Major League Baseball has reached a three-year agreement with the Atlantic League that will see the independent league become a testing ground for rules and equipment changes. The changes will begin going into effect during the upcoming 2019 Atlantic League season, which starts in May.
According to a joint press release from the two organizations, MLB will enhance its scouting coverage of the league as part of the deal. MLB will install radar tracking technology at all eight Atlantic League stadiums as well as provide statistical services to all Atlantic League clubs. Baseball America reports that the proposed rule changes in the Atlantic League will include moving back the pitcher’s mound and using TrackMan radar technology to call balls and strikes.
“Now each game we play will be transmitted to each of the 30 MLB clubs. A numbers of scouts had suggested over the past few years that if we could ever get TrackMan it would make a difference in the exposure players receive,” said Rick White, president of the Atlantic League, according to Baseball America.
TrackMan will be collecting player data on every pitch and every ball put in play in the Atlantic League, while MLB now serves as the league’s official statistician. The new relationship between the two leagues could give Atlantic League players a better chance of being discovered and signed by an MLB team.
“Because of the nature of our players, virtually every one of our games is scouted,” White continued. “But the challenge those scouts had was they were having difficulty interpreting their personal view versus the advanced analytics that every affiliated player has at the Double-A/Triple-A level. This gets past that.”
SportTechie Takeaway
Since 2017, TrackMan has powered ball movement data for MLB’s Statcast system. In recent years, MLB has implemented experimental rule changes within the Arizona Fall League, a developmental league that houses many of MLB’s top prospects. However, changes such as robotic umpires or extending the plate-to-mound distance beyond MLB’s standard 60-feet, 6-inches, were likely seen as too drastic to implement in a league focused on developing young talent for the big leagues.
The Atlantic League instead offers an opportunity to test rule changes that would significantly alter America’s Pastime. Back in 2016, commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB’s technology had to improve before the league would implement an automated system for calling balls and strikes. Manfred will be talking about baseball and technology with Joe Lemire today at SportTechie’s State of the Industry conference in New York City.