# ESPN Sports Data Scraper — NBA, NFL, MLB, F1, Soccer & more (`straightforward_hydra/sports-data-scraper`) Actor

Games, live scores, standings, teams & rosters across 16 leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, F1, NHL, top soccer leagues, IPL/BBL cricket, Six Nations, NRL, AFL Aussie Rules) via ESPN. Keyless. Pick one or many per run.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/straightforward\_hydra/sports-data-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Dev D](https://apify.com/straightforward_hydra) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 sports rows

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Sports Data Scraper — NBA, NFL, MLB, Soccer, Cricket & More 🏆

**Games and live scores, standings, teams and rosters across 20 major leagues — from ESPN's public API. Pick one or many leagues per run. No API key.**

One actor for the whole sports world: US majors, top European soccer, and cricket. Perfect for **sports apps, fantasy tools, betting models, dashboards and datasets**.

***

### Leagues

| Sport | Leagues |
|---|---|
| 🏀 Basketball | `nba`, `wnba`, `ncaab` |
| 🏈 Football | `nfl`, `ncaaf` |
| ⚾ Baseball | `mlb` |
| 🏒 Hockey | `nhl` |
| ⚽ Soccer | `epl`, `laliga`, `seriea`, `bundesliga`, `ligue1`, `ucl`, `mls` |
| 🏏 Cricket | `ipl`, `bbl` *(scoreboard & standings only)* |
| 🏉 Rugby / AFL | `sixnations`, `nrl`, `afl` |
| 🏎️ Motorsport | `f1` *(races + driver championship + constructors; no roster)* |

### Modes

| Mode | What you get |
|---|---|
| **scoreboard** | Games for today (or a date): teams, live/final scores, status, records, venue. |
| **standings** | League/conference standings: wins, losses, win %, points, rank/seed. |
| **teams** | Every team in the league (name, abbreviation, colors, logo, venue). |
| **roster** | Players on a team (position, jersey, age, height, college/nationality). |

Every row is tagged with its `league`, so multi-league runs stay organized.

### Examples

**Today's NBA + NFL games**

```json
{ "leagues": ["nba", "nfl"], "mode": "scoreboard" }
```

**Premier League standings**

```json
{ "leagues": ["epl"], "mode": "standings" }
```

**IPL matches on a date**

```json
{ "leagues": ["ipl"], "mode": "scoreboard", "date": "2026-04-15" }
```

**F1 driver championship**

```json
{ "leagues": ["f1"], "mode": "standings" }
```

**A team's roster**

```json
{ "leagues": ["nfl"], "mode": "roster", "team": "KC" }
```

### Notes

- **No API key, no proxy.** Uses ESPN's public JSON endpoints.
- **`team`** accepts an abbreviation (`LAL`, `KC`, `ARS`…) or a numeric ESPN team id.
- **`date`** is `YYYY-MM-DD`; blank = today. Pass an in-season date for leagues not playing today.
- **Cricket (IPL/BBL)** supports **scoreboard and standings** only — ESPN has no teams/roster endpoint for cricket; those modes are skipped for it.
- **F1** supports **scoreboard** (races + winner), **standings** (driver championship) and **teams** (constructors) — no roster.
- **AFL** supports scoreboard, teams and rosters; ESPN does not expose an AFL ladder, so **standings returns nothing** for it.
- Data belongs to ESPN / the leagues; use responsibly.

***

#### Keywords

sports data, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, soccer, football, cricket, IPL, BBL, Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, scores, live scores, standings, teams, rosters, fantasy, betting, ESPN, no API key.

# Actor input Schema

## `leagues` (type: `array`):

One or more leagues to fetch. Basketball: nba, wnba, ncaab. Football: nfl, ncaaf. Baseball: mlb. Hockey: nhl. Soccer: epl, laliga, seriea, bundesliga, ligue1, ucl, mls. Cricket: ipl, bbl (scoreboard/standings only). Rugby/AFL: afl, sixnations, nrl. Motorsport: f1 (races + driver standings + constructors; no roster).

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What to fetch. teams/roster are not available for cricket.

## `date` (type: `string`):

Day of games as YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. "2026-04-15"). Leave blank for today. Pass an in-season date for leagues that aren't playing today.

## `team` (type: `string`):

Team abbreviation (e.g. "LAL", "KC", "ARS") or numeric ESPN team id. Required for roster mode.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "leagues": [
    "nba"
  ],
  "mode": "scoreboard"
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("straightforward_hydra/sports-data-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("straightforward_hydra/sports-data-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call straightforward_hydra/sports-data-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=straightforward_hydra/sports-data-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Vyqcl1teSkEvoH7ng/builds/qzzxvcOY8zQjecoq7/openapi.json