Manfred: Eliminate Shifts

[atomic]

Yeah and look how effective it has been against some of the best hitters in the game. What if it use continues to expand at the same rate it has over the last five years. I'm not saying get rid of it entirely. I think a modified shift like the one Verducci suggest is okay with me.

They aren't the best hitters in the game if the shift effects them. The best hitters would take advantage of the shift.

[Can_of_corn]

Teams and fans overvalue the home run. That is why you have so many strike outs and people pulling the ball. If you outlaw the shift it makes a mockery of the game. I would be done with baseball at that point. Good players don't get the shift against them. Could you imagine if the employed the shift against Rod Carew? He would hit over .500.

So Ted Williams wasn't good?

[atomic]

So Ted Williams wasn't good?

If they played the shift against Ted Williams it wasn't very effective. He had an OPS over .1000 at age 41.

[Can_of_corn]

If they played the shift against Ted Williams it wasn't very effective. He had an OPS over .1000 at age 41.

If?

If?

You have never heard of the Boudreau shift?

Do yourself a favor and read up on it.

[birdcrazy]

Eliminating the shift would be idiotic. It'd be like eliminating double coverage in football. Don't like it? Adjust. Hitters need to start bunting or slapping the opposite way, then.

Actually football has plenty of rules about how many players can line up on either side of the ball. I think most sports have rules against loading up on one side of the field play prior to the snap/tip or whatever., I think the BABIP number in not relevant because strikeouts are decreasing the "pot" of balls put in play so to say. You can't take that number from 3 years ago, and act like it has relevance now because not as many balls are being put in play. That's not even factoring the added strikeouts from pull hitters going the other way.

I think a simple rule is prior to the pitch, the SS, and 3B have to be on left side of second base, and the 1B and 2B have to be on the right side. If they want to do wind sprints into shift position after the pitch is thrown, so be it.

The simple reality is the shift is hurting offense. It would not be growing so much in use if it did not work.

[birdcrazy]

Wonder if Ted Williams faced this?

[Can_of_corn]

Actually football has plenty of rules about how many players can line up on either side of the ball. I think most sports have rules against loading up on one side of the field play prior to the snap/tip or whatever., I think the BABIP number in not relevant because strikeouts are decreasing the "pot" of balls put in play so to say. You can't take that number from 3 years ago, and act like it has relevance now because not as many balls are being put in play. That's not even factoring the added strikeouts from pull hitters going the other way.

I think a simple rule is prior to the pitch, the SS, and 3B have to be on left side of second base, and the 1B and 2B have to be on the right side. If they want to do wind sprints into shift position after the pitch is thrown, so be it.

The simple reality is the shift is hurting offense. It would not be growing so much in use if it did not work.

Do you know what BABIP is?

It stands for batting average for balls in play.

BABIP doesn't care about strikeouts until they become so numerous that the total sample size is tainted.

Are you saying that is what you think has happened?

[Number5]

Actually football has plenty of rules about how many players can line up on either side of the ball. I think most sports have rules against loading up on one side of the field play prior to the snap/tip or whatever., I think the BABIP number in not relevant because strikeouts are decreasing the "pot" of balls put in play so to say. You can't take that number from 3 years ago, and act like it has relevance now because not as many balls are being put in play. That's not even factoring the added strikeouts from pull hitters going the other way.

I think a simple rule is prior to the pitch, the SS, and 3B have to be on left side of second base, and the 1B and 2B have to be on the right side. If they want to do wind sprints into shift position after the pitch is thrown, so be it.

The simple reality is the shift is hurting offense. It would not be growing so much in use if it did not work.

This is not correct.

In football, there must be no more than 11 players on defense, and they must be in bounds on the defensive side of the neutral zone. What other rule is there? Please advise us exactly what these rules are that you are claiming.

The rules of baseball are that at the time of the pitch the catcher must be in the catchers box, the pitcher must be on the mound, and the other seven defensive players must be in fair territory. This rule is very similar to the football rule, and neither sport has any other silly restrictions - nor should they.

[Moose Milligan]

Don't agree with Manfred's feelings on the shift but why do we have to make everything into a plot against the Orioles?

