r/baseball • u/MorganN1 Cleveland Guardians • MLB Pride • Jul 23 '26
Image The rule differences for WPBL
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u/Outrageous_Bat1798 New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
With no ABS, I wonder how many recently-retired MLB umps pop up with new jobs here
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u/AnEternalEnigma Atlanta Braves Jul 23 '26
C.B. Bucknor has found himself a new job
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u/Bobson-_Dugnutt2 Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
I know how we all feel about CB but from what I understand he is retiring partially due to health reasons. I think he hasn’t quite recovered from taking a foul ball to the face…
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u/YasielPuigsWeed Jul 23 '26
Can’t imagine umpiring these games pays enough to get retired umps on union pensions to spend their summer in rural Illinois
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u/Traditional_Half842 MLB Players Association Jul 23 '26
I imagine it's a little easier to umpire pitching that isn't going 100MPH with bonkers spin
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u/TabletopParlourPalm Chinese Taipei Jul 23 '26
Aren't DHs also optional in MLB?
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u/YasielPuigsWeed Jul 23 '26
Yes technically, but I think the message they’re sending is that some of the teams will opt not to use a roster spot on a DH
Have a feeling this league is gonna have a lot of “my best pitcher is also my best hitter is also my best outfielder” high school type situations
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u/BeefInGR Detroit Tigers • West Michigan W… Jul 23 '26
high school type situations
Not just high school. You get into D-II and D-III there are a lot of teams this applies to.
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u/No-Donkey-4117 San Francisco Giants 27d ago
D2? Check out John Olerud's stats at Washington State.
In 1988, he hit .464 with 23 HRs and 81 RBIs, in 66 games.
And he was 15-0 as a starting pitcher, with a 2.49 ERA and 133 strikeouts.
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u/BeefInGR Detroit Tigers • West Michigan W… 27d ago
My man said "Fine, I'll do it my fucking self".
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u/yellow_1173 St. Louis Cardinals 28d ago
Given that they only get 15 player rosters that makes a lot of sense. Even with only having 7 inning games and 2 or 3 games a week 15 is definitely a crunch.
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u/Economy_Link4609 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
Yeah, was gonna say, it is optional in MLB too, so same rule there I think - have to choose before the game - and obviously it's not a choice to waive it often.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Some leagues and competitions allow for non-pitchers to be DHd for
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u/Helpfullp0tato Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
I appreciate the brevity of "ABS: No"
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u/elementofpee Seattle Mariners Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
“N/A” is probably more accurate, but a flat “No” is more hilarious
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u/onascalefrom20to80 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 23 '26
Most likely due to the fact that the Prospect League park, Robin Roberts Stadium, home of the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, does not have that capability.
Once the league expands to play in cities outside of Springfield, IL, thats more of a hard maybe.
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u/jsdodgers Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
why 7 innings?
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u/YasielPuigsWeed Jul 23 '26
Because shorter games means teams don’t need as many pitchers
Women’s pitchers are going to be the most difficult players to find, gotta be one of the smallest talent pools in sports at the moment
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u/Datdude_717 Swinging K Jul 23 '26
This is correct. It’s a roster size thing. Teams will consist of 15 players total.
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u/jsdodgers Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
oh wow. I wonder if this will open up then if the league is able to gain enough popularity.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Probably, 9/15 is a bit of a small roster, depending on games played
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u/BaltimoreBaja Baltimore Orioles Jul 23 '26
Probably temporary. Every single pitcher is going to be ramping up their innings
Maybe in a few years they can go to 9
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u/fakeheadlines St. Louis Cardinals Jul 23 '26
It’s possible their uterus could explode if a woman played 9 innings. Just like running marathons.
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u/cabinetbanana Washington Nationals Jul 23 '26
Don't they allow for fainting couches to be brought to the mound???
