The Minnesota Twins in late July will allow 5,000 fans to tag along with a player at Target Field.

They’ll be right alongside the player as he arrives at the ballpark, greets teammates in the clubhouse, warms up in a batting cage, hangs out in the dugout and — at last — heads out onto the field. Related Articles Trump backs proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in US

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That many fans cannot actually, physically accompany the player through his rounds, of course, but they’ll get the next best thing — access via “virtual reality,” piped through a smartphone app.

At the home game against the Chicago White Sox on July 29, the Twins will hand out 5,000 low-cost Google Cardboard-branded goggles that will turn fans’ phones into virtual-reality viewers.

The team will have a video of that Twins player cued up, and the clip’s virtual-reality qualities will translate into 360-degree viewing. Fans will be able to crane their heads in all directions to take in the ballpark scene, just as if they were alongside the player.

Such immersive video of all stripes — not just baseball — is becoming more common, especially as the goggles have become cheaper and smartphones ubiquitous. Much of this video is available on YouTube, and there’s a rapidly growing assortment of virtual-reality apps for Apple iOS and Google Android phones.

And while virtual-reality goggles aren’t required, the videos are best experienced that way. Google Cardboard goggles, made of inexpensive materials such cardboard, foam and plastic, sell for as little as $15.

Yet VR has not yet gone mainstream. Most people haven’t peered through the goggles, though they might have heard about them, said Marc Jensen, chief innovation officer at the Minneapolis advertising agency Space150.

That’s where Cardboard giveaways come in. Space150, which has experimented with virtual reality for a while, engaged in such a promotion late last year with Space150-branded Cardboard viewers.

“For us, it was about sharing something new with our clients and partners,” said Jensen, a managing partner at the agency. “Smartphones are the most accessible way to do 360 video, and Cardboards are the next little baby step up. It is a low barrier to entry.”

Google itself gave away “Star Wars”-themed Cardboards late last year.

The New York Times, more famously, has given away more than a million goggles over the past year as a way to promote its slick NYT VR app.

Cardboard promotions “are really smart and really cheap for the companies that are doing them, and it is also a great experience for the consumer,” said Chuck Olsen of Minneapolis-based Visual, a virtual-reality content creator.

“Almost everyone now knows someone with a Cardboard,” added Olsen, “and people pass them around to their family and friends. VR can be a little scary because it’s new technology, but this gets people used to it. Everyone thinks it’s cool when they’ve tried it.”

The Twins’ virtual-reality promotion is a collaboration with MLB Advanced Media, the digital arm of Major League Baseball, and with SuperSphere VR, a Los Angeles-based creator of VR content. SuperSphere VR has previously made VR content for DirecTV, Fox, Reebok and Samsung.

SuperSphere VR will shoot the Twins’ video later this month, once the team has decided which player will star in this VR production, according to Chris Iles, the Twins’ senior director of content.

Iles said he got fired up about virtual reality during spring training, when MLB Advanced Media showed him demo VR footage. This is a novel use for virtual reality in big-league baseball, he noted.

Some teams have harnessed virtual reality internally for training purposes, but the Twins are believed to be the first team to offer it as public giveaway in place of bobbleheads and souvenir bats.

The Twins’ virtual-reality smartphone video will, at first, only be viewable at Target Field. When the first 5,000 fans arrive to claim their VR goggles on July 29, they will find the VR footage in the MLB.com Ballpark app for Apple and Android phones.

Eventually, the VR video will be made available more widely, Iles added.

“It is about immersing fans in Twins baseball and bringing them closer to the game than they have ever been before,” Iles said.

ENTER VIRTUAL REALITY

Want to experience virtual reality? It’s not as complex and pricey as it might sound. You can get started for less than $20 — if you already have a smartphone.

Step one: Get goggles.

Google Cardboard-branded goggles, made of cardboard and other simple materials, are inexpensive because their brain is already in your pocket. It’s your phone.

Buy a Cardboard for as little as $15. When the goggles arrive, slip your iPhone or Android phone into them, and you’re ready to rock.

Step two: Watch video.

VR videos are found in a bunch of places online. The YouTube app for Android and iOS is one good place to start.

If a YouTube video is Cardboard-compatible, you will note a little goggles icon on the lower right. Tap it to activate its Cardboard mode. Then watch it with your VR goggles. Talk about immersive.

Here’s a playlist to get you started:

Step three: Get apps.

A growing number of Android and iOS apps incorporate VR content, including videos and games. Good apps to try include: