As MLB and the MLBPA are still attempting to work things out for the 2022 season and beyond, looking at the current rules is a way to think about how the game may evolve in the future. They’ve added measures to try to speed up the game, but what about the biggest question of them all: The shift.
Some believe that the game is being hindered by the shift. Others think that defensive strategy shouldn’t be taken out of the game — make the hitters adjust.
Well, Yankees OF Joey Gallo, a lefty that is constantly shifted against, is one that believes the game should do something about it.
“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. “I don’t understand how I’m supposed to hit a double or triple when I have six guys standing in the outfield.”
Six is an exaggeration, but five isn’t. The second baseman will play in shallow right field, while the shortstop plays very deep on the dirt or in the grass right over second base. Add three shifted outfielders and Gallo doesn’t have much to work with.
But Gallo isn’t the only one facing this problem. In fact, shifts don’t have to be that extreme. It could be one or two players moving around. It could be the outfield taking five steps to their left or right together. Either way, advanced analytics have shown patterns in hitters that allow defenses to adjust based on where the ball is hit. For some, that’s just sports. Evolution.
However, is there a point where MLB will say the shift is too much? According to The Athletic article from Jayson Stark, the league saw 59,062 shifts in the 2021 season.
There were 6,882 in 2013.
“I think most hitters are pretty adamant on the shift, that they have to do something with it. I don’t really see many hitters going, ‘The shift is pretty awesome, man. They need to keep that,’ Gallo said. “I think people understand that hitting is hard enough — but when you have guys standing in different positions where it makes it almost impossible to get hits, that makes it even harder, obviously.”