The Shift is Being Banned - How Does This Help/Hurt the O's?

[jabba72]

53 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

This should help us.  I expect Elias will favor a LH hitting team moving forward considering the Great Wall of Camden and LH hitters are the ones hurt most by the shift. 

Our everyday lineup against RHP next year should feature five left-handed hitters: Mullins, Rutschman, Henderson, Santander, Stowers and could feature six at some point if Cowers joins the team at mid-season. 

Yeah the strategy seems to be to lean our lineup towards LH since our park plays that way.  

[interloper]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

Hurts:  Chris Davis, seen in Texas planning his comeback.

Wait, wouldn't this drastically help Davis? He hit everything into the shift.

[Moose Milligan]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

Wait, wouldn't this drastically help Davis? He hit everything into the shift.

He also swung and missed at everything else, too.  But hey, if you're going to sit here and wish for a Chris Davis comeback, that's all on you homie.

[Hallas]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

Hurts:  Chris Davis, seen in Texas planning his comeback.

You have to be able to see the ball to hit into the shift.

[baltfan]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

He also swung and missed at everything else, too.  But hey, if you're going to sit here and wish for a Chris Davis comeback, that's all on you homie.

The Chris Davis I remember watched strike 3 down the middle more than any player I have ever seen.

[Frobby]

The O’s have a very average mix of RHB/LHB, and they face a very average mix of RHB/LHB.   So, I think this affects them very little.   They will gain a little on offense and lose a little on defense, and it will be about a wash. 

Toronto could be affected a lot.  Their offense is heavily right handed (most in MLB) and so is their pitching staff (they face the third most LHB in MLB).   So, their offense will benefit little from the new rule, but the defense could be negatively affected heavily.  
 

[emmett16]

This will reward teams that focus on defense. I believe it will help the Os.

[deward]

32 minutes ago, Natty said:

If they are going to do this, why not ban computers, after all it's computers that led to this. 

Let the Butlerian Jihad commence?

[deward]

32 minutes ago, Natty said:

If they are going to do this, why not ban computers, after all it's computers that led to this. 

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by deward
Dupe

[Aristotelian]

Helps us. Most of our future core is LH (Gunnar, Adley, Stowers, Cowser). They have already been overshifting massively on Adley and I think that is one reason his batting average isn't that high.

Still, I'm not a fan of the rules change. I don't like legislating positioning. I wonder if they will need a big stripe behind the bag to enforce it. Then the players will smudge the line like they do the batters box 

 

[emmett16]

Bigger bases helps us as well.  It’ll be interesting to see if steals increase with the distance between bases being shortened a little bit.  

[dystopia]

Not sure how it helps the O’s specifically but I don’t agree with this decision. You should be able to put all your position players in a 10 foot radius if you so desire. 

[DrungoHazewood]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I'm into it.  I hope they feast.

I really do hate this, though.  I mean, it's frustrating when someone lines a shot and the 2nd baseman is standing halfway in the outfield to snare it, but still.  I don't see how this really helps promote the game, unless it leads to something like someone making a chase for .400.  

Basically zero chance of anyone hitting .400 until they drop strikeouts by at least 30%. Last time anyone hit .400 the league hit .266, minorities weren't allowed to play, and there were 3.6 K/9.

Maybe we see a run at .400 if they ban the shift, move some fences out, and push the mound back 3'.

[DrungoHazewood]

Or... if banning the shift doesn't have the desired outcome maybe the next step is requiring a reverse shift.  Any time a lefty comes up, all the fielders have to be on the third base side of second.  Then we might get the next Ted Williams.

[ledzepp8]

Great. This is a long time coming. It gets boring watching guys crush balls up the middle or to the right said only for it to be right at one of the four infielders stationed in the exact right spot.