Shifting Minnesota’s Defensive Focus in 2022

My favorite play is a lefty bunting to a third base area emptied by “the shift”.   Teach it at all levels.  

What will be the shift in strategy once baseball gets tired of the "three true outcomes" - a phrase I have grown to hate.  Will some wildcat team put the Go-go White Sox, the 1976 Oakland A's, the Herzog Cardinals, or even the KC championship tean approach together and because of the fact that teams are not used to it - if they succeed copy cats will start.  I do hope and dream that happens.

""Whether you steal or not, you're changing the rhythm of the game." - Hall of Famer Joe Morgan" 

By the way - Minnesota ranked 27 in stolen base attempts per game in 2021. Which was up from 2020.  And these were up from 2018 when we ranked last in MLB.  Why? 

In 2021 we weren't the Bomba squad anymore and we were losing.  Maybe a change would have been warranted. 

I don’t think a total shift ban is necessary but I think forcing all infielders to play on the dirt.  No more second basemen in shallow RF. Or maybe forcing a team to designate before at bat if you want to play 4 outfielders they have to stick with that throughout the at bat.  Guy steals second you are still only allowed the 3 infielder or guy attempts to bunt or changes his approach with 2 strikes you can’t change. 

I don't like the entire cynical premise of the shift. In many sports there are rules as to how you can align your players. I also agree MLB teams need to stop the group think and have some teams which emphasize speed, hitting the other way and putting the ball in play. 

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

What will be the shift in strategy once baseball gets tired of the "three true outcomes"

Power wins ballgames. The only way baseball will "tire" of the strategy is if HR are harder to come by. Until then they'll try to build a lineup of 9 guys who hit 30 HR.

The situation that had me yelling at the TV was during the World Series. Ozzie Albies was up and hitting lefty. He only hits .237/.295/.454 from that side of the plate. They moved the fielders to the right of where shortstop normally covers; left side of the infield is open. He's a pretty fast baserunner. All he had to do was drop a bunt to the left side. Nope, grounded out to the second baseman.

If you're a power hitter who normally posts 1000 OPS then do your normal thing. If you struggle to break a .750 OPS and they give you a base hit, take it.

Basically I'm against the anti-shift rule. IMO baseball is a challenge between the pitcher, hitter and the defense. There's a constant adjusting to get an edge over the other to survive and thrive. 

IMO it was ridiculous having Simmons shifting so much against lefties, where often he cut off grounders that Polanco could get yet grounders would get by him and 3B. But this year if we get an inferior SS, things would be very different.

4 hours ago, High heat said:

I don’t think a total shift ban is necessary but I think forcing all infielders to play on the dirt.  No more second basemen in shallow RF. Or maybe forcing a team to designate before at bat if you want to play 4 outfielders they have to stick with that throughout the at bat.  Guy steals second you are still only allowed the 3 infielder or guy attempts to bunt or changes his approach with 2 strikes you can’t change. 

No problem with no more than 3 in the outfield (even short field).   But the Third basemen and first basemen must be allowed to play on the infield grass if a bunt is suspected. 

Let the defensive players line up however they want to for each hitter. In 1968 our kid team shifted against a specific powerful hitter. SS, 2B, and 1B were all on the edge of the outfield grass and a one hop line drive to 1B was a 3-1 putout. Strategy has always been a part of the game. It is more obvious today because it is more frequent due to the employment of people whose job entails crunching numbers. The only thing I can offer as a change is that a batter must keep in the box once the at bat begins, with a quick look to the 3B coach, and that pitcher's need to get the ball back and go to the pitching rubber. By the way, every single player in today's game grew up playing quickly. 

I think a ban will result in unintended and unforeseen consequences. I can’t see the unforeseen but I do have a thought on one consequence I don’t want.

The shifting has most impact on upper cut pull hitters. The same players helping to drive the strike out rates up and balls in play down. If shifting is banned we will see more of these one dimensional hitters who will fare better in those conditions.

Let the game adjust to the shift and produce more bat control line drive hitters who use the whole field and bring more speed to the game. We don’t need a rule change to fix this. We need teams that can recognize the talent and skills to beat it.

No to banning the shift. Let the hitters learn - take your chances. Nobody complains about outfielders moving, let the fielders line up where they want. Play ball!!

Strategy is part of the game ,,,

Allow the shift but keep it on the dirt  .

Adjustments  ...

Hitters need to make improvements hitting to all fields ,,,, 

What's the sense in paying 2 mlb hitting coaches a salary when all they tell you is loft and carry 

23 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Power wins ballgames. The only way baseball will "tire" of the strategy is if HR are harder to come by. Until then they'll try to build a lineup of 9 guys who hit 30 HR.

This is the glaring fact in the shift discussion.

I've always thought the most enjoyable way to correct for the shift would be to move outfield fences back. It would result in more singles, doubles, and triples, and less home runs. It would be so much fun to see so much movement on the field of play again.

I don't expect this will happen, but who knows? Baltimore could be setting a ballpark trend once again.

I know the phrase "Power wins games" is popular in this thread, but I believe Rickey Henderson knew how to win without power.  And so did a number of teams in the past.  

4 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I know the phrase "Power wins games" is popular in this thread, but I believe Rickey Henderson knew how to win without power.  And so did a number of teams in the past.  

Rickey hit nearly 300 HR.

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Rickey hit nearly 300 HR.

And stole 1406 bases and scored 1115 runs.  

I'm just so sick of the players and owners right now I don't care if they ban shifts or not.  I'm just sick of the whole bunch of them.  

Well... Now that they're going to ban the shift, I suggest they draw out little chalk circles where each player is allowed to lineup. But why stop there? Extend the lines to show where each player is allowed to chase the ball. Like table hockey. Hey just because your cf has great range it doesn't mean he should be able to catch balls that your slow right fielder can't get to right? Why should you allow the pitcher to cover first base just because the first baseman got pulled off the bag? Less chance of him getting injured that way too. Oh yeah, that bigger base. I'm sure that's going to help...

I'm not in favor of banning the shifts but if they do I hope they limit it to 2 infielders have to be on each side of the diamond with the limit allowing a  defender to "straddle" the line between home and 2b.