Atlantic League pushed the mound back earlier this month as mandated by Manfred.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/how-mlb-pushed-back-the-atlantic-league-mound-and-pushed-fed-up-players-to-the-brink-of-a-work-stoppage/
It was when ALPB president Rick White visited with a team to discuss forthcoming changes to the mound. On Aug. 3, at Major League Baseball's behest, the changes went into effect, with the ALPB moving its mounds a foot further back from their standard location of 60 feet, 6 inches from the rear point of home plate. "He said, 'Oh, you know, when the mounds go back, you pitchers, you're not going to really have to make any adjustments,'" the pitcher told CBS Sports, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid potential retaliation from the league.
"And then, the next words out of his mouth were, I swear to God, 'well, you might have to adjust where you release the ball.'" Or, in so many words, the most fundamental aspect of pitching.
The players do, however, have big concerns about where the Atlantic League is heading. To them, the pushed-back mound is another example of MLB and the Atlantic League undermining their professional aspirations and toying with their livelihoods. The 61 1/2-foot mound is, above all, an isolated physical reminder of the interlocking issues that have come to define their careers: declining quality of competition and advancement opportunities; potentially increasing chances of injury; and a bevy of other labor-related considerations that players said pushed the league to the brink of a work stoppage ahead of the new mound's implementation.
Someday, Atlantic League pitchers might be thanked by their big-league counterparts, or honored as pioneers. For now, they can't shake the feeling they're viewed as fungible guinea pigs. One pitcher, speaking from memory, recited the exact response MLB commissioner Rob Manfred gave when he was asked if an altered mound would lead to injuries: "That's why we're doing it in the Atlantic League."
Nearly all of the pitchers who spoke to CBS Sports said their first time throwing at 61 1/2 feet came within a game. "We didn't get anybody to come in and explain to us why they did it; why we didn't get an All-Star Break; why we're not getting time off to practice," one pitcher said. "It was, you know, you lab rats deal with it. If you get hurt, too bad, we don't give a s***. That's everybody's concern, too: who's going to pay for surgeries when guys blow out? Who's going to be responsible when something happens?"
West Virginia Power manager Mark Minicozzi and pitching coach Paul Menhart each made comments to Nick Scala of the Charleston Gazette-Mail suggesting they were being muzzled by the league about the mound move. "We are not allowed to have an opinion, the only opinions that matter are the league office," Minicozzi said, "and if we have an opinion we would be suspended indefinitely without pay."
Menhart added: "We've been forbidden to speak about it from [Atlantic League President] Rick White, under strict orders."
"With all the rule changes, and the systems that are in place, the league's a joke," a pitcher said. "They've turned it into a complete mockery. It's not baseball anymore. I believe that MLB teams are seeing this, and they're going elsewhere to pick up players."
The Atlantic League's quality of competition used to be regarded as Triple- or Quad-A-caliber. The players had to have legitimate professional experience to make it onto the field, they had to be capable of stepping into a Double- or Triple-A situation without missing a beat. The current version of the Atlantic League, in the estimation of one veteran hitter, falls closer to High-A ball. "It's almost felt like summer or college ball sometimes, because the quality is down this year," they said. "It's been frustrating."
