Dewan: On banning the shift in baseball
From SABR member John Dewan at ACTA Sports on December 27, 2018:
Over the years in Stat of the Week we’ve analyzed the significant increase in shifting in baseball that has occurred since 2012. We have been proponents of this defensive strategy as we have demonstrated in many different ways that, when employed against the right batters in the right situations, shifting is very effective. Of late there has been some additional discussion about the possibility of limiting shifts. According to a recent article written by Jayson Stark:
“At last month’s owners meetings, baseball’s competition committee gave the commissioner ‘strong’ backing to try to ‘put something in place’ to limit shifts, according to sources who spoke directly with members of the committee. So next up, it’s time to run this – and more – past the players’ union.”
Hopefully this “strong backing” doesn’t come to fruition. I will not mince my words. It would be totally ridiculous to try to limit shifting.
Read the full article here: https://www.statoftheweek.com
Originally published: December 27, 2018. Last Updated: December 27, 2018.