This wasn’t in the binder.
Joe Girardi, the Yankees manager known for going by the book, has a creative side, it turns out.
On Wednesday, he announced the release of his very own app, a sci-fi baseball game named “Portalball” that he created with technical help from app developer Appetizer Mobile.
Your phone’s camera projects your surroundings 360 degrees on the screen and allows the player and his friends to pitch, field and hit baseballs that randomly pop up from glowing blue portals on the screen.
Girardi said the idea was hatched a few years ago when his agent met Appetizer Mobile CEO Jordan Edelson, who suggested creating an app together. Girardi was immediately intrigued.
“I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’ I see how important apps are to people, how much they enjoy them, how much my children enjoy them and how we stay connected through them,” Girardi said at the release event at Modell’s in Times Square. “It was an idea, and we came up with this idea of trying to include more than just baseball fans, and that’s where you get the sci-fi portion of it.”
The app is free to download on iPhone and Android phones, and there are in-app purchases available.
Girardi admitted he’s not very good at the game just yet. His 13-year-old son, Dante, who got a preview of the game, is better, and he guesses his 8-year-old daughter, Serena, will immediately pass him as well.
“I will get better over time, as my kids are beating me and I’m getting frustrated,” said Girardi, whose limited video game experience as a kid included Super Mario Bros. and Pong. “We’ll have some fun with it.”
Most importantly to Girardi, a majority, if not all, of the proceeds from the game will go to his foundation, Catch25, which offers financial support to those affected by economic hardship.
“Dealing with a lot of the things I’ve had to deal with in my life and watching my mother go through cancer,” Girardi said, “I think it’s important that we give people hope. Because without hope, I don’t think there’s anything.
“Our hope is the game does really well. I don’t have any plans to take money out. We did this as a family project and to benefit our charity.”