Mlb Data

MLB Data

Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for endpoints, ID conventions, and data shapes.

Setup

Before first use, check if the CLI is available:

which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills

If pip install fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:

python3 --version  # check version
# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills

No API keys required.

Quick Start

Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:

sports-skills mlb get_scoreboard
sports-skills mlb get_standings --season=2025
sports-skills mlb get_teams

CRITICAL: Before Any Query

CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:

• Season year is derived from the system prompt's currentDate — never hardcoded.
• If only a team name is provided, call get_teams to resolve the team ID before using team-specific commands.

Choosing the Season

Derive the active season from the system prompt's date — not just the calendar year.

• If the user specifies a season, use it as-is.
• If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify: The MLB season runs late March/April through October. If the current month is January–March, the last completed season was the prior calendar year. From April onward, use the current calendar year.

Commands

See references/api-reference.md for full parameter lists and return shapes.

Shaping Play-by-Play Results

get_mlbstats_play_by_play and get_mlbstats_player_stats accept sort_by, descending, limit and fields. fields is the quickest way to drop the per-pitch lists when you only need the at-bat outcomes:

sports-skills mlb get_mlbstats_play_by_play --game_pk=775296 --fields=event,rbi

• sort_by: one column to sort by. Numbers (and numeric strings) sort numerically; missing values always go last.
• descending: true (default) or false; only used with sort_by.
• limit: positive integer, applied after sorting.
• fields: comma-separated keep-list. inning, half, batter, pitcher (play-by-play) or season, team, game_pk, game_date (player stats; stat keys such as homeRuns are addressable directly) and the sort_by column are always kept.
• An unknown sort_by/fields column returns an error listing the valid columns.
• With any of these set, the response adds total_rows (matching rows before limit) and returned_rows. With none set, output is unchanged. They are applied after the fetch, so they never change the upstream request or its replay entry.

Using ESPN and the MLB Stats API Together

The get_mlbstats_* commands read statsapi.mlb.com — MLB's own open API. It carries the analytics layer ESPN does not: per-pitch velocity/spin/location, exit velocity and launch angle on balls in play, career splits by stat group, and schedules back to 1901. The two sources use unrelated id systems:

• Game ids. MLB uses gamePk (e.g. 775296); ESPN uses event ids (e.g. 401570367). No shared column — join on the game date plus teams.
• Team abbreviations. Two teams differ: ESPN ARI/CHW vs MLB AZ/CWS. Every get_mlbstats_* team filter accepts either spelling, and rows carry both (team_abbreviation, team_abbreviation_espn).
• Player ids. MLB person ids (660271) and ESPN athlete ids are unrelated. Resolve names with find_mlb_player; ASCII spellings match accented names ("acuna" finds "Ronald Acuña Jr.").
• Postponed games repeat. A postponed or suspended game is listed twice under one game_pk in get_mlbstats_schedule: the original date has rescheduled: true (and rescheduled_to), the make-up has rescheduled_from. Drop rescheduled rows when counting games.
• Schedule times. start_time is UTC; venue_timezone is the ballpark's IANA zone (e.g. America/New_York, null if MLB omits it) and local_date is MLB's official (local) date.
• Postseason game_type filters by date. game_type="worldseries" with a date outside the World Series returns no games plus a warnings entry; drop game_type, or pass team + season with it to list the round's dates.
• Leaders come grouped. A category like homeRuns exists for hitting, catching, and pitching (home runs allowed); rows are labelled with stat_group — pass stat_group= to get just one.

Responses include MLB's copyright notice, passed through from the API.