"The shift" is starting to have a serious impact on baseball. And it shouldn't.
For anyone who doesn't follow baseball, normally the four main infielders evenly space themselves around the infield, defending each part of the field equally. But when a team knows a certain batter is much more likely to hit it to say the left side of the field, that team may move around their infielders so more of them are covering the left side of the field and they are in a better defensive position to get the batter out. This is called employing "the shift."
In the era of analytics we live in now, teams are using the shift and more refined outfield positioning significantly more than ever before. They are able to run whatever blackbox algorithms the Moneyball disciples wrote to pinpoint exactly where on the field each player should be standing to have the greatest probability of getting each batter out, and then they do exactly that. It's no coincidence that the current league-wide batting average for the 2022 MLB season is as low as it has been in 50 years.
Some people are beginning to lobby that the MLB should ban the shift to encourage more offense in the league. After all, baseball is only entertaining if players are able to get hits, and the shift is significantly hurting this probability. I agree that the lack of offensive production in "the shift era" is a problem. But I don't think banning it is the solution.
I think the solution is to learn to hit the ball somewhere else. I know this is easier said than done, and no way today could I ever hit a 95 mph fastball exactly where I want to hit it. But I'm also not getting paid $12 million to do that task. If I was going to get paid $12 million to hit the ball where the bodies aren't, I could probably find a way to hit a dribbler down the third base line consistently. Can you imagine having a $12 million salary to play a game, and then when that game gets marginally harder, the league changes the rules to make it easier for you again? Like come on. At least fool me into believing you're worth the absurd money you earn.
No disrespect to baseball players here. I think baseball is the single most physically impossible sport in all of sports. But I don't think the shift is the bad apple that spoils the game. Leave the shift. Darwinian evolution will sort this out. Those who deserve to be in the league will find a way to hit despite the shift. And those who can't hit in the shift probably shouldn't be there anyways.
Comments