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Atlantic League Player Makes History in First Successful Steal of First Base

Baseball will never be the same.

MLB partnered with the independent Atlantic League this season to test out some new experimental rules, including banning the shift, using radar tracking to help call balls and strikes and moving the mound back.

The "robot umpires" made their debut at the Atlantic League All-Star Game on Wednesday and shortly after, the league announced four new rules including the ability for batters to steal first base on any pitch the catcher doesn't catch. It was an expansion of the dropped third strike rule which allows batters to reach first when a called third strike is dropped behind the plate.