Banning the Shift

[steveringo]

Is MLB banning the defensive shift really going to make a difference in baseball?

Does baseball really need this?

ftw.usatoday.com

Are they gonna paint lines on the field so you stay in position??

 

[Sportsguy9695]

At this point if that’s what it takes for us to get baseball get those painted lines on the field

 

[molsaniceman]

At this point if that’s what it takes for us to get baseball get those painted lines on the field

ill bring the chalk

 

[calsnowskier]

I would be open to a few additional lines on the field.

a line up the middle for shift purposes
45 deg lines on the mound for balks

I am reserving the right to not like the final product aesthetically, but I think those should both be at least considered.

 

[thedddd]

At this point if that’s what it takes for us to get baseball get those painted lines on the field

Sadly I agree. But with that said banning the shift is silly because maybe a hitter can learn to hit a pitch to the other field to prevent it moving forward.

 

[msgkings322]

Sadly I agree. But with that said banning the shift is silly because maybe a hitter can learn to hit a pitch to the other field to prevent it moving forward.

They've been saying this for as long as the shift has been a thing. It's not happening. They just try to pull it over the fence and all we get are walks, Ks, and HRs. I definitely favor banning the shift.

 

[thedddd]

They've been saying this for as long as the shift has been a thing. It's not happening. They just try to pull it over the fence and all we get are walks, Ks, and HRs. I definitely favor banning the shift.

Sadly the hitters that get the shift will either walk, strikeout or hit a HR anyway. And more often or not strike out.

 

[calsnowskier]

Sadly the hitters that get the shift will either walk, strikeout or hit a HR anyway. And more often or not strike out.

The metrics say that swinging for the fences results in the most runs scored, regardless. a pull hitter adjusting his swing to go the other way handicaps himself by taking his strength out of the AB. If he goes the other way, he will either strike out or weakly ground out more often than he will get a “solid single”, all while essentially removing his ability to go yard. Dropping the occasional bunt is fun for the fans, but realistically is just the same as working a walk, but without working the pitches out of the pitcher.

I am a hard core purist. But I have come around to accepting that some kind of defensive position rules are mandatory. I just ask that they are kept as simple as possible. I thing requiring that 2 infielders have both feet on each side of the diamond is probably the best way to attack this issue. I am not sure if a depth rule is needed if you require that each side of the diamond is “covered”.

 

[thedddd]

The metrics say that swinging for the fences results in the most runs scored, regardless. a pull hitter adjusting his swing to go the other way handicaps himself by taking his strength out of the AB. If he goes the other way, he will either strike out or weakly ground out more often than he will get a “solid single”, all while essentially removing his ability to go yard. Dropping the occasional bunt is fun for the fans, but realistically is just the same as working a walk, but without working the pitches out of the pitcher.

I am a hard core purist. But I have come around to accepting that some kind of defensive position rules are mandatory. I just ask that they are kept as simple as possible. I thing requiring that 2 infielders have both feet on each side of the diamond is probably the best way to attack this issue. I am not sure if a depth rule is needed if you require that each side of the diamond is “covered”.

Trust me I am with you on this. Having 7 guys on the 1st base side of the diamond is just as silly as watching Joey Gallo bunt or try and send a pitch to the opposite field.

They do need some common sense rules in place, as you mentioned. But if they take it too far I wouldn't be for it at all.

And no matter what if a professional hitter can't put a decent enough hit in the opposite field, it seems some fundamentals are being lost.

 

[calsnowskier]

Trust me I am with you on this. Having 7 guys on the 1st base side of the diamond is just as silly as watching Joey Gallo bunt or try and send a pitch to the opposite field.

They do need some common sense rules in place, as you mentioned. But if they take it too far I wouldn't be for it at all.

And no matter what if a professional hitter can't put a decent enough hit in the opposite field, it seems some fundamentals are being lost.

I am not certain that is true. Since the beginning, hitters have tended to be pull hitters. Especially power hitters. Players who could spray the ball tended to be OBP/BA guys with less power (Gwynn, Suzuki, Boggs, etc). Heck, in early baseball/softball, you would always put your nose-picker in RF because no one even could hit it there (OH SHIT, LEFTY!!! SWITCH!!!).

Hitters can place the ball are a completely different kind of hitter than the power hitters.

 

[BrockForBroglio]

Sadly I agree. But with that said banning the shift is silly because maybe a hitter can learn to hit a pitch to the other field to prevent it moving forward.

But I would say that a hitter hitting a 110 mph line drive that might have gone i to the gap gets caught by an infielder playing 60 feet in the outfield grass is not right also.

 

[wazzu31]

But I would say that a hitter hitting a 110 mph line drive that might have gone i to the gap gets caught by an infielder playing 60 feet in the outfield grass is not right also.

Why?

 

[wazzu31]

Can someone truly give a reason for banning the shift but still allowing left handed relievers? Nearly identically the same thing but lefty relievers make the game more boring because of how much time is wasted from them coming in for a batter or two and them being replaced.

 

[thedddd]

But I would say that a hitter hitting a 110 mph line drive that might have gone i to the gap gets caught by an infielder playing 60 feet in the outfield grass is not right also.

How is that different than a hard line drive right at a SS playing deep off the grass for a spray hitter?

 

[msgkings322]

Can someone truly give a reason for banning the shift but still allowing left handed relievers? Nearly identically the same thing but lefty relievers make the game more boring because of how much time is wasted from them coming in for a batter or two and them being replaced.

They already fixed that, 3 batter minimum

 

[BrockForBroglio]

How is that different than a hard line drive right at a SS playing deep off the grass for a spray hitter?

I am not talking about a spray hittier. A lefty pulls the ball that could go to the gap but there is an infielder playing the equivalant of a roaming outfielder in slow pitch softball. That is what I am talking about. There were situations where the 3ber was on the right side of second base. That''s whacked. I will admit that I was one of the loudest yelling at Matt Carpenter for not laying down a bunt.

 

[wilwhite]

Baseball has gotten awful. Used to be by far my favorite sport.

Only one rule needs to be fixed as far as games go - roster size. Bring it down to around 18 and everything about game flow will be better.

 

[Cedrique]

Can someone truly give a reason for banning the shift but still allowing left handed relievers? Nearly identically the same thing but lefty relievers make the game more boring because of how much time is wasted from them coming in for a batter or two and them being replaced.

I think left handed people should be banned from society in general

 

[calsnowskier]

I think left handed people should be banned from society in general

I have always argued that all lefties should be shot.





Oh shit…. Wrong forum…

 

[Fountain City Blues]

A wholesale ban of the shift just makes the game less dynamic, not more dynamic. If you really want to make wholesale changes, make it easier to steal bases. Unlike loogies, shifts don't really disrupt the game so much as they irritate certain sects of fans.

Some dribbler swinging bunt by a dude slower than I am is not super exciting. I fail to see why a 1 dimensional hitter needs to be coddled so we can see defenses choose not to play intelligently.