Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are located at Penn Medicine Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The Atlantic League mostly operates in cities not served by Major League Baseball (MLB) or Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams; most of its teams are within suburbs and exurbs too close to other teams in the organized baseball system to have minor league franchises of their own. The Atlantic League requires cities to have the market for a 4,000 to 7,500-seat ballpark and for the facility to be maintained at or above Triple-A standards. When Atlantic League professionals are signed by MLB clubs, they usually start in their Double-A or Triple-A affiliates.

The Atlantic League is generally regarded as the most successful and highest level of baseball among independent leagues, and is comparable to the Double-A level. The Atlantic League has had more marquee players than any other independent league, including Jose Canseco, Mat Latos, Steve Lombardozzi Jr., Francisco Rodríguez, Chien-Ming Wang, Roger Clemens, Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir, Juan González, Pablo Sandoval and Dontrelle Willis. Two former Atlantic League players are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson.

History

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball began in 1998 with teams in places like Bridgewater, Newark, and Atlantic City in New Jersey. It was created because the New York Mets objected to moving a team from Albany-Colonie, so Frank Boulton started a new league with better pay and a longer season. The league aimed to have experienced players and better facilities.

In 2010, the league expanded to Sugar Land, Texas, and added its first team not on the Atlantic coast. Over the years, some teams left or changed names. In 2015, the league started using special baseballs with red and blue seams. In 2020, the league had to cancel its season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a few teams played in Texas. New teams joined in later years, like the Gastonia Ghost Peppers in 2024.

2020s

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Atlantic League could not play its normal season. Some teams could not open their stadiums, so they hosted community events instead. Only two teams played that year. In 2021, a new team joined from Gastonia, North Carolina.

In 2021, the Somerset Patriots left to become a minor league team, and the Sugar Land Space Cowboys also joined a minor league. New teams like the Lexington Legends and Charleston Dirty Birds joined the league. In 2022, Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to start and pitch in an Atlantic League game.

In 2023, the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars were named, and the Spire City Ghost Hounds took a break. The Gastonia Honey Hunters were removed due to debts, and a new team, the Gastonia Ghost Peppers, started playing in 2024.

Experimental rules

2019

In 2019, the Atlantic League tried new rules with Major League Baseball’s approval:

• Using a radar system to help umpires decide balls and strikes
• Shortening the time between halves of innings
• Requiring pitchers to face at least three batters
• Banning visits to the pitcher’s mound except for changes or medical reasons
• Limiting how players can position themselves in the infield
• Making bases bigger
• Moving the pitcher’s spot farther back

Some of these rules were delayed or changed later.

2021

In 2021, more new rules were tried:

• Changing how the ball-strike system worked
• A rule that if a team removes its starting pitcher, they can’t use a designated hitter for the rest of the game
• Moving the pitcher’s spot back farther for part of the season
• Raising player salaries to at least $13,800 per year

2022

In 2022, the Atlantic League stopped using some rules:

• The ball-strike system was no longer used
• The pitcher’s spot went back to its original distance

New rules were also announced for 2023:

• Changing the “double-hook” rule so teams keep their designated hitter if the pitcher throws at least five innings
• Allowing batters to run to first base on pitches not caught, getting a hit if they make it

2023

In 2023, three new rules were tested:

• A “designated pinch-runner” rule letting teams pick a runner to substitute in and later return
• Pitchers could only disengage once per at-bat, or it would be a balk
• Keeping the “double-hook” rule as changed in 2022

2024

In 2024, player salaries were raised to a minimum of $30,250 per year.

Teams

Map of teams

League timeline

League members Moved to another league

Former teams

Proposed teams that never played

Championship Series

The ALPB Championship Series is played in a best-of-five format. The numbers in parentheses show how many championships a team has won up to that point, if they have won more than one.

All-Star Games

The Freedom Division won the 2019 game after a special tie-breaker called a "homer-off" when the score was level at the end of nine innings.

League records

Main article: Atlantic League records

This section lists the top performances and achievements in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. It includes records for the most hits, runs, and other important stats by players and teams over the years. The records show how players have done their best in this league.

Major League Baseball players

Some players from the Atlantic League have gone on to play in Major League Baseball. They sometimes start or end their careers in the Atlantic League and then return to the big leagues.

A few of these players include:

• Ruben Sierra - Played for the Atlantic City Surf in 1999 and then returned to the Texas Rangers.
• Jose Canseco - Played for the Newark Bears in 2001 and then returned to the majors for the Chicago White Sox.
• Tim Raines - Played briefly for the Somerset Patriots in 2000 and returned to the Montreal Expos in 2001.
• Carlos Baerga - Played for the Long Island Ducks in 2001 and returned to the Boston Red Sox in 2002.
• Rickey Henderson - Played for the Newark Bears in 2003 and 2004.
• Stephen Drew - Played 19 games for the Camden Riversharks in 2005 before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Ross Detwiler - Signed with the York Revolution in 2018 and later returned to several MLB teams, including the Miami Marlins in 2021.
• Steve Lombardozzi Jr. - Signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in 2016 and advanced back to MLB later that year.
• Brandon Phillips - In 2021, he joined the Lexington Legends as a player and part-owner.
• Pablo Sandoval - Played for the Staten Island FerryHawks in 2024 and 2025 after playing in MLB with several teams.
• Trevor Bauer