NY Yankees 'block the plate' when it comes to bringing iPad to Yankee Stadium

Major League Baseball's NY Yankees have apparently banned the iPad at Yankee Stadium, saying the tablet falls under their 'no laptops' policy.

By Adam Hadhazy, iPadNewsDaily Staff Writer / May 24, 2010

This April 3 photo shows a customer using an Apple iPad on the first day of Apple iPad sales at an Apple store in San Francisco. The New York Yankees have apparently banned fans from bringing iPads into Yankee Stadium, saying they fall under the team's 'no laptop' rule.

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file

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You can bring a cap and a baseball mitt to the Yankees' game but not your iPad.

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The team has apparently banned the iPad at its Bronx stadium, saying the tablet computer falls under the strict "no laptops" policy, though no official announcement has been made.

Word of the prohibition, which first appeared on an IGN message board last week, has irked some in the blogosphere who feel that the iPad should be permitted in the pinstriped big leaguers' home the same as cell phones or other mobile devices.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) sees the iPad in this favorable way, having placed Apple's popular product in the "small gadget" category of devices that can be kept stowed in carry-on baggage during airport screenings.

What might also stick in the craw of Yankees' fans is the legality of the iPad at Fenway Park, home of their arch-rival Boston Red Sox.

BoSox's loyal will have access to a number of baseball-themed apps that Yankees' faithful will instead have to play with on their smaller iPhone and iPod screens. (With the way their teams' season is going, Red Sox fans should take whatever solace they can get.)

The iPad has had its share of bans since it hit the market in early April. Several universities and even the nation of Israel had at some point deemed the tablet computer as, well, not kosher for a number of reasons, including wireless network interference and vague security threats.

With a slew of other tablets coming to market or getting greater visibility per the iPad's success, the Yankees and other baseball organizations will have a lot of umpire-esque calls to make on what other hand-held computers ultimately strike out at stadiums.