To ban defensive shifts?

[steveringo]

Not sure about this one....

Rob Manfred says he's 'open' to banning extreme defensive shifts - CBSSports.com

Rob Manfred: "For example, things like eliminating shifts -- I would be open to those sorts of ideas."

Karl Ravech: "The forward-thinking, sabermetric defensive shifts?"

RM: "That's what I'm talking about."

KR: "Let's eliminate that?"

RM: "Mmm-hmm."

KR: "So all of the work that the Cubs and/or Angels and/or whoever has done, you're willing to say, 'I appreciate that, good idea, but it's killing the game in a sense'?"

RM: "Yeah ... I mean, we have really smart people working in the game. And they're going to figure out way to get a competitive advantage. I think it's incumbent on us in the commissioner's office to look at the advantages that are produced and say, 'Is this what we want to happen in the game?'"
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[MilkSpiller22]

This is idiotic... Don't eliminate shifts, teach players that its ok to hit against the shift!!!

 

[calsnowskier]

Yea.

This idea has been pretty universally panned. It won't go anywhere, but the fact that he even brought it up may hurt his credibility.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Yea.

This idea has been pretty universally panned. It won't go anywhere, but the fact that he even brought it up may hurt his credibility.

Whats next?? ban the change up... I mean it takes way to long to get to the plate...

 

[Loneranger]

Not sure about this one....

Rob Manfred says he's 'open' to banning extreme defensive shifts - CBSSports.com

​

I was wondering what took ya so long on this one. Anyway I think this is a mistake even though I believe Rob Manfred to be God Almighty.If a batter wants to reduce himself to nothing more than a pull hitter then he's gonna pay for it. The game should not be changed to accommodate the few who have thrown half the field away. The batters who've done this to themselves have taken enormous opportunities away from themselves and their team. Fuck'em , let'em pay for it.

 

[Loneranger]

Yea.

This idea has been pretty universally panned. It won't go anywhere, but the fact that he even brought it up may hurt his credibility.

It won't hurt his credibility one bit I guarantee it. I don't agree with banning the shift but Manfred is showing he's listening , not necessarily acting without consideration for others ,just listening. There's nothing wrong with that in my book. The younger guys who're fans today will have problems with Manfred at the beginning but will warm up later on. Manfred at heart is a purist and will run the game that way for the most part. As I've said before , he's no Bud Selig and won't try to be. For the 1st time in a VERY long time we actually have a Commissioner , we've waited long enough.

 

[calsnowskier]

I was wondering what took ya so long on this one. Anyway I think this is a mistake even though I believe Rob Manfred to be God Almighty.If a batter wants to reduce himself to nothing more than a pull hitter then he's gonna pay for it. The game should not be changed to accommodate the few who have thrown half the field away. The batters who've done this to themselves have taken enormous opportunities away from themselves and their team. Fuck'em , let'em pay for it.

The game was changed for players who threw half the game away in '73...

 

[obxyankeefan]

The game was changed for players who threw half the game away in '73...

Fix this. IDC what way they go with it, but make both league rules uniform.

 

[calsnowskier]

Fix this. IDC what way they go with it, but make both league rules uniform.

I don't care what they do in the AL. Keep it out of the NL.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I don't care what they do in the AL. Keep it out of the NL.

Unfortunately the DH is coming to the NL, very soon...

 

[tducey]

Awful idea and not how you want to kick off your term as commishioner.

 

[calsnowskier]

Unfortunately the DH is coming to the NL, very soon...

Training wheels.


If the DH goes to the NL, I will seriously need to reassess my ranking of the sport. I like baseball. Not HR derby.

 

[Burns80y]

In a league where the top teams have payrolls over 250 million and the bottom teams have payrolls under 50 million the new commish is worried about defensive shifts creating a competitive advantage. . . clear as mud to me.

 

[calsnowskier]

In a league where the top teams have payrolls over 250 million and the bottom teams have payrolls under 50 million the new commish is worried about defensive shifts creating a competitive advantage. . . clear as mud to me.

If the Padres have a 100M salary, anyone can.

There are just a ton of Donald Sterlings out there who are taking advantage of the monopoly they have.

 

[Clayton]

Matt Adams likes this thread.



Seriously, though. Defensive shifts are part of baseball. No need to dumb the game down

 

[Darkstone42]

The Problem With Rob Manfred?s Problem With Shifts | FanGraphs Baseball

Dave Cameron has a good take. For one thing, this won't accomplish what Manfred thinks it will. For another, you're playing too much with the definitions of defensive positioning, changing something fundamental in the rules of baseball to accomplish this.

Can you imagine if they tried this in basketball for example? The center must always be within 10 feet of the basket. How would you enforce that in transition? Why would you so drastically limit teams' abilities to write schemes on both sides of the ball?

The beauty of baseball is so heavily tied up in the chess match. Why take away another play and dumb that intelligent side down?

 

[navamind]

Doesn't get much dumber than that. Completely asinine.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Doesn't get much dumber than that. Completely asinine.

I think he read too many ban the shift comments on da interwebz. Flabbergasted by this suggestion despite seeing babips staying relatively the same.

 

[brgndngld]

Best way to beat the shift

 

[Darkstone42]

I think he read too many ban the shift comments on da interwebz. Flabbergasted by this suggestion despite seeing babips staying relatively the same.

I think shifts actually do a better job at limiting power than average, statistically.

Basically it's telling power guys, hey, we'll give you the single, but you're more likely to hit into an out if you try to hit the ball harder. I know the Pirates' goal in shifting is actually to reduce extra base hits, not singles.

It seems a little counter-intuitive given the types of batted balls the shift turns into outs, but if you go into it a bit deeper (and really examine the numbers), the largest effect might actually be on doubles, just by getting into the hitters' heads a bit.