I believe the shift will be eliminated starting the 2023 season.
New MLB Rule
- Thread starter isucy86
- Start date
It is not that easy. There is a huge component of how the pitch selection compounds the statistical probability of the ball being played in the predicted direction.
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Don't take the baseball out of baseball, just get rid of the unnecessary delays.
Nothing personal, I feel the same way about basketball at the end of a close game, or football, and don't get me started on soccer, where you run around for an hour-and-a-half and then the score is decided after it's over.
Having gone to a few ICubs game this year the pitch clock is genius. Speeds everything up.
I don't think it's an unwritten rule thing, I think it's a managerial thing. Basically they'll take their chances to hit into a shift over taking the extra base hit out of play.
Steve Stone has talked about how he dislikes the shift but understands it...I really like his proposal to combat the shift however, which would be to implement a rule that states all 4 infielders must be on the dirt or closer to the plate. Under his suggestion you could place the 4 IF anywhere as long as they were in the dirt part of the infield or closer. It is painful to see a 2B basically playing RF!
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
Idea: teams pitch to their own guys, extend the walls out 100', and the bases an extra 20, and give the defense two extra players
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
The shift isn’t new. It was used back in the days of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. What’s making it an outsized part of the game is the huge amount of data that’s available to managers.
Back in 1946 a manager would see Williams coming up to bat and think, “Ted likes to pull the ball, I’ve seen him do that a lot. Think I’ll move the shortstop over to the first-base side of second.” Today, there’s reams and reams (okay, they don’t use paper, gigabytes and gigabytes) of data on every batter and their tendencies against each type of pitch from every pitcher, allowing managers to reposition defenders to a high degree of accuracy as to where the batter is likely to hit the ball.
We can’t put that back in the bottle. But limiting the shift would at least move the balance between offense and defense back to more ground ball base hits as opposed to today‘s strikeout/home run approach. I don’t hate the shift, per se; what I hate is batters doing exactly what they’ve been trained to do, whack a pitch strongly right up the middle past the pitcher … only to see the second baseman or shortstop standing right there at second to field the ball and throw him out.
I like what the minor leagues are doing, particularly the Class A Midwest League. Not only are they enforcing a pitch clock, they’ve also changed the rules to have two infielders on either side of second and they all have to have at least one foot on the infield dirt. Game times in the Midwest League are down to around 2 1/2 hours. It’s glorious.
Back in 1946 a manager would see Williams coming up to bat and think, “Ted likes to pull the ball, I’ve seen him do that a lot. Think I’ll move the shortstop over to the first-base side of second.” Today, there’s reams and reams (okay, they don’t use paper, gigabytes and gigabytes) of data on every batter and their tendencies against each type of pitch from every pitcher, allowing managers to reposition defenders to a high degree of accuracy as to where the batter is likely to hit the ball.
We can’t put that back in the bottle. But limiting the shift would at least move the balance between offense and defense back to more ground ball base hits as opposed to today‘s strikeout/home run approach. I don’t hate the shift, per se; what I hate is batters doing exactly what they’ve been trained to do, whack a pitch strongly right up the middle past the pitcher … only to see the second baseman or shortstop standing right there at second to field the ball and throw him out.
I like what the minor leagues are doing, particularly the Class A Midwest League. Not only are they enforcing a pitch clock, they’ve also changed the rules to have two infielders on either side of second and they all have to have at least one foot on the infield dirt. Game times in the Midwest League are down to around 2 1/2 hours. It’s glorious.
If they cannot eliminate the shift at least say that you cannot have more than 2 fielders on each side of the infield.
It gets old seeing a batter hammer the ball up the middle, and then seeing the SS standing right there to field it.
At least force them to start the play on the 3rd base side of the bag, and they can shift over.
I like starting the guy at 2nd in extra innings, tired of watching games that continue on forever, and each team is bringing in outfielders to pitch.
It gets old seeing a batter hammer the ball up the middle, and then seeing the SS standing right there to field it.
