The hitter steals first base for the first time in the history of professional baseball

An Atlantic League hitter became the first professional baseball player to steal the first goal on Saturday.

Thanks to an experimental change in the rules of the Atlantic League, Tony Thomas of the South Carolina Blue Crabs first flew on a wild pitch in the sixth inning of Saturday's game against Lancaster Barnstormers.

In partnership with Major League Baseball,

the Atlantic league has just enforced a rule

that players can steal the first goal on "any land not caught in flight". The batter may be kicked out if he tries to steal the base.

The Atlantic League is also experimenting with a new arbitration system in which an automated system, rather than a local referee, calls bullets and strikes.