MLB 9 Innings 24

About MLB 9 Innings 24

My buddy at work wouldn’t stop talking about this baseball game last spring, so I finally downloaded it on my iPhone 14 to shut him up. A year later, I’m still playing it. It’s just a really solid game. It looks great, the players are real, and it actually feels like you’re playing baseball, not just tapping a screen. I’m not a hardcore gamer at all, I just wanted something to play during my commute or when I’m waiting around. This totally fit the bill. It’s way more than a simple time-waster, though. You get to build your own team, play through seasons, and the whole thing just works without needing a manual.

Core Features

The best part is building your dream team. You collect player cards, like digital baseball cards, and try to put together the best lineup. I remember pulling a Diamond card for Shohei Ohtani last summer and I was stupidly excited about it. The actual gameplay is simple to learn. You tap to swing and swipe to pitch. But there’s a real skill to timing your hits and picking the right pitches. I mostly play the League mode, where you manage a team through a full season. It’s cool because the game uses real MLB stats, so if a player is on a hot streak in real life, he plays better in the game too. There’s also a Home Run Derby for quick games and a mode where you guess real game winners for extra rewards.

Real-World Use

This is my go-to app for killing time. I’ve played it waiting for a table at a restaurant, on the train, and even for a few minutes before bed. It’s perfect for short bursts. The graphics are sharp and the animations are smooth, so it feels good to play. I had one game last fall, a Thursday night, where I was down by one run in the bottom of the ninth. I had a runner on second and my best hitter up. He worked the count full and I finally connected with a perfect swing. Watching that ball fly out of the park for a walk-off win, I actually let out a “yes!” in my living room. My wife looked at me like I was nuts. Moments like that are why I keep it installed.

Pricing & Value

It’s free, which is awesome. You can absolutely build a good team and have fun without ever spending a dime. I’ve never felt like I *had* to pay to win. But man, do they try to get you to spend. There are constant pop-ups for special bundles, card packs, and their premium currency called Stars. The game is designed to be a slow grind, and buying stuff speeds it up a lot. I’ve bought a couple of the cheap event bundles, like five bucks here and there, when I really wanted a player. It’s tempting, but you have to have some self-control. For a free game, the amount of stuff you get to do is pretty incredible.

Updates & Support

The developers are always adding something new. There’s pretty much always a special event running, like a player of the month challenge or something for the playoffs. It keeps the game from getting stale. I’ve never had to contact support myself because I haven’t had any major crashes or bugs. Looking at the app store reviews, it seems like they’re pretty responsive when people do have problems. The game does need a solid internet connection to play most modes, which can be a pain if you’re somewhere with bad service.

Data & Privacy

The app asks for a lot of permissions when you first start, which always makes me a little wary. It needs network access obviously, and it asks for notification permissions so it can tell you about events. I just said no to the notifications. Their privacy policy is linked in the app store, and it’s the usual long, legal document. It talks about collecting data for ads and game performance. I’m not super paranoid about it, but I never link my social media accounts to games like this, just to be safe. It runs fine without doing that.