• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 8, 2013

It took just five days into the 2013 baseball season for MLB.com’s At Bat application to hit four million downloads. It wasn’t until May 18—45 days after Opening Day—the app reached that level last year, according to MLB Advanced Media. It also puts the 2013 edition, released on Feb. 21, on pace to break the 7 million downloads last season.

At Bat 13 includes new features such as additional news video and historical baseball footage going back to the 1952 World Series. All MLB video highlights are now also searchable. The app requires a one-time $19.99 subscription fee for the season across both iOS and Android platforms. iOS users have the option of paying in monthly installments of $2.99. For MLB.TV subscribers, access to At Bat 13 is free.

Counting downloads for its At the Ballpark app and Beat the Streak contest app sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts, MLB said total downloads have reached five million, more than twice the first week of the season in 2012.