Because we're finally good and people think that we're a target or something. I think sports fans in general have an issue where, when their team gets good and respectable, it's always about them.

Would the NFL ever ban something like the Cover 2? Or not allow a 4 man blitz? No 2-3 zone in basketball? Or a 2-1-2?

I'd be bored if every game was a low scoring affair. I'd probably also be bored if everything resembled a football score. Not knowing what you're going to get every night is part of the reason I keep coming back.

There's nothing wrong with a shift. Adapt or die.

[OFFNY]

o

Good luck enforcing it (the elimination of the shifts.)

How exactly would the new rule be worded?

Dictating where teams are allowed to place their defenders on the field (other than the pitcher and the catcher) would open up a can of worms that the new commissioner will wish that he had not.

P.S. If the commissioner is so concerned about offense, perhaps he could ban fastballs over 99 M.P.H., and outlaw the knuckleball, too.

1) No defensive shifts.

2) No knuckleballs.

3) No really fast fastballs.

4) And perhaps put a limit on the number of inches that a curveball can break, too.

*********************************

Oh, and one more thing. Make pitchers formally apologize to any batter that he strikes out 3 times in the same game.

We can't be having the batters emotionally demoralized by a dominant pitcher. The fans want to see offense.

[scOtt]

Because we're finally good and people think that we're a target or something. I think sports fans in general have an issue where, when their team gets good and respectable, it's always about them.

Would the NFL ever ban something like the Cover 2? Or not allow a 4 man blitz? No 2-3 zone in basketball? Or a 2-1-2?

I'd be bored if every game was a low scoring affair. I'd probably also be bored if everything resembled a football score. Not knowing what you're going to get every night is part of the reason I keep coming back.

There's nothing wrong with a shift. Adapt or die.

This. The shift IS adapting. Adapt back or die.

[birdcrazy]

Or they could ban spitballs, corked bats, pine tar on certain areas of the bat, and lower or raise the mound.

Wait..all have been done over time to keep the game fair and balanced.

P.S. If the commissioner is so concerned about offense, perhaps he could ban fastballs over 99 M.P.H., and outlaw the knuckleball, too.

1) No defensive shifts.

2) No knuckleballs.

3) No really fast fastballs.

4) And perhaps put a limit on the number of inches that a curveball can break, too.

*********************************

Oh, and one more thing. Make pitchers formally apologize to any batter that he strikes out 3 times in the same game.

We can't be having the batters emotionally demoralized by a dominant pitcher. The fans want to see offense.

[MurphDogg]

Would the NFL ever ban something like the Cover 2? Or not allow a 4 man blitz? No 2-3 zone in basketball? Or a 2-1-2?

The NBA didn't allow the zone defense until 2001.

[BohKnowsBmore]

To paraphrase: "Some teams have been seeking a competitive advantage through statistical analysis and working on how to implement the results of that analysis. I don't go for that. Let's stick to the competitive advantages enjoyed by the teams in the biggest markets. Did I mention that I grew up in Rome, New York as a Yankee fan?"

According to an article in this morning's New York Times, Manfred said in an interview that he has no problem with the DH difference between the leagues, doesn't foresee World Series day games "in our current situation," favors retaining home-field advantage for the league that wins the All-Star game, and sees an international draft as coming "someday." The main point of the article is Manfred's focus on increasing youth participation in baseball and building up the youth fan base. To be charitable, he is vague about the details.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/sports/baseball/robert-manfred-is-determined-to-steer-young-people-toward-baseball.html?_r=0

MLB may have succeeded in finding a Commissioner who will make me miss Bud Selig.

I went to the ALDS Game 2. One of the best experiences I've ever had as a sports fan. Would love to see at least one day game WS game.

[BohKnowsBmore]

Teams and fans overvalue the home run. That is why you have so many strike outs and people pulling the ball. If you outlaw the shift it makes a mockery of the game. I would be done with baseball at that point. Good players don't get the shift against them. Could you imagine if the employed the shift against Rod Carew? He would hit over .500.

"hit it where they ain't"