Computers are going to start writing about minor league baseball
"Jayson Aquino tossed a three-hit shutout and Quincy Latimore had three hits and two RBI, as the Bowie Baysox topped the Akron RubberDucks 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday."
That's the kind of straight-ahead, no-nonsense, get-the-news-upfront lede that comes from a professional journalist at the Associated Press.
This particular lede, however, was written by a computer. (You can read the rest of the story at the bottom.)
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The Associated Press has struck a deal to cover minor league baseball games with the help of computer-generated stories based off game data, one of the biggest moves yet toward more automated and algorithm-based journalism.
The stories will use data from Major League Baseball Advanced Media that is then fed into programs run by Automated Insights.
Under the deal, 142 teams and 13 leagues will be covered for the first time by the AP. Those articles will appear on MiLB.com and team sites.
The push into baseball follow on the company's early work in sports data. Automated Insights already provides fantasy football recaps for Yahoo, as well as AP stories from company earnings reports.
"The Associated Press proved the value of automated journalism with earnings stories, and their expansion into Minor League Baseball shows the demand for expanded news coverage from media outlets across the country," Automated Insights CEO Robbie Allen said in a press release.
The deal also means that minor league games not previously covered by the AP now will get some attention. The AP had not previously been covering these games.
Here's the complete story that Automated Insights sent along:
Aquino, Latimore carry Bowie to 6-0 victory over AkronBOWIE, Md.
(AP) -- Jayson Aquino tossed a three-hit shutout and Quincy Latimore had three hits and two RBI, as the Bowie Baysox topped the Akron RubberDucks 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday. Aquino (3-4) struck out eight and walked two to get the win. Bowie started the scoring in the first inning when Henry Urrutia hit an RBI single and Latimore hit an RBI double. The Baysox later added two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth and sixth to finish off the shutout. Shawn Morimando (9-1) went 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and 10 hits in the Eastern League game. He also struck out three and walked one.Joe Sever doubled and singled for the RubberDucks. Akron was blanked for the third time this season, while the Bowie staff recorded its third shutout of the year.
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