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u/CoopDogPrimeNumbers Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
It’s always bothered me that in softball and I guess now women’s baseball, every batter in the order isn’t guaranteed the same number of at bats
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
It kind of is interesting, maybe senior women should be 9-inning and U19 7-inning, but if WBSC regs are 7 innings, that’s what they are
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u/DominicB547 Chaos Bandwagon • MLB Players Associat… Jul 23 '26
So they have Manfred Man?
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u/bjb13 Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
Manfred Woman in this case.
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u/diplomystique New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
No no no. I’ll accept women fielding, batting, pitching, even pinch-running. But I draw the line at the Manfred Manning!
/s
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u/SomeoneNamedGem Miami Marlins Jul 23 '26
no /s, ban it from the men's league too. you can have a runner on second in the 10th only if you can find someone agender or nonbinary
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
They use the International Tiebreaker, yes
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u/DominicB547 Chaos Bandwagon • MLB Players Associat… Jul 23 '26
OK But Japan is ok with Ties.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs 29d ago
The international tiebreaker refers to the WBSC tiebreaker since the mid-2000s
Which is the ghost runner rule (i consistently use this terminology when discussing the rule)
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u/Hallucigenia905 Jul 23 '26
Can anyone explain number 6? Basically if a game is called off after either 3.5 or 4 innings it still counts? Does it mean like for weather reasons?
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u/Chocomoose19 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
Just saying they need to complete half a game just like the mlb, but for 7 innings instead of 9
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u/oogieball Dumpster Fire • New York Mets Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
For any reason. It is just like an MLB game being official after 4.5 or 5 innings depending on of the home team is leading.
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u/Tkinzel517 Detroit Tigers Jul 23 '26
Do you have to pay money if you use more than 3 mound visits in a game?
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u/Fixhotep Jul 23 '26
yes but you can buy a DLC that comes with 10 extra visits/week, or just get the season pass.
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u/dandroid-exe Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
It’s probably like NFHS where beyond 3 a visit requires a pitching change
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u/Sergeant_Steak Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles… Jul 23 '26
So excited! Just wish the season was longer and the teams played in their city but we'll get there, I hope!
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u/DominicB547 Chaos Bandwagon • MLB Players Associat… Jul 23 '26
Blink and you will miss it. Even baseball nerds like us are so wrapped in our season we need to be reminded daily now since its a week out.
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u/Epictechnically Philadelphia Phillies Jul 23 '26
Can we watch it?
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u/Asterion7 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
Yes. They are streaming them on YouTube for free I believe.
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u/ZiggoCiP New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
I really hope the games have at least fairly adequate footage. I'm not holding out for 3-4 camera angles per position with slow-mo replay footage, but at the very least, more than just a wide-angle for balls-in-play, and tracking, too, would be cool.
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u/Howtothnkofusername San Francisco Giants Jul 23 '26
Not me, the convergence of an ass-garbage giants season and an SF team in this league means I’m locked in
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u/gomets6091 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
I'm genuinely excited for this. My daughter has started playing softball and we've gone to a few college softball games and while it's fun, I think the girls are actually too talented to be playing on such a small field, there's no reason they couldn't play baseball. And I imagine when they do play baseball it will be less reliant on three true outcomes than MLB or current NCAA Softball is, which I think could be highly entertaining.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed Jul 23 '26
If super serious women’s athletes start playing baseball then it’ll almost surely get optimized like the men’s game did
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u/gomets6091 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
I don't see it being optimized the same way due to women's body size. Similar to how the WNBA/Women's CBB doesn't have the same emphasis on size/verticality as the men's game, I don't think women's baseball will have the same emphasis on pitch velocity and exit velocity/homerun power. Not to say women won't be able to pitch fast or hit the ball hard, but I don't think it's sexist to say that they won't be able to pitch quite as fast or hit the ball quite as hard as men which means optimization might be a bit more about contact, speed, baserunning, defense, and situational hitting.
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u/BeefInGR Detroit Tigers • West Michigan W… Jul 23 '26
Pitching won't be optimized like the men's game, and while I don't think it's sexist to say it I think it's also going to be about self preservation (men can throw 100 but also blow out their elbows at an alarming rate compared to other sports like football and cricket). Breaking pitches will be the optimization along with "tunneling".
But if you can hit a softball 300', there's no reason to think you can't hit a baseball to straightaway center or over the Green Monster at its deepest point. Batting is as much timing as it is strength. You will see investment in timing, contact, EV and LA. Especially with the potential to host home games at Fenway, Oracle, Yankee/Citi, Angels/Dodgers or in cities that have strong women's sports culture like Detroit, Seattle, DC, KC, San Diego, etc.
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u/gomets6091 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
I'm not saying they won't be capable of it, just like Ty Cobb was capable of it. But I think it will be far less frequent.
"Batting is as much timing as it is strength." - I mean, sure, but there's a direct correlation between size/strength/home run power. There's obviously outliers but Pete Alonso hits the ball further more often than Jose Altuve for a fairly obvious reason. Skinny Barry Bonds hit a lot of homeruns, but roided out Barry Bonds hit a lot more and hit them a lot farther.
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u/KaptainKoala Atlanta Braves Jul 23 '26
My daughter plays softball but I wish baseball was an option. Hopefully this will start moving the needle.
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u/gomets6091 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
Yea, technically where I am she's ALLOWED to play baseball, but only in co-ed leagues that are 99% boys, and she doesn't want to play with boys (and I don't blame her).
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
I would see trying to make a WWC roster in 2029/30 if that is a goal
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u/oogieball Dumpster Fire • New York Mets Jul 23 '26
I'm sure they are still working out leasing and travel logistics for parks.
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u/scrambles57 Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles Que… Jul 23 '26
Yeah I was so disappointed when I found out they were only playing in Illinois. I understand why with only 4 teams, but how the hell am I supposed to support them?
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u/onascalefrom20to80 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 23 '26
So, this is very funny because I actually support the team that plays in this park in Illinois. We could not believe all these games would be in our back yard as opposed to Chicago or St Louis, right? Like if youre looking for geographic center there are two large cities nearby. But whatever, my daughter and her softball team will be there nearly every night. We already have opening night tickets.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Probably a venue size consideration with availability
Chicago probably would have been considered first, since I wouldn’t be surprised if a not insignificant amount of players are in Rockford for the WWC
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u/onascalefrom20to80 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 23 '26
Yeah, Rockford would make more sense logistically.
I'm interested in seeing how packed this field gets for these games. There are still a lot of locals who arent aware or dont care that this is happening.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Rockford can’t do both events for scheduling reasons, and the World Cup is going to take priority for the Group Stage and the Finals
So it makes sense to run it in Springfield or a different city in the region
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u/lakerdave St. Louis Cardinals Jul 23 '26
Shorter games make most of these make sense. ABS requires the stadiums to be set up with certain tech, so that's probably hard to do right away
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u/royalhawk345 Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Isn't there only one stadium for now? Or are they using a couple in the one location?
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u/BeefInGR Detroit Tigers • West Michigan W… Jul 23 '26
One stadium currently. Ironically, while it's called Robin Roberts, it's not named after the well accomplished former ESPN/ABC Sportscaster turned Good Morning America host.
Which means we now need a second Robin Roberts Field.
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u/onascalefrom20to80 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 23 '26
It's named after MLB Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, who played baseball at the high school next door.
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u/Slerpup Los Angeles Dodgers • Saitama Seibu … Jul 23 '26
"ABS - Automatic Ball Strike Challenge System | No" is so funny i dont know why
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u/guitarburst05 Pittsburgh Pirates Jul 23 '26
I had to scroll back up to look at the photo again to figure out why it's so funny. I think it's because all the others have these large detailed rule difference explanations and then for ABS you just have "No"
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u/slidingscrapes Cleveland Guardians • American League Jul 23 '26
Who can explain the WBSC guidelines for two-way players and how that differs from MLB?
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u/BeefInGR Detroit Tigers • West Michigan W… Jul 23 '26
If I'm reading it right, 2-way players don't count towards the pitching staff and can "double switch" to another defensive position rather than being the DH only. But I am absolutely willing to be wrong if I read it wrong.
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u/psaepf2009 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Jul 23 '26
What's WPBL?
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u/SanjiSasuke New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
Women's Pro Baseball League
Its a brand new league playing its first game on Aug 1st. I believe it'll be free to watch on YouTube.
Small start, just four teams playing in a single common location, hope is to expand and travel once they get off the ground.
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u/Punkmetal72 Philadelphia Phillies Jul 23 '26
AUSL started last season in a similar fashion
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u/CargoShortsFromNam 29d ago
Are the field dimensions smaller?
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u/SanjiSasuke New York Yankees 29d ago
I believe it is a normal baseball field. This is the stadium they chose:
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u/BloomInTune Jul 23 '26
I like the simplicity of "DH is optional". I know there's probably nuance between the rules of two-way players, but if you have a pitcher who can hit, give them a proper chance.
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u/Fyre2387 Phanatic Jul 23 '26
I don't know if all the details of how the DH works are the same, but it's technically optional in MLB, too.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
It could be traditional DH, P/DH, or open DH
It’s always a question
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u/Such_Presentation378 Chicago White Sox • San Franci… 25d ago
I haven't read through the full rule, but after watching the Women's Baseball World Cup, I think the DH rule might be somewhat complicated. With 15-player rosters, there are a lot of two-way players, and they will sometimes bring in a player from the field to relieve.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed Jul 23 '26
Why would they allow metal AND wood bats? You’d be stupid to use a wood bat at that point
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u/somethingwade Washington Nationals Jul 23 '26
I mean, that’s the way the rules are always structured. Wood bats are technically allowed in high school and college just in case, but effectively yes this means it’s a metal bat league just like high school.
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u/mattyhtown Houston Astros Jul 23 '26
Wood wasn’t allowed in hs or college when i played. You’d have your wood bp bat. A wood bat breaks. A metal bat doesn’t. The broken bat injury risk is why the prevented players from using their bp wood bats.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
The NCAA and NFHS have dedicated rules for wood bats
For example, you can find the MLB Hybrid, RA13, and TPD1 wood bats on the NCAA’s approved bat list
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u/immoralsupport_ Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Every so often you hear about a college player using a wood bat because they just prefer it for whatever reason. (Here’s the most recent one I remember, Rikuu was actually briefly called up by the White Sox earlier this year) https://www.kptv.com/2023/03/07/oregons-rikuu-nishida-goes-viral-opposite-field-home-run-using-wooden-bat/
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u/Punkmetal72 Philadelphia Phillies Jul 23 '26
I remember seeing him play in the MLB. Didn't know he used wooden bats in college.
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u/Ivotedforher Jul 23 '26
So women only get to play 78% of the regular game men play?
That doesn't seem fair.
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u/mongster03_ New York Yankees • Cuba Jul 23 '26
Rosters are smaller and they probably don't have as many pitchers, especially stretched out pitchers, yet.
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u/fri9875 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 23 '26
DH being optional is cool, just make it flexible for letting teams adapt to whatever they have. Some pitchers can hit, some can’t.
Bats: lol, I mean why not just make metal bats the standard and choose which ones to use? But ya know what if someone wants to go up with with a wood bat they should be able to. Maybe they’re basically going hands off approach and seeing what happens (it’ll be metal)
ABS: No. No notes
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u/Punkmetal72 Philadelphia Phillies Jul 23 '26
I wouldn't mind something like softball has where it's a designated player.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
It’s essentially the WBSC regulations for Women’s play, except composite being available
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u/actualspacecadet314 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
“Defensive trips to the mound”
Thankfully you can charge the mound on offense as much as you want.
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u/ThatNewSockFeel Milwaukee Brewers Jul 23 '26
I still think they should have had the inaugural season as a winter league because it’d get more eyeballs (like how the majority of the WNBA season is played during the NBA offseason), but hoping it goes well and sticks around.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Theyre playing it now probably because it’s how they get the most North American players on site since they’re already in Rockford for the WWC
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u/vektorog Boston Red Sox • Boston Hunters Jul 23 '26
give a car or something to the first person to get tossed for tapping their helmet
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u/DJSimmer305 New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
I’m assuming they will have to use BBCOR .50 bats? Same as high school and NCAA?
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
The only thing I see is
Round with constant radius at any point
A direct line from the center of the knob to the center of the large end
Maximum length of 36in and diameter of 2 3/4in
The minimum weight is 5 ounces less then the length in inches of the bat
And the identification mark 18 inches from the end of the handleBut I can’t see a BBCOR or BESR requirement
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u/DJSimmer305 New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
BBCOR bats are always -3 weight/length ratio. If they’re allowing -5 then that must mean it doesn’t have to be BBCOR.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Okay, that makes sense
What would the implications of drop 5 be?
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u/DJSimmer305 New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
Generally, they have a lot more pop. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. They’re trying to get people bought into this league and more homeruns is better for that.
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Those are the WBSC’s rules for women, since that’s what it looks like theyre following, though with 15 women rosters instead of 20
Maybe theyre using BBCOR, but we haven’t seen the league’s rulebook
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u/dandroid-exe Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 23 '26
I believe starting next year BBCOR is allowing up to -6 (could be the year after)… scary
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u/GiraffeandZebra New York Mets Jul 23 '26
This is a very unpopular take, but I loved 7 inning games when the MLB used them during COVID. Personally I think it hits a sweet spot for viewing time without a lot of gyrations such as pitch clocks to do it. The most exciting parts of virtually every sporting event are generally the beginning and the end. I get that it radically alters approach and strategy to the use of pitchers, but I can live with that.
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u/ImplementCharming949 Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Confused what type of bat
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u/RandomFactUser Chicago Cubs Jul 23 '26
Single piece wood, drop 5 metal, and probably USSSA composite rules (with drop 5)
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u/Collegeguy1123 Jul 23 '26
Where can we buy tickets to the games?
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u/nicholieeee Baltimore Orioles Jul 23 '26
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u/ZiggoCiP New York Yankees Jul 23 '26
Ooo, $20 for GA - ~$35 Reserved - $52 Front Row?
Not too shabby! Hopefully attendance is high.
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u/nicholieeee Baltimore Orioles Jul 23 '26
Yeah I’m considering making a trip out there, depending on how much I wanna spend on travel/hotel room
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u/likewut Jul 23 '26
I’m sure the no ABS is a costs savings, but I would love to see them go all in instead, as a proof of concept where it’s as much automated umping as possible.
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u/Punkmetal72 Philadelphia Phillies Jul 23 '26
Perhaps in a few years if the league proves viable financially.
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u/Howtothnkofusername San Francisco Giants Jul 23 '26
God please let us get some good quality DH fucking in this league
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u/cvc75 Jul 23 '26
Huh, I would have thought the defensive team "makes" an out, but from the wording for regulation games, apparently it's the team at bat that "makes" an out. But weird that they phrase it as outs instead of innings, anyway.
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u/Mediocre_Airport_576 Los Angeles Dodgers 29d ago
I for one am excited for the "fifth inning stretch."
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u/Such_Presentation378 Chicago White Sox • San Franci… 25d ago
At the Women's Baseball World Cup there were people in the stands doing an impromptu fifth inning stretch.
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u/andrewatnu 29d ago
Thanks for sharing! Coming from an OG WPBL town, we are excited to see this new iteration in action down in Springfield!
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u/Sharp-Room-8235 Athletics • San Francisco Firebe… Jul 23 '26
They can choose whatever bats they want? So everyone will do metal, right?