Baseball: The Death of the Shift

The New MLB Rules, Part I by Ari Schutz

It has been an interesting off-season for baseball—with free-agent frenzies, blockbuster extensions, and, of course, two momentous rule changes: the death of the shift and the birth of the pitch clock. The MLB is hoping these modifications will speed up the spectacle and create a more offensive game. They may just make the game more offensive—but not in the way they’re hoping.

This Week: The Shift

First, let's look at how the MLB killed the shift. The new rule states that two infielders must be on each side of second base when the ball is pitched, and they must be on the infield cutout (the dirt). This effectively means that a team can’t overload either side of the ball park with infielders. It doesn’t say anything about outfielders, so let’s see who will be the first to send the left fielder to play a deep second while putting the second baseman up the middle. So, this rule will “up the risk” if anyone wants to shift in any way, but the option is still there.

The potential flaws of the rule are not the real issue here. I hate the shift—like a lot. But it isn’t the shift that I actually hate: it's the fact that it works. It works well because professional hitters aren't professional hitters anymore.

In the age of advanced metrics and the three true outcomes—defined as a home run, a walk or a strikeout—hitting is just one of the many things that the game has lost.

This misery is why Will Clark’s sound-off on 95.7 The Game resonates so sublimely. “These idiots in the batter's box don't make any adjustments!” Clark ranted. Unfortunately, the death of the shift probably won’t fix that.

Another is that no one steals bases anymore because the profit-to-loss ratio isn't favorable. Stealing a base, period, isn't the best idea from a metrics standpoint, but hey, let's ask Boston if they think Dave Roberts should have stayed on first.

Metrics have taken both the feel and the need to improve strategically out of the game. With designated hitters now allowed in both leagues, there is no question as to whether you take a hot starter out of the game in favor of a pinch hitter in a close game. Baseball has lost a lot of what made it interesting because we are letting math tell us what to do.

I remember vividly sitting at Candlestick Park one afternoon and being perplexed when the opposing team shifted to the right against Will Clark. It was a shift very close to what we see today. Will stepped to the plate and promptly slapped it to left. A dying quail turned into a double because Will Clark was a professional hitter, and the opposing manager was unwise enough to give him half the field to play with. OOPS!

Herein lies the issue: hitters can’t use the whole field anymore. So instead of fixing an issue that was, honestly, created by metrics (three true outcomes, launch angle, etc.), the MLB just voted down the shift. Hitters still can’t vary their swings and are thereby creating a watered-down version of what once was. So—yah!—no more shift. But Corey Seager will still tend to ground out to second—because neither his team nor any other is going to train him to do anything differently. It’s a loss of flexibility duplicated by almost every player in every team in baseball.

And this misery is why Will Clark’s sound-off on 95.7 The Game resonates so sublimely. “These idiots in the batter's box don't make any adjustments!” Clark ranted. Unfortunately, the death of the shift probably won’t fix that.

UPDATE: As this article went to press, we saw, as predicted, the Boston Red Sox employ a shift against Minnesota’s Joey Gallo by moving the center fielder to the short right and the left fielder to center. On his first at-bat, Gallo walked; later he flew out to center. The shift worked again.

I hark back to comments Joey made last year in the spring, “I get the defensive strategies. I do. I am 100 percent not against that … But I think at some point, you have to fix the game a little bit," Gallo told The Athletic in February 2022. "I don't understand how I'm supposed to hit a double or triple when I have six guys standing in the outfield."

The solution? If they’re shifted to the right, hit the ball into left field. 

It’s like Wee Willie Keeler once said, “Hit it where they ain’t.”

Next Week:  The Pitch Clock and What’s Wrong with It

Will the Thrill’s Rant: https://www.audacy.com/957thegame/sports/san-francisco-giants/will-clark-sounded-off-on-the-morning-roast