The new club homepage look

Now that you've given your comments about the new MLB.com homepage, what do you think of the new look on the 30 official Major League Baseball team homepages? Each club's site was just relaunched as well by MLB Advanced Media, the first major changes across the board there in a few seasons and reflecting feedback from fans as well as latest technology and user trends. What matters most, of course, is what you think. Please feel free to leave your comments here, and as with your MLB.com homepage comments, they are reviewed by all of the people involved here. Thank you, and enjoy another Opening Day!

The new MLB.com homepage look

Updated 7:41 p.m. ET on Thursday

Thanks to everyone for your important feedback regarding the relaunch of the MLB.com homepage for this Opening Day. You noticed that much has changed, from the increased emphasis on headlines and the new mediawall at the top of the page to the Attractions and the Programming in the middle to the expanded fan presence on the bottom. MLB club sites were just relaunched as well, and the next entry on this blog is where you can comment on those individually if you'd like. Thanks for your constructive opinions, which play a key role in ongoing development at Major League Baseball Advanced Media.

Also, maybe you noticed: MLBlogs are now free! New baseball blogs are being created at a rate of close to one every five or 10 minutes right now, so join them and build your own following! We also relaunched that community. Everything feels different at the start of a Major League Baseball season, and especially this year.

Win $1 million with Beat the Streak!

BeatthestreakYou thought only your favorite Major League players got the big bucks? Someone here at MLB.com could win a million dollars this season. That is the unprecedented prize being offered to someone who can "top" Joe DiMaggio's fabled record of 56 consecutive games with a hit. All you have to do is enter MLB.com Beat the Streak. It's free and easy, 15 seconds a day. Just pick one player each day who you think will get at least one hit. If your own streak reaches 57 consecutive games this season, then you are looking at a payout that a baseball fan dreams about. Last season, someone got to 47 games. No one ever has gone beyond that, but the number of players are going way up and it's going to get interesting. You can't win unless you enter! See what everyone is talking about around baseball this spring.

Because you need more bobbleheads

AlbertBobblehead Blowout. That's really all you have to say. Bobbleheads were reborn in 1999 with the Willie Mays Bobblehead Night in San Francisco, and it was all over after that. Who doesn't have a bobble? Who doesn't need more? Get 20 percent off an Albert Pujols Blatinum Bobble or one of the many others listed in this great sale at the MLB.com Shop. The offer ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 24.

Rockies club blog launched; Valentine's Day Gift Guide

RockiesfleeceFresh off their first World Series appearance, the Colorado Rockies have become the latest Major League club to launch their own front office MLBlog. Rockies Inside Pitch began today with a post from broadcaster Drew Goodman about his experiences at the 2008 Rockies Fantasy Camp.

Meanwhile, the 2008 Valentine's Day Gift Guide launched at the MLB.com Shop. Those same Rockies fans might consider something like a Full Zip Fleece from Antigua Sport. Shop for any MLB club, and for her or for him. Because, yes, you love more than baseball.

More tickets to Major League Baseball games are purchased online today than through the traditional windows. In some cases (ie Boston, the club that swept those Rockies) they have been going fast for 2008. Now's a great time to jump right in there and hit the MLB.com ticketing center to find what's available for Spring Training and the regular season.

It's also a good time to start your own blog. Make your preseason analysis and predictions, and then you'll have a place to chronicle the whole season online.

Hits for the Holidays!

SoxcrocsThe 16-day "Hits for the Holidays" streak of sales is under way at the MLB.com Shop and like most everything else leave it to Major League Baseball to take things into extra innings while everyone else is doing the "12 days of..." thing. Each Tuesday through Friday over four consecutive weeks is a different all-day/night sale, so just keep your eye open. There is something for every shopper, something for everyone on your list. The MLB.com Shop Virtual Catalog makes things especially easy, and nothing beats the convenience of doing all of this online and maybe right at home in those comfy new flannels and a pair of team-logo Crocs such as those "Sox Crocs" pictured here. Happy Holidays and happy shopping for other baseball fans!

This Year in Baseball Awards

96x72_tyibVoting is under way in the annual This Year in Baseball Awards at MLB.com. These awards have grown in popularity every year since their inception -- more than 6.2 million votes in 2006 -- putting fans in control of a variety of crystal recognition that will be bestowed on the players at the start of next season. Your categories for this year's awards, which are sponsored for the first time by State Farm, include: Starter, Performance, Manager, Closer, Rookie, Setup, Play, Defense, Hitter, Postseason Moment and, of course, Blooper. Voting for all awards runs until Dec. 5. You voted all year for important things like All-Star rosters; be sure to have a say in these.

Alyssa Milano joins TBS Hot Corner

Amilano_tbs_3 Actress/humanitarian/designer/Dodger fan Alyssa Milano, author of the highly popular MLBlog *touch 'em all* and purveyor of the TOUCH line of women's ballpark apparel, has been named as an online personality for the TBS Hot Corner on MLB.com in this MLB postseason. Milano, a sixth-year Dodgers season ticket holder whose blog was named one of the best "celebrity blogs" by Entertainment Weekly, will take fans on a behind-the-scenes tour of postseason ballparks and interview players to deliver insights they can't get anywhere else. Leave comments on her blog.

MLBAM, StubHub announce deal

StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace and an eBay company, announced on Thursday that it has reached a five-year agreement with Major League Baseball Advanced Media to become the official online provider of secondary tickets for MLB.com. This landmark partnership represents unparalleled integration of a secondary ticketing provider and a major professional sports entity. Effective immediately, the agreement will provide a co-branded secondary ticket marketplace that will serve as a singular online destination for fans to purchase tickets with StubHub being designated as MLB.com's Official Secondary Ticket Marketplace. "We believe this agreement reflects our commitment to providing dynamic platforms for fans to purchase tickets in authorized locations in the digital arena," MLBAM CEO Bob Bowman said. "Secure, simple and fan-friendly. Those are the hallmarks of this national destination for all of our fans." More >

A special site for a special Hall weekend

Induction3

The 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend will be the stuff of legend for a long time. A record 75,000 fans crowded onto rolling hills of Cooperstown, N.Y., to see the inductions of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. -- far more than the 50,000 that had been the most before, in 1999. A record 14,000 visitors entered the Museum on the Saturday of Induction Weekend, nearly 5,000 more than any day in the 68-year history of the facility -- and 20,000 combined that Friday and Saturday. There were 55 living Hall of Famers on stage that Sunday, including Ripken and Gwynn -- the largest such gathering ever in one place. So it just made sense that this special weekend required a special online presence, and fans found that with the relaunched BaseballHall.org site. It is now powered by MLB Advanced Media, and fans were able to find around-the-clock exclusive and comprehensive content to live up to a weekend that we will never forget.