Minors primer: What’s new as MiLB returns in 2021?
FILE - Tulsa Drillers Hueston Morrill waits for his name to be announced at the Double-A baseball team s game against the Frisco RoughRiders in Tulsa, Okla., in this Tuesday, June 30, 2020, file photo. Minor league teams across the country are set to open their seasons Tuesday, May 4, 2021, returning baseball to communities denied the old national pastime during the coronavirus pandemic. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP, File) Ian Maule
FILE - Players stand during the national anthem before the Rosemont Dogs played their baseball home-opener against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Impact Field in Rosemont, Ill., in this Tuesday, July 7, 2020, file photo. Minor league teams across the country are set to open their seasons Tuesday, May 4, 2021, returning baseball to communities denied the old national pastime during the coronavirus pandemic. (John Starks/Daily Herald, via AP, File) John Starks
Minors primer: What’s new as MiLB returns in 2021?
FILE - Tulsa Drillers Hueston Morrill waits for his name to be announced at the Double-A baseball team s game against the Frisco RoughRiders in Tulsa, Okla., in this Tuesday, June 30, 2020, file photo. Minor league teams across the country are set to open their seasons Tuesday, May 4, 2021, returning baseball to communities denied the old national pastime during the coronavirus pandemic. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP, File) Ian Maule
FILE - Players stand during the national anthem before the Rosemont Dogs played their baseball home-opener against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Impact Field in Rosemont, Ill., in this Tuesday, July 7, 2020, file photo. Minor league teams across the country are set to open their seasons Tuesday, May 4, 2021, returning baseball to communities denied the old national pastime during the coronavirus pandemic. (John Starks/Daily Herald, via AP, File) John Starks
Minor league teams across the country are set to open their seasons Tuesday, returning baseball to communities denied the old national pastime during the coronavirus pandemic. Capacities will differ by jurisdiction, but for most, it will be the first opportunity to see pro players in person since the entire 2020 season was canceled.
Of course, much has changed since the last affiliated games were played in 2019. There are fewer teams and leagues and Major League Baseball has introduced plans to use the minors as a testing ground for new rules that could improve pace of play or reduce player injuries.
Much will remain the same. Family-friendly prices, offbeat giveaways and outlandish team branding - more on those Trash Pandas below - remain key pillars of the minor league experience.
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The independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball will experiment with two revolutionary rule changes in the 2021 season, limiting teams’ use of the designated-hitter position to when their starting pitcher is in the game and lengthening the distance between home plate and the pitcher’s rubber by one foot.
These changes have been implemented by Major League Baseball as part of an ongoing partnership between the two leagues that began in 2019 to examine the effects of various rule and equipment alterations. Coupled with the rule changes that will be tested at the affiliated Minor League levels in 2021, they will provide data and discussion for potential future use in MLB.
MLB will have minor league experiment with moving back mound
FILE - Boston Red Sox s Jackie Bradley Jr., hits a two-run home run off Houston Astros pitcher Josh James during the sixth inning in Game 4 of a baseball American League Championship Series in Houston, in this Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, file photo. Major League Baseball wants to see if moving back the pitcher s mound will increase offense. MLB will experiment with a 12-inch greater distance between the mound and home plate during a portion of the Atlantic League season in an effort. Lynne Sladky
FILE - Washington Nationals Adam Eaton hits an RBI single off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty during the third inning of Game 3 of the baseball National League Championship Series in Washington, in this Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, file photo. MLB will experiment with a 12-inch greater distance between the mound and home plate during a portion of the Atlantic League season in an effort to decrease strikeouts and incre