At least force them to start the play on the 3rd base side of the bag, and they can shift over.
I like starting the guy at 2nd in extra innings, tired of watching games that continue on forever, and each team is bringing in outfielders to pitch.
Eliminating the shift is like saying teams shouldn't be able to blitz on third and long.
They just have to count "5 Mississippi" first.
This is correct. Part of the union negotiations.
MLBPA Shockingly Agrees To Ban Shift, Other Rule Changes In Latest Lockout Negotiations
A few key topics of MLB negotiations like the shift and pitch clocks have reportedly been decided for the 2023 season.
Shift... Let it happen. MLB players should be able to poke a ball oppo.
Mercy Rule. Doubt it would ever happen. Fans are paying for a full game. You'd have issue there. Broadcast rights would have an issue. There's also players with incentives linked to their contract. Tracking stats in general.
Runner on 2nd. End that crap. Scoring without getting a hit is way too common in this setup. Others have suggested some good ideas that I'd agree with. But starting on 2nd in the 10th is just dumb.
Mercy Rule. Doubt it would ever happen. Fans are paying for a full game. You'd have issue there. Broadcast rights would have an issue. There's also players with incentives linked to their contract. Tracking stats in general.
Runner on 2nd. End that crap. Scoring without getting a hit is way too common in this setup. Others have suggested some good ideas that I'd agree with. But starting on 2nd in the 10th is just dumb.
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This is correct. Part of the union negotiations.
MLBPA Shockingly Agrees To Ban Shift, Other Rule Changes In Latest Lockout Negotiations
A few key topics of MLB negotiations like the shift and pitch clocks have reportedly been decided for the 2023 season.clutchpoints.com
Making the bases bigger because there aren't enough SB? JFC.
There is not such a rule. I've seen 4 OF this year...I believe against Yordan Alvarez.
I also thought the shift was dumb when everyone first started doing it, but obviously hitters haven't adjusted...that's on them. Of the 3 suggestions the only one I'd consider would be the extra innings rule. I don't hate it like some do, but do think it's a bit 'gimmicky"
I never realized that anyone cared about the shift. Defensive positioning is a part of pretty much every team game.
Football - numerous formations all the time
Soccer - strategic formations depending on strengths/opponents
Volleyball - rotations, libero positioning
Basketball - zone/man/box and one
Hockey - constant line changes, not to mention what happens during power plays
Why would baseball be forced to follow some stringent guidelines in how to defend a situation?
Football - numerous formations all the time
Soccer - strategic formations depending on strengths/opponents
Volleyball - rotations, libero positioning
Basketball - zone/man/box and one
Hockey - constant line changes, not to mention what happens during power plays
Why would baseball be forced to follow some stringent guidelines in how to defend a situation?
I used to read baseball stats in the Sporting News PAPER when I was younger. Now I haven't watched 5 innings of baseball in 5 years. Baseball just takes up too much time to enjoy anymore.
Eliminating the shift is dumb. I bet a nickel no one ever put the shift on Ichiro.
My biggest thing would be pitch clock and minimizing delays due to stepping out of box and off the rubber. Imagine football but if the QB could step back from center and look to the sideline, except he can do it an infinite number of times per down. That's what baseball is like for me now. Fix it. Games took 2.5 hours when I was a kid. Now its 3.5 hours for absolutely no appreciable reason.
Eliminating the shift is dumb. I bet a nickel no one ever put the shift on Ichiro.
My biggest thing would be pitch clock and minimizing delays due to stepping out of box and off the rubber. Imagine football but if the QB could step back from center and look to the sideline, except he can do it an infinite number of times per down. That's what baseball is like for me now. Fix it. Games took 2.5 hours when I was a kid. Now its 3.5 hours for absolutely no appreciable reason.
We are talking about were players are allowed to line up so it seems a better analogy would be forcing the offense to have 7 players on the line of scrimmage.
This. Keep the game moving. I hate a game with slow pitchers / hitters.
