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The Man Who Created The “Baseball Boyfriend” App You Made Fun Of Earlier This Week Speaks

Earlier this week, a fantasy baseball app called “Baseball Boyfriend” took the sports internet world by storm – and not in the way it intended. It was relentlessly mocked (including on this site), because the entire thing felt condescending to the women who were its desired market. Oh, and also the design of the app (a screenshot of which can be seen above) and the description of it on its website – which since seems to have been altered some – were tailor-made for mocking.

While the backlash was widespread, though, at least one person didn’t agree with it: Frank Panko, the guy who created the app in the first place. We got an email yesterday asking if we had any questions for him, and we couldn’t resist sending a few his way. Below, those questions (in bold), followed by Panko’s responses.

When you created the app, did you expect any backlash? Even if so, did the extent of it surprise you?

No we didn’t expect the backlash, and yes the extent of it surprised us.

Before it was an app, it was a game my wife and her girlfriends would play while watching baseball games; they started about three years ago. They called it Phillies Boyfriend. Last year, my wife and I put it online for the group to share, started keeping track of stats and came up with the algorithms that power the current app. We even started the season with a draft night potluck where all the ladies and their dates got together to pick their BBBFs for the season.

The site itself is worded to be like a gossip rag or tabloid magazine. It’s not meant to be taken seriously. It was written to be a fun & sassy fantasy. We thought people would get a giggle and could have a lot of jokes around it.

Much of the backlash, of course, is over claims that the app is sexist. How would you counter such claims?

Much of the backlash came from the misconception that we were trying to dumb down fantasy baseball for women. This is not true at all. Baseball Boyfriend is a mini-game that you can only play along side your normal fantasy team. So by design everyone that has the app must also be participating in a fantasy league.

To play, you need to first join a fantasy baseball league on CBSSports and draft a team. Once you have your team, and the fantasy season starts, you can pick a player daily, if you like, from your roster to be your BBBF.

The things to consider while picking your boyfriend are the same things while setting your line for the day. Who’s on a hot streak and who’s not, who’s playing where, and what is their starting status that day. Then take a guess at which of your players will put up the best stats for the day. Is it better to go with a new pitcher every day or stick with an awesome batter all season?

We saw you mention here that several men have also signed up for Baseball Boyfriend – how many men have signed up, approximately? What percentage of the total subscribers does that figure represent?

I can’t pass along gross numbers, but I can tell you that about half of the players we’ve talked to so far are men betting on who the best player this season will be.

Are there any changes (for example, in the visual design) planned based on the response to it?

We are considering several options based on the feedback from the community thus far. This is the first version, and nothing is set in stone. On every project that I’m involved in, I value the opinions of the people using it. I take their ideas under advisement and if it’s feasible and true to the game’s spirit I will do what I can to facilitate a change.

We are already implementing themes with in the game. There will be a very clean theme for those that want it. We’re keeping a variation of the current theme for the ladies that already play. It was created for my wife and her friends, with their help. They are wonderfully fun ladies who enjoy the game already. We are keeping the current theme for them. Everyone else can choose which game environment that they would like to play in.

Edited for length and clarity.