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Atlantic League Ends Some Experimental Rules

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Over the last few years, the Atlantic League has been a testing ground for Major League Baseball and some of their experimental rules.

It appears as though some of those are ending, while others are here to stay.

ATLANTIC LEAGUE RESTORES 60’6” PITCHING RUBBER DISTANCE

Successful Automated Ball – Strike Technology Migrates to Affiliated Minor League

(January 13, 2022, New York, N.Y.) – The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) announced today that it will return the distance of the pitching rubber to its conventional 60’6” and will resume having home plate umpires call balls and strikes for the 2022 ALPB Championship Season.  

The Atlantic League has used the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system since the second half of its 2019 season and throughout the 2021 campaign as part of its innovative Test Rules and Equipment Partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB). Following the ALPB experiment and assessment, ABS is moving to an MLB affiliated league.  

Atlantic League pitching rubber distances were moved back one foot to 61’6” for the second half of the 2021 season as part of the MLB test rules partnership. The test proved inconclusive, so both parties agreed to restore the pitching rubber distance to its traditional length of 60’6” for the upcoming ALPB season.  

“As we enter 2022, we reaffirm to players and fans that ball-strike calls, and the distance of the pitching rubber, will return to accepted norms,” said Atlantic League President Rick White. “We retain several past MLB test features, such as 17” bases, extra innings tiebreaker and anti-shift rules, among others. The test rules and equipment are transitional by definition: Some elements remain, others are tweaked, and still others are abandoned. That’s why MLB and the ALPB conduct the tests.” 

The Atlantic League and MLB will announce 2022 test rules later this spring. “We are honored to pioneer the future of the game with Major League Baseball,” said White. “We’re proud that many tests today will find their way to the big leagues in the future. We will continue to closely corroborate on tests with MLB.” The experimental playing rule and equipment changes are part of a multi-year agreement between MLB and ALPB. 

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) 

With teams throughout the Mid-Atlantic, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 1,000 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 44 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 24-year history. For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com. 

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UPDATE Changes for MLB/Atlantic League Experimental Playing Rules

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

UPDATE REGARDING MLB-ALPB EXPERIMENTAL PLAYING RULES


ALPB-MLB-Partnership-StoryIncrease of Distance Between Mound and Plate Delayed Until Second Half of 2020

 

(Lancaster, Pa., April 10, 2019) – Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs (ALPB) today announced adjustments that have been made to the preliminary list of experimental playing rules and equipment initiatives that MLB wishes to test during 2019 ALPB games.

First, the use of radar tracking technology to assist the home plate umpire in calling balls and strikes will be implemented gradually over the course of the 2019 season rather than on ALPB Opening Day. Second, the plan to extend the distance between the pitching rubber and home plate by 24 inches has been delayed from the second half of the ALPB’s 2019 season to the same point in 2020. These changes reflect the dynamic nature of the partnership, as well as a joint desire that the upcoming technology upgrades at ALPB ballparks be fully installed and calibrated prior to implementation of these experimental playing rules.

“Our partnership with Major League Baseball calls for ongoing mutual consultation. As we conduct discussions and work together, certain adjustments will need to be made on an ongoing basis in order to serve the partnership’s priority of providing the best possible data to Major League Baseball in the highly competitive Atlantic League environment,” said Rick White, President of the ALPB. “This is, and will remain, a thoughtful relationship intended to best serve the future of the game of baseball.”

 

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

With eight teams in the Mid-Atlantic and Texas, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 900 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 40 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 22-year history.

For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.