The story
History
Until 2010, the IBL featured a promotion-and-relegation league format that demoted the last place finisher to the minor leagues (Series A2), while the Serie A2 (baseball) champion would be promoted into the IBL. This was changed in late 2009, when FIBS approved the decision to introduce a fixed-team franchise format (similar to that found in Major League Baseball) starting with the 2010 season.
However, in 2018, the promotion-and-relegation system was reintroduced.
In 2021, the Italian Baseball League was rebranded as Serie A, bringing together the previous eight-team Serie A1 and the second-tier Serie A2. The new league was structured into 33 participating teams in 8 divisions, or gironi (lit. "groups"). The 8 gironi winners compete for the league championship (the scudetto), while the remaining 25 will fight to avoid being among the five relegated to Serie B. In 2023, the league size was reduced to 30 teams, divided into five gironi; the top two in each group of the first phase (prima fase) advance to the poule scudetto (and then to the playoffs), while those not qualified fight to avoid relegation.
2023 poule scudetto teams
Of the 33 teams participating in the 2023 Serie A season, ten qualified for the poule scudetto (the championship pool). The top eight teams in the poule scudetto qualify for the postseason.
From Wikipedia’s article on Italian Baseball League, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4