Around the Majors - 2022 Version

mfree80 said:
To be fair... shifts will still exist, but be less-pronounced. An IF will still be playing up the middle regularly, and guys will move into position as soon as they legally can get away with it. The biggest difference will be the 4th OF spot that Riley often fills. That will not be insignificant, but teams will adjust.
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This is why I think the rule change will disproportionately benefit slower LH batters.
 
While I prefer they not ban shifts, I am not a fan of telling the infielder they have to stay on the infield dirt. You already are reducing it to basically two infielders on the right hand side. With a runner on, the second baseman is screwed. You don't have a third baseman sliding over to make it two defenders and a first baseman, so why not at least give the second baseman a chance to play deep on the grass.
 
chop2chip said:
This is why I think the rule change will disproportionately benefit slower LH batters.
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Yup. The play this will benefit the most is where a lefty smashes a ball between 1st and 2nd that doesn't hit the ground until the outfield grass that was a hit 95% of the time before the shift and is now a one hopper to the rover.
 
The Chosen One said:
While I prefer they not ban shifts, I am not a fan of telling the infielder they have to stay on the infield dirt. You already are reducing it to basically two infielders on the right hand side. With a runner on, the second baseman is screwed. You don't have a third baseman sliding over to make it two defenders and a first baseman, so why not at least give the second baseman a chance to play deep on the grass.
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This is why there isn't really an "answer" to all of this.

If you choose to make the 2B a "shallow-RF" all the soft-contact dribblers become hits. I'll be the first to say I haven't looked up all the data, but it would seem reasonable to expect more of them with continued increases in velocity if hitters go back to being more contact-conscious. As long as you don't permit a third defender on either side of the bag, action SHOULD increase.

I honestly think it's a situation where the folks against it will have to ultimately swallow hard and support it because it will likely lead to a little more excitement and action for the fans. I've always thought of Matt Carpenter as someone who did and would continue to really resist change, and his comments about how much better the overall game was after playing with these rules in AAA have been incredibly positive.
 
The Chosen One said:
While I prefer they not ban shifts, I am not a fan of telling the infielder they have to stay on the infield dirt. You already are reducing it to basically two infielders on the right hand side. With a runner on, the second baseman is screwed. You don't have a third baseman sliding over to make it two defenders and a first baseman, so why not at least give the second baseman a chance to play deep on the grass.
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You already know the smart teams are plotting the next loophole. The updated rule states that you need two infielders on each side of the base prior to the pitch being thrown. Imagine seeing the SS lined up next to 2B and sprinting towards 1B while the pitch is being thrown to get in better position to shift lol.
 
NYCBrave said:
You already know the smart teams are plotting the next loophole. The updated rule states that you need two infielders on each side of the base prior to the pitch being thrown. Imagine seeing the SS lined up next to 2B and sprinting towards 1B while the pitch is being thrown to get in better position to shift lol.
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I expect we will see some strange outfield alignments, especially from teams that have fast athletic outfielders. For example, Would the Braves be bold enough to bring the LFÂ’er to shallow RF and let Harris cover the entire left side of the OF?

IÂ’m ok with 2 IF on each side of 2nd. I hate the part of the rule that requires the infielders to be in the dirt.

I wonder if banning the shift will hurt the plate approach for guys that are pull hitters. Now pull hitters have less reason to hit to the opposite field. I canÂ’t wait to watch hitters trying to pull every low outside strike for a double down the line.
 
JxnMissFan said:
I expect we will see some strange outfield alignments, especially from teams that have fast athletic outfielders. For example, Would the Braves be bold enough to bring the LFÂ’er to shallow RF and let Harris cover the entire left side of the OF?

IÂ’m ok with 2 IF on each side of 2nd. I hate the part of the rule that requires the infielders to be in the dirt.

