Futures Game Shortened To 7 Innings, Moves To AL vs. NL

Major changes are coming to the Futures Game.

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that the Futures Game will be shortened to seven innings this year and will adopt an American League vs. National League format. The Futures Game had previously been played with a United States vs. World format since its inception in 1999. The inaugural Futures Game was seven innings, but every Futures Game since had been nine innings.

The U.S went 13-7 against the World in the 20 years under that format, including winning eight of the last nine contests.

The time of the game has also been moved. The Futures Game previously preceded the Celebrity Softball Game. It will now follow it. The Futures Gamers however will take batting practice and infield on the field before the softball game.

The 2019 Futures Game will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 7 in Cleveland. Jim Thome and Dennis Martinez will serve as managers.