I highly doubt they’d do it based on that one shift. They knew moving OF around was a possibility when they instituted the new rule. It’s also much more risky than shifting IF. If you hit a ball to the left side on an infield shift you’re probably getting a single, the LF will scoop it up unless you hit a rocket down the line, which would probably have been a double anyway. Shift the OF and any hit to LF is a double at minimum. I don’t think we’ll see it used often enough that MLB feels any need to intervene.
So there’s confusion on one pitch out of thousands this week and it’s a “shit show”?
It'd be difficult if not impossible to tweak the no-shift rule to prevent an outfielder from playing shallow right.
That's the thing, Gallo might be the only person in the league it gets done to. There are just so few players with his profile, I can't see it being done with any real frequency... and, to be honest, I doubt it gets done against him anywhere outside of Fenway (or JetBlue, as the case may be).
…. or the tie game, home team batting, runner on third with less than two out, seven-infielders scenario
Does this make sense? If I am reading that correctly, the 2023 average time between pitches (15.2s w/ nobody on) is longer than the allowable time. Wouldn't that imply that roughly half the pitches are over the limit?
That's time between actual pitches. They don't start the clock the second the catcher receives the ball.
There is probably a few seconds for the clock to be reset after some pitches. Especially for a foul ball, or new batter, etc.
So the catcher can slow things down by not throwing the pitcher the ball right away?
To add a visual aid to this, here are three spray charts for lefties Gallo, Rizzo, and Devers. Rizzo and Devers, like most lefties, pull the ball on the ground but spray fly balls fairly evenly in the outfield. Gallo pulls pretty much everything, with just a smattering of fly balls to the opposite field. He'd be one of the few you'd ever employ a shift like this against.
I'm not clear about this either, does it count as one of their two disengagements with a runner on? Or do they just reset the timer when he gets the new one?
It is 30 seconds between batters. 15 seconds between pitches with nobody on, and 20 seconds between pitches with runners on.
Hmmmmm.....I guess no one has ever gone into batting cages for a few swings. How much time between pitches in there?
I suppose so. But the ump will put a stop to that if he sees that the catcher is trying to slow the game down.
It’s not fantasizing. As you note, players like Scherzer are already trying to game the clock to obtain competitive advantage.
For sure, early on some guys are going to see what they can get away with. I assume MLB is serious about this and the answer will ultimately be - not very much.
Agree. Plus, did Scherzer even doing anything all that strategic? He waited until the batter got both feet in the box. I found the commentary on the video to be pretty overwrought.
They will. And like everything out, there will be a period of time where the competitive advantage sways to those who have most prepared for these changes. That's why I really dislike doing everything for tradition's sake. Some change is always good.
It was more the pitch before where he held until the batter used up his 1 "time out" for the at bat. The on the ensuing pitch he got set super quick so he was able to pitch as soon as the batter was "attentive" to him.
Not sure if it was posted here but the same clip was side by side with an Jose Altuve inside the park home run.
I posted it in a different thread...
This one was also there:
Oops, sorry, thought it was a different clip because it was posted by a different Twitter account.
I stumbled on a similar video, wish I'd bookmarked it when I saw it, of a spring half-inning set against Bryce Harper's first AB in Game 3 of the World Series last year. It kinda cheated by starting with him in the on-deck circle, but between the walk up and his lengthy set up in the box, I think the whole thing took over 90 seconds before he hit the first pitch out of the park. Dramatic moment for sure, but unnecessarily drawn out.
