongly indicated that they won’t field a player at all next year.
Microsoft’s 
invasion of the living room is going into overdrive.
Comcast’s Xfinity on-demand service, HBO Go and MLB.tv are now available through Xbox Live — and they’re arriving right as the console undergoes a major transition in how people use it.
Brian Kingrey isn’t really a fan of 
baseball video games, nor is he particularly fond of baseball in general.
But money? He’s a big fan of that — and now possesses a hefty chunk of it. The Lousiana man raked in $1 million by being the first player to throw a perfect game in 2K Sports’ baseball sim, MLB 2K11.
When it comes to sports video games, Electronic 
Arts is largely viewed as the industry’s king. But for the past six years, the company has had a hole in its lineup: Major League Baseball.
With its hands tied due to an exclusivity agreement between MLB and Take-Two Interactive Software, EA has had to ride the bench. Today, though, it’s stepping back into the batter’s circle.
Homerun Battle 3D doesn’t have a license 
from Major League Baseball and doesn’t need one. The focus on hitting balls deep into the stands and the number of perks you can get with special balls — such as gold ones, which let you alter your appearance when you’ve hit enough homeruns with them — make this a great combination of arcade and role playing. The multiplayer mode is safe and a showcase of how matchmaking should be. The only downside is there’s no way to transfer your player’s progress between the iPad HD version and the separate iPhone and iPod Touch version — meaning you not only have to pay twice, all the work you put into the game on one platform won’t help you on another.
Read more at Common Sense Media
Chris Morris: Journalist 