The Atlantic League is restoring its pitching mound to 60 feet 6 inches from home plate and returning strike zone judgment to umpires after experimenting with moving the rubber back one foot and using an automatic system to call balls and strikes. .
The independent league announced the changes Thursday as part of its partnership with Major League Baseball. The parties have been paired since 2019, and the Atlantic League agreed to test the rules and equipment that could one day make it to the majors.
The automated strike and ball system (ABS) debuted in the Atlantic League for the second half of the 2019 season and has since been tested and tuned in the low affiliated Class A Southeast League. The so-called robo-umps could still make their way to the majors one day, though a switch to ABS there doesn’t seem imminent.
The 61-foot 6-inch mound looks dead. Neither data nor feedback from Atlantic League players or coaches last season suggests that the extra foot had much of an effect.
The Atlantic League will continue to use bases larger than 17 inches; anti-shift rules; and a change in extra innings that puts runners in first and second to start the first inning after regulations and then fills the bases for later innings.
The league said in a statement Thursday that it will announce further rule experiments for 2022 later this spring.
“We are honored to pioneer the future of the game with Major League Baseball,” said Atlantic League President Rick White. “We are proud that many tests from today will make it to the Major Leagues in the future. We will continue to closely corroborate tests with MLB.”
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