VIDEO: Player in Atlantic League Actually Steals 1st Base and it's as Strange as You Expected
By Adam Weinrib
Folks, they weren't kidding when they installed the worst rule of all time for experimentation in MLB's test kitchen, the independent Atlantic League. On any ball that squirts away from the catcher, the batter is now allowed to break out into an all-out sprint and "steal" first, and the visuals from our very first example of the rule in action on Saturday night were...as jarring as expected.
For the first time in baseball history a player stole first base thanks to the Atlantic League-MLB partnership rule changes! @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/yj4FkcZg6O
— SoMD Blue Crabs (@BlueCrabs) July 14, 2019
So the first ever steal of first was a delayed steal with some trickeration and stall tactics involved? Why am I not surprised? If we're already resorting to gamesmanship on Steal No. 1, perhaps this isn't a rule that will stand the test of time.
The South Maryland Blue Crabs won their fifth straight contest over the Lancaster Barnstormers 7-2, sparked in large part by this steal; a scoreless game in the sixth somehow turned into a seven-run outburst in just three innings of play.
"BuT yOu CaNt StEaL FiRsT bAsE" ?
— Stadium (@Stadium) July 12, 2019
There are some MAJOR rule changes in the @AtlanticLg. Which of these would you like to see in #MLB? pic.twitter.com/BPzNIetWEo
The rule, at the lowest reaches of the game, is here to stay. Now, it's what you do with it that counts.