New Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has not been on the job for a week yet, but he has already stirred the pot for fans, writers, players and owners across the league.
In an interview with ESPN’s Karl Ravech, Manfred said that he would be in favor of possibly eliminating defensive shifts from the game. This is just one of his ideas, many of which have been well-received since taking over for Bud Selig.
Manfred, the game’s 10th commissioner, laid out his plans for the game as a whole. His main goals for progress include the following:
- Instituting youth initiatives in order to get more children on playing fields and in stadiums across the country.
- Implementing better technology to make the experience of watching the game better both on TV and at the stadium.
- Modernize the game with new pace of play initiatives.
- Make the game as international as possible.
- Having a better promotion program in place for the game’s stars.
Manfred told MLB.com the following:
“Big pieces of my 100-day plan we’ve already rolled out,” he said. “For example, we’ve completed the study of what the current youth market looks like. We’ve already developed a strategy on how we’re going to try to engage in that space. We’ve already done some public things.”
In regards to the firestorm he created when he told Ravech in the ESPN interview that banning defensive shifts is a possibility, Manfred said the following:
“I don’t mind the idea that this office is viewed as a place where people are thinking about the game every day. We have not only the one or two things like pace-of-game changes we’re focused on, but also a laundry list of things about which we are having conversations. Doesn’t mean it’s going to become part of the agenda. It means we’re thinking about it.”
Now, this is more than likely an idea that will never come to fruition, but there are teams out there that would embrace the idea.
The reason?
Teams that would back such a change are the ones that have yet to adopt to defensive shifts. These shifts are not used for every batter, or even every pitch, but have become more commonplace throughout the game over the past decade or so.
The defensive shift originated back in the 1920’s, used mainly against Cy Williams. It did not get used often again until the 1946 World Series when St. Louis Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer employed the shift against Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams.
The creation of the shift has