MLB general managers took a vote on whether to eliminate the defensive shift from baseball and only 4-6 voted to ban it.
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The new commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, made the suggestion last month that the league might consider banning the defensive shift. The reasoning is that defensive shifting is hobbling offensive production and making for boring games. However, he hasn’t said how the league would implement this ban and further, there apparently isn’t much support for it among team front offices.
According to a story by Hard Ball Talk, general managers actually took a vote on the issue during November meetings. The result was only four to six GMs voted to eliminate shifting. Prominent agent Scott Boras is against shifting and is reportedly working with the new commissioner to implement some type of ban. Boras has a variety of reasons why the shift should be banned. He thinks that it especially affects lefthanded pull hitters who are taught to hit the ball hard and where it’s pitched, as they come up through the ranks of baseball. He also thinks it will negatively affect amateur players down the line and will increase strikeouts.
In July of last year, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci wrote about the frustration of defensive shifts by some in baseball and he also suggested some type of ban on certain defensive formations. His idea was to establish certain fielding zones and make rules on illegal formations. For example, disallowing three infielders on one side of second base. That would allow a shortstop to shift only directly behind second base for a lefthanded hitter, but no further than that.
Even though implementing a ban based on fielding zones wouldn’t necessarily be difficult, the question is why is such a ban necessary? Shifts largely stop singles, not doubles and triples and certainly not home runs. Power hitters are definitely not being contained by shifts. They may lower batting averages slightly due to the increased single stoppage, but that’s it. The idea that shifts are increasing strikeouts is also silly. It’s far more likely that umpires are calling balls and strikes on lefthanded hitters poorly as well as hitters not being selective enough in what they swing at.
Ultimately, the defensive shift rewards the most athletic players on the field. Whether that’s defensive players who can play multiple parts of the field or hitters who can hit to all parts of the field. Last I checked, sports are about athletic ability and skill. If anything, the increasing popularity of the shift should encourage better players on both sides of the ball.
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