After a long winter, the 2017 season is officially underway. And while the Winter was long for some, the league board members and team managers were hard at work planning for the 2017 season. As a result, a few key changes were implemented across each of the BMBL divisions.

MABL

For the first time since 1998, the MABL has been reduced from two divisions to one single division consisting of eight teams. The top six teams will qualify for the playoffs, with the top two seeds receiving a first-round bye. Seeds No. 3-6 will be wild cards and seeded based on the most points earned during the season. See MABL Rules

MSBL 28+

After much discussion, the MSBL 28+ American and National leagues were merged into one single division. The division consists of 14 teams, after welcoming two new teams to the league - the South Shore Spartans and the Lexington Minutemen.

In other news, the 8-time champion Newton Red Sox merged with the Waltham Braves and their team name is now the Waltham Sox. Lastly, it was decided that ALL games will consist of seven innings this year - Day games will no longer be nine innings. See MSBL 28+ Rules

MSBL MetroWest

This is the third season for the MetroWest division since joining the BMBL back in 2015 and the merger has been a great success. The division currently consists of 11 teams after the Northborough Athletics decided not to return for the 2017 season. See MetroWest Rules

MSBL Masters

The MSBL Masters division will consist of 8 teams in 2017. The 2016 runner-up Lawrence Pirates decided not to return for the 2017 season, while the North Shore Chiefs have joined the division as a new team. See MSBL Masters Rules

Best of luck to all teams in 2017!