Posted on 06/23/2018 4:25:05 AM PDT by a little elbow grease
There is a haunting stirring in the baseball community to establish that fielders defensive “shifts” should be against the rules.
From BusinessInsider.com: “MLB's New Commissioner Is Open To Banning Defensive Shifts To Increase Scoring — Here's A Simple Way To Do It.”
Does this seem to anyone else as more than heavy-handed, almost totalitarian???
Do you suppose that they also will want to impel OUTFIELDERS NOT TO SHIFT, play deeper in the outfield when a power hitter comes to the plate?
Do they suppose to suggest that when a sacrifice bunt is most likely about to be attempted, that the first and third basemen should NOT BE PERMITTED to creep in toward the plate in order to get the ball and throw out the runner at second base for a force play?
Should outfielders not be permitted to shade toward the right field line when a strong left handed pull hitter comes to the plate? My, my.
Baseball has been shifting since Ted Williams and even before that. Now that we realize its effectiveness, we exploit the advantage. Personally, I don't think that this particular strategy EVER should be made illegal.
As a baseball fan said on reddit.com: “People hate the shift when their team hits into it, but love it when the opposing team hits into your shift. It's a part of the game now. Hitters will just have to adjust.
As Wee Willie Keeler used to say, “ Keep your eyes clear, and hit’ em where they ain’t: that’s all.”
I’ll just say this now …………. I find this idea of restrictions on defensive players’ shifts to be about the most ignorant, idiotic, witless, reactionary, vacuous, mindless, unintelligent, half-baked, harebrained, imprudent, unwise, and foolish idea of which I have ever heard.
“If all seven position players want to form a human pyramid behind second base then they should be allowed to.” LOL
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LEAVE THE GAME ALONE …………… and hit’ em where they ain’t.
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Do you ever write an understandable thought?
What do you think is "unsportsmanlike"?
What do you think is "baseball's version of icing the kicker"?
It's not often you see a pitcher go a complete game anymore, even when they're pitching exceptionally well.
I'll never forget the Cubs pulling Kyle Hendricks during the 2016 World Series with the Cleveland Indians. Hendricks was pitching the best of the entire Cubs pitching staff (IMO) and could've went a complete game and won it in the world series. Instead Maddon pulled him. Uggh!
Once again, big data and computer algorithm's are choosing pitchers based on batters and batting scenario's rather than good old fashioned coaching knowledge and intuition. Damn' shame.
OMG, I sound OLD.
Wow.......... that is a thought! It would at least be entertaining.
What’s next, force pitchers to always throw fastballs because some hitters can’t hit a curve ball?
bookmark
Any thoughts on this, baseball fans? LOL."
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I like it.
Couldn't agree more! It's the equivalent of the NFL telling every team's defense that they must line up a certain way on every play. Abject stupidity.
Heck, let's make it really interesting: eliminate the team line-up ...
Need a designated hitter? Go out into the stands and pull somebody down ...
...or make it a lottery: "Would the holder of the ticket to seat Green-31-B please come down to the field ... you are the new second baseman ..."
It sounds ridiculous because we've gotten so used to dealing with fixed batting lineups, but it certainly adds an element of unpredictability to the game of baseball.'
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May I add that this sounds pretty cool, but ...............
Seeing that you are allowing the manager to put up anyone he wants to "the next time around" ........ couldn't that tactic, over the length of a season, allow one of his best players to accrue fantastic stats???
..... better than in the shower.
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In that context, your idea is a better idea. At least much more entertaining.
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LOL
Tell that to Roberto Clemente. He did it all the time ........ especially when someone would hit a single to right.
It got to the point that the hitters would slow down coming to first base and hardly make the turn.
Yes ..... we would call it a “swinging bunt”.
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You should be a Democrat/Commie/Socialist. "Everyone in their place."
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It doesn't need to be that way.
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God I hope not.
“It doesn’t need to be that way. “
It does if you don’t want to watch a boring 21-18 or 17-15 game every night.
That would get old very, very quickly.
Personally, I wouldn’t be able to sit through even one of them.
Today’s hitters are at a level never seen before. Big, strong, perfect eyesight, swinging a 30oz bat. Every team has the equivalent of 2-3 Babe Ruth’s when it comes to hitting. Hell, the Yankees have at least 5.
And it’s the specialty pitches that get them out, and do the most damage to the pitcher.
Madison Bumgarner, probably the strongest and most resilient pitcher of our era says he can throw fast balls all day long. But 40 curve balls and change-ups will force him to sit.
Enough argumentation.
Pop a beer and watch a game tonight. Enjoy the greatest sport ever created by man, likely with the help of God his own self. If he ever watches the trivialities of man, he watches baseball:)
May your team fare well.
That's where it's heading, whether it ever becomes "official" or not.
Yes, it could -- but mainly for RBIs. That proposal isn't necessarily isn't going to make batters hit any more home runs or hit for a much higher batting average. It just means the manager will look for opportunities to send up his best hitters with runners in scoring position instead of leading off an inning.
It might also DIMINISH some personal offensive statistics over the course of a season, since managers might cost some guys plate appearances by waiting to send up their best hitters until an ideal situation. A hitter who bats near the top of the order and is used to getting 4-5 plate appearances in a game right now might lose some of those plate appearances if he's not in the same spot of the order every time through the lineup.
The other thing it does is give a batter an opportunity to hit twice in one inning without waiting through the whole lineup. If I am the ninth hitter in the order the first time I'm up and I don't reach base, I can theoretically go right back up to the plate as the first hitter the next time through the lineup. They'd probably need a rule to prevent such a strange scenario.
There would be a lot of peculiarities like this that would have to be addressed through the rules, but it's not quite as outlandish as it seemed when I first heard it.
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