Frontier League announces implementation of “sudden death” rule on extra innings

The Frontier League -Frontier League- announced an alteration to its bonus innings format. The 15-team Frontier League is an independent circuit designated as official associate league of Major League Baseball.

Starting next season, the Frontier League will implement a system to ensure marathon games don’t go into effect. The first additional inning (the tenth in regular games, the eighth in days with scheduled seven-inning doubleheaders), shall proceed in accordance with the International Tie-Breaking Rules:

The ITB rule involves placing a runner on second base to start the inning, as MLB has done for the past two years. The Frontier League rule change occurs if the game remains tied after that frame, as the 11th inning (or the 9th in a doubleheader) will proceed in the “Sudden Death” format.

Before the start of the inning, the manager of the home team will decide whether to play offense or defense. The offensive team will begin the inning with a free runner, the previous batter in the lineup, at first base.

Picking up where they are scheduled to bat in the lineup, the offensive team has three outs to score the runner. If the runner scores, the offensive team wins. If he doesn’t score, the defensive team wins.

It may interest you: The rules that will remain in force in the Atlantic League for the 2022 season

In recent seasons, MLB has asked its partner leagues to experiment with rule changes that it might try in the future. However, that is not the case here, and there is no indication that MLB is considering implementing this rule in the future. According to the Frontier League, the idea was first proposed by one of its former managers and deliberated on by various league captains and administrators.

Raphael Martinez

I am a fan of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and all Mexican baseball in general. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterruptedly since 2009), signatures of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, although as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I have baseball in my veins. Degree in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and a reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I arrived at El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services at Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and a few days later, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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