LOL. You do realize the reason the shift is such a problem now is because no humans were smart enough to learn where hitters hit the ball!Yeah..... no one with under a 140 IQ could possibly figure out where batters tend to hit the ball
It is all high level genius stuff
Now with computers they have the numbers, which showed hitting tendencies were way more severe then ever thought. Baseball is not a new game, over 100 years and all "baseball people" were clueless. Sure they shifted some but not nearly enough until computers and analytics took over and then they realized the value of the shift.
Now they know certain played, including .300 hitters who were all stars, literally never hit the ball to certain areas of the field.
Think there was a great example a few years back with Joey Votto, a lifetime .300 hitter at the time popped up to 2nd base, it was like only the 3rd time in 8000+ at bats hat had every happened. Crazy stuff like that humans could never know by their "eyes"
Love the fact MLB is trying something! If certain things don't work, just change it back.
Other sports are always changing things, although more subtle usually. Look at NBA twenty years ago with the Bulls, Pistons, etc the games were 92-85 half the time, now the games are 118-114 every night. Mainly with better pace, teams no longer hold the ball for 18 secs before trying to score. NHL always changing rules.
Whats MLB worried about? Half the record book already has asterisks next to them.
Other sports are always changing things, although more subtle usually. Look at NBA twenty years ago with the Bulls, Pistons, etc the games were 92-85 half the time, now the games are 118-114 every night. Mainly with better pace, teams no longer hold the ball for 18 secs before trying to score. NHL always changing rules.
Whats MLB worried about? Half the record book already has asterisks next to them.
The root cause of the problem with the shift is that the players are not skilled enough to hit the ball where they want to. They can't bunt, they don't hit and run because that requires a skill. They can't defeat a shift which was originated for the big home run hitters to entice them not to pull the ball. Like a few above, I was the biggest baseball fan for many years...now I don't even watch the playoffs. Lack of skill, too many strikeouts and very, very boring.
Vin Scully was probably the best sportscaster ever. There's no way Vin would be able to tell his stories and call a game the way he did with these new changes.
Baseball is all about rhythm and timing, pitcher vs batter. This new clock completely throws everything off balance.
It doesn't matter if players eventually adjust, which they will. They're not speeding up the game, they're fundamentally changing it for the worse.
Baseball is all about rhythm and timing, pitcher vs batter. This new clock completely throws everything off balance.
It doesn't matter if players eventually adjust, which they will. They're not speeding up the game, they're fundamentally changing it for the worse.
Was just trying to point out in other sports there are rules saying players at certain positions are only allowed on certain parts of the field. Or in specific circumstance only. NHL too, goalie can't go past red line no matter what or it's a penalty. Not much different then MLB saying a third baseman needs to be within a certain area of the field when the pitch is thrown.
It's all about the money ball analytics. Home runs and walks have been found to be much more important then stolen bases and spray hitters with .330 average like Boggs and Gwynn. Now you have guys like Schwarber who could probably easily be a .300 hitter with less power in another era. Instead he focuses on bulking up and the HR/walk or strike out approach. Thats what has been winning the last 20 years and that is what gets the big money.
Problem is that while HR's are fun to watch, the rest of it sucks to watch, mainly walks and strikeouts without much base running. If anything baseball was too slow to make rule changes to help he situation. The were probably hoping things would revert back as part of a cycle. It just was not going to, the stolen base being worthwhile myth was exposed over a decade ago. Teams weren't going to just start stealing again for the hell of it knowing that even in the 80's with the best Henderson, Coleman etc it was barely worth the effort. So much emphasis on a break even, sometimes losing play. Now MLB is bringing it back by making it worthwhile hopefully.
As far as the "skill" of being hit the ball anywhere. Some of the great hitters ever were dead pull hitters. Whose averages might have been 30-40 pts lower if facing todays shifts. Before more time, but take Ted Williams, considered one of the greatest hitters ever, dead pull hitter (I've read). They started shifting, and it hurt Williams , then he adjusted and had some success but never like before the shift. And that was a less "perfected " shift. Current shift conditions the last 20 years instead of Williams being a career .344 hitter , he probably is around .300.
Ryan Howard had a .258 career average, he plays in the 50's he is probably a .300 hitter. The shift is only part of the problem, the other part in the analytics, like the "heat" charts. Every pitcher, scout, manager has it at their fingertips exactly where to pitch a hitter. Howard had a couple real "cold" spots he couldn't get to. In the past there was much less exact info on those weaknesses.
The opposing teams most of the time would love for a hitter like Bryce Harper to try to bunt for a hit and slap one the opposite field for a single. What do you think, these incredibly skilled, ultra talented hitters couldn't do that if they tried hard enough or practiced a lot? Harper did it a fair amount this year, it's just not worth it. Unless you really overvalue a "single"
An inside look at how the new rules will work
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- We know how Major League Baseball’s new rules for 2023 look on paper. But how will they look in practice? The arrival of the pitch timer, restrictions on extreme infield shifts and bigger bases combine for the most significant alterations to MLB rules in decades, and that’s
www.mlb.com
Taking intelligence and strategy out of any game will never be a smart move to me
Next, defenses in football will always have to play a 4-3 with 2 corners and 2 safeties on every play and shifting is not allowed
Next, defenses in football will always have to play a 4-3 with 2 corners and 2 safeties on every play and shifting is not allowed
