Ok, this is SoSH. I fully expect this to be a landslide. And we know the two sides to this argument traditionally: “The shift a) Sucks because it’s taking hits away from players and making the game all K’s and homers and b) Is awesome because the game is always changing and, besides, players should learn to hit around it.
I get both sides actually. But … I’m maybe ok with it. Or at least less against it than I thought I’d be.
If this had been agreed to in the last CBA, I wouldn’t have supported it at all. And in general, I hate when “guardians of the game”-types or grumpy competitors legislate rules (see: NFL catch, eligible receiver and contact rules) that distort the natural flow and evolution of the game.
But here we are, what, 10 to 12 years after teams started increasingly using the shift? And most hitters haven’t adapted – either because of stubbornness, because they physically can’t, or some combination thereof (I don’t hold managers harmless here either as virtually no one has instructed their guys to bunt past the shift so we get to see … more outs).
Of course, hitters have adapted in one critical way to the shift, which is to hit *over* the shift using launch angle. And now we’re at a point when even baseball diehards think the game is slow and lacks action, in part due to the change in hitting and pitching styles that have resulted from the shift.
So … I’m surprisingly kind of ok with it. Where does SoSH come out?
I get both sides actually. But … I’m maybe ok with it. Or at least less against it than I thought I’d be.
If this had been agreed to in the last CBA, I wouldn’t have supported it at all. And in general, I hate when “guardians of the game”-types or grumpy competitors legislate rules (see: NFL catch, eligible receiver and contact rules) that distort the natural flow and evolution of the game.
But here we are, what, 10 to 12 years after teams started increasingly using the shift? And most hitters haven’t adapted – either because of stubbornness, because they physically can’t, or some combination thereof (I don’t hold managers harmless here either as virtually no one has instructed their guys to bunt past the shift so we get to see … more outs).
Of course, hitters have adapted in one critical way to the shift, which is to hit *over* the shift using launch angle. And now we’re at a point when even baseball diehards think the game is slow and lacks action, in part due to the change in hitting and pitching styles that have resulted from the shift.
So … I’m surprisingly kind of ok with it. Where does SoSH come out?