The Atlantic League will continue to be MLB’s mad science lab in 2022, but two of the most controversial ideas are no more.
Just when you think MLB couldn’t possibly come up with a worse idea, they do something that reminds you how out of touch with reality they really are.
At least, that’s how it seems most of the time. Sensible labor proposals and fixing blackout issues might be asking too much of MLB, but when it comes to rule changes, they do test a fair amount of them out before implementation. The volume of rule change experiments has certainly increased in recent years, but two of the more controversial ideas are being put on hold.
Presenting the latest news from the Atlantic League, MLB’s unofficial mad science lab since 2019. Most notably, robot umps and 61-foot-6-inch mounds are two ideas that are being cast on the scrap heap. Other eye-catching ideas implemented last season, such as bigger bases and banning the shift, are being retained.
Moving the mound back was problematic from the start. Players protested that one, and it did seem an odd choice as many of the rule changes that have taken place these past couple seasons have ostensibly been made to help ensure the health of pitchers. Even if much of the difference was psychological, and studies done have shown that any real difference was negligible, mental confusion can still lead to injury.
As for the robot umps, I suppose much like fully autonomous cars, we’re just not quite there yet. Two years of testing wasn’t enough for robots to get a big league call-up, which many fans likely regard as unfortunate. Of all the proposed tinkering with the game since Rob Manfred took over as commissioner, eliminating umpire error has been one of the few popular notions.
One ominous note, however, was included in the news release. The Atlantic League did promise new rules would be announced later this spring and, with Manfred behind the wheel, any change has to be watched. Just because these two ideas didn’t make the cut doesn’t mean other, potentially worse ones won’t be implemented in the future.
Now, to be fair to the Atlantic League, most of what they test out is at least somewhat grounded in baseball reality. In 2021, the Appalachian League introduced extra innings with runners on first and second to start the 10th and had them fully juiced to start the 11th. A situation that would be so terrible that MLB would be better off implementing the 2021 Pioneer League idea of settling extra inning affairs by home run derby. If the league wants to depart from reality, the least they could do is depart completely.
All the same, Manfred does seem to continually cause more problems than he fixes. This writer would just as soon see no more on the field changes in MLB. Not until MLB makes a change at commissioner anyway.
Note: An earlier version of this article suggested that the Appalachian League’s extra-inning rules were being implemented by the Atlantic League. That is not the case at this time.