I wonder if banning the shift will hurt the plate approach for guys that are pull hitters. Now pull hitters have less reason to hit to the opposite field. I canÂ’t wait to watch hitters trying to pull every low outside strike for a double down the line.
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Does this apply to the infield grass as well? This may also allow some speedy hitters bunt more often. How many times do you see the third baseman 4 or 5 steps in on the grass expecting the bunt.
 
JxnMissFan said:
I expect we will see some strange outfield alignments, especially from teams that have fast athletic outfielders. For example, Would the Braves be bold enough to bring the LFÂ’er to shallow RF and let Harris cover the entire left side of the OF?

IÂ’m ok with 2 IF on each side of 2nd. I hate the part of the rule that requires the infielders to be in the dirt.

I wonder if banning the shift will hurt the plate approach for guys that are pull hitters. Now pull hitters have less reason to hit to the opposite field. I canÂ’t wait to watch hitters trying to pull every low outside strike for a double down the line.
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You can’t do that. Having holes on the infield is a single. Holes in the outfield is doubles or triples.

Most likely you will just see modified shifts. SS will play right on second and second will play in hole. SS can slide a little when pitch is made.
 
I like banning the shift. My main complaint is limiting throw overs. You throw over once and most likely the runner is going if they’re that type. If you’re going to do something drastic to speed the game up I’d say you can foul off one pitch with 2 strikes but two foul balls and you’re out. I despise 10 pitch at bats.
 
Coredor said:
I like banning the shift. My main complaint is limiting throw overs. You throw over once and most likely the runner is going if they’re that type. If you’re going to do something drastic to speed the game up I’d say you can foul off one pitch with 2 strikes but two foul balls and you’re out. I despise 10 pitch at bats.
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It would lower the pitch count of pitchers so i guess they could chalk that up to "player safety" as these rules are intended to help improve.
 
Coredor said:
I like banning the shift. My main complaint is limiting throw overs. You throw over once and most likely the runner is going if they’re that type. If you’re going to do something drastic to speed the game up I’d say you can foul off one pitch with 2 strikes but two foul balls and you’re out. I despise 10 pitch at bats.
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Holy **** dude. Why don’t we just call it “slow pitch softball”.
 
That throw-over limit is ridiculous, somebody will steal 125 next year and think they are big stuff. Rickey and Vince would have stolen a base a game under these rules. Manfred is crapping on this game.
 
Tapate50 said:
It’s kinda shocking to me some of these hardest shifted players haven’t learned to stab one where they ain’t
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It’s because a lot of those guys drive it the other way in the air. A lot of power hitters don’t want to slap the ball to increase their chances of getting a single while reducing their chance to drive the ball.

I personally am fine with shifting and even the depth infielders play on the left side of the infield. I hate the deep over **** against left handlers though. Guys have always played on the fringe. That doesn’t bother me at all.

I don’t really want the thing about fouling the ball off either but if you want to speed the game up it’s better than what they’re doing. The running game is going to get out of control. Pitchers need to be able to hold runners which combined with the larger bases is going to have a big effect.
 
Tapate50 said:
It’s kinda shocking to me some of these hardest shifted players haven’t learned to stab one where they ain’t
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Most of them have drunk the kool-aid to the point they are not smart enough to do it. It's why '80s baseball was much more entertaining with teams like the Cards, Twins, and Royals of the era. It also makes guys like Murph, Dawson, and Raines look that much better.
 
VirginiaBrave said:
Most of them have drunk the kool-aid to the point they are not smart enough to do it. It's why '80s baseball was much more entertaining with teams like the Cards, Twins, and Royals of the era. It also makes guys like Murph, Dawson, and Raines look that much better.
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Funny those are all teams that basically played on old Astro turf fields that were basically thin carpet on concrete. I started watching on the 80s game but singles hitters and stolen bases aren’t really something I want to see more of.
 
Tapate50 said:
It’s kinda shocking to me some of these hardest shifted players haven’t learned to stab one where they ain’t
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It's not that they haven't learned to do that. It's just not worth it, in the grand scheme, given the potential outcomes they're sacrificing.
 
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