Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that three experimental playing rules would be tested during the 2023 Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) season - the Designated Pinch Runner, Single Disengagement for pitchers and Double Hook DH rule.
Each club will list a player not otherwise in the starting lineup as a designated pinch runner. That player may then be substituted at any point into the game as a baserunner. The player who is substituted for, as well as the pinch runner, may then return to the game without penalty.
MLB allows pitchers to disengage from the pitching rubber twice during an at-bat. ALPB will permit only a single disengagement per at-bat in 2023.
ALPB will continue using the Double-Hook DH rule, which allows clubs to use the designated hitter throughout the game, provided the club’s starting pitcher has completed at least five innings. If the starter fails to make it through the fifth, the club loses the DH for the remainder of the game.
"The Atlantic League is proud of our relationship with MLB as its very first Partner League," commented Rick White, ALPB president. "We are excited to have pioneered the rules changes that MLB uses today to enhance the game at its highest level. Our players and coaches are helping shape the future of the game."
"We thank the Atlantic League for their continued partnership," added Morgan Sword, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations. "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."
The ALPB, today a 10-team league, opened in 1998. In 2019 it became the first MLB partner league. The 2023 opening day is scheduled on 28 April. The Lancaster Barnstormers are the defending champions.
