Future Of Baseball: MLB Continues To Test Rule Changes In Minor Leagues

By Barry Janoff

April 18, 2023: Having already tested numerous rule changes in Minor League Baseball — some of which were implemented in the Major Leagues this season — MLB today unveiled several other rule tests that could officially find their way into the game in upcoming seasons.

In 2023, MLB initiated among its new rules a clock for pitchers and hitters, larger bases and restrictions on defensive alignments, all of which were tested during MiLB games.

Now, working with the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, MLB will test a Designated Pinch Runner rule and a pitcher limit of just disengagement per at bat. The Atlantic League will also continue to test the Double-Hook DH rule as it has in prior seasons. 

The tests will begin with the Atlantic League Opening Day, scheduled for April 28.

MLB said the pitch clock has reduced the length of games to date by an average of 30 minutes, from over three hours to about two-and-a-half hours.

Earlier this month, MLB expanded its alliance with T-Mobile to include testing the automated ball-strike system at select MiLB games this season.

"This is the first time since 2019 that we're going into a season where the focus is on the field and the play of the game, which is always where we do our best,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said during a Spring Training media conference.

"We think the changes are going to produce a crisp, more exciting game. More balls in play, and I think the athleticism of our great athletes will shine through.”

In 2019, the Atlantic League became MLB’s first Partner League, under which ALPB teams play with rules and equipment tests. The Atlantic League’s partnership role has called for the league to institute rule changes that are under evaluation for testing by MLB. 

With the Designated Pinch Runner test, each club will name a player who is not in the starting lineup as a designated pinch runner. That player may then be substituted at any point into the game as a base runner.

The player who is substituted for, as well as the pinch runner, can return to the game without penalty.

The Atlantic League will test allowing only a single disengagement off the rubber by a pitcher per at-bat in 2023. The new MLB rule allows a pitcher to disengage from the pitching rubber twice per at-bat.  

The ALPB will also continue the use of the “Double-Hook” DH rule. This allows clubs to use the designated hitter throughout the game provided that the club’s starting pitcher has completed at least five innings.

If the starter fails to make it through the fifth, the club then loses the DH for the remainder of the game. 

Previous rules first tested in the Atlantic League include the Double-Hook Designated Hitter, the dropped pitch rule (batters are able to advance to first base on any pitch that is not caught in the air by the catcher, even with first base occupied by a runner), automated balls and strikes using TrackMan technology, no mound visits other than for pitching changes or medical issues, the three-batter minimum for pitchers, bigger bases and defensive shift restrictions.

Some of the rules first tested in Atlantic League received additional testing in affiliated play in the Minor Leagues before being implemented in MLB games.

“We thank the Atlantic League for their continued partnership,” MLB evp-baseball operations Morgan Sword said via the league.

“In recent years, the ALPB’s experimental rules have aimed to emphasize athleticism, improved pace of play and other means of giving fans the game they want to see.  We are excited for another great season of Atlantic League baseball and the entertainment that it will bring to fans.”

Atlantic League teams include the Charleston (WVa) Dirty Birds, Frederick (MD), Gastonia (NC) Honey Hunters, High Point (NC) Rockers, Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers, Lexington (KY) Counter Clocks, Long Island (NY) Ducks, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, Staten Island (NY) Ferry Hawks and York (PA) Revolution.

“The Atlantic League is proud of our relationship with MLB as its very first Partner League,” Atlantic League president Rick White said via the league.

“We are excited to have pioneered the rules changes which MLB is using today to enhance the game at its highest level.  Our players and coaches are helping shape the future of the game.”

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