Entering its 26th season in 2024, the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) offers an open classification of play, the highest level of professional baseball other than Major League Baseball. Atlantic League players are highly experienced professionals, having progressed through professional baseball developmental levels (A, AA, AAA). More than 40% of Atlantic League players have major league service time. Atlantic League clubs pay players to win baseball games, not apprentice in baseball’s developmental levels.
Over 1,400 of the league’s players have signed contracts with Major League organizations and over 125 players have been transferred to Major League Baseball. The league averages more than 50 player contract sales to MLB organizations each year. Over 70 former Atlantic League players and coaches are managers or coaches in MLB organizations.
The Atlantic League prides itself on creating fun and affordable family entertainment. Since the league’s inception in 1998, more than 46 million fans have attended Atlantic League games in one of the league’s state-of-the-art ballparks. In 2016, ALPB became the first independent professional baseball league to sign a working agreement with Major League Baseball. In 2020, ALPB became the first professional partner league of Major League Baseball.
The Atlantic League is the only professional baseball league in an active expansion mode. The league plans to expand to 12 teams over the next few years starting with Hagerstown, Md. in 2024. The expansion teams will join the existing teams which are currently located in the major metropolitan markets of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Charlotte, N.C. ALPB clubs have collectively raised millions of dollars for local charities and provide hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of local economic contribution to each Atlantic League community.
The Atlantic League’s history includes such veteran Baseball Executives as Joe Klein (former GM of the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians), Bud Harrelson (NY Mets player and manager), Sparky Lyle (NY Yankees) and Brooks Robinson (Hall of Famer and 16-time Gold Glove winner).
The Atlantic League Rules and Regulations can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.