Tigers

Henri Thomas of the Astros threw the first no-hitter of the 2004 season on Tuesday, March 23, and the Astros pulled out a nail-biter over the Mariners, 2-1. For all the details on this exciting game, check out the Astros team site. As we begin the interleague portion of our schedule, we hope this is just the first of many no-hit performances by NMBOLL pitchers against other leagues!

At the March 22 board meeting, several mid-season rule tweaks were approved. They are as follows:

Minors Junior Rule MJ19 was added. It specifies where players are to be positioned defensively. This rule is intended to prevent and prohibit the massing of players in the infield, which creates a safety hazard and inhibits the learning of baseball fundamentals.

(Minors Junior Rule MJ7 had been previously amended, increasing from 11 to 12 the maximum number of players in the field.)

Minors Rule MI2 was amended to continue the continuous batting order rule throughout the season. Consequently, MI3, which required the switch over from continuous to 9-man batting order, was repealed.

The League Handbook, downloadable from Handouts and attached to this article, has been revised to reflect those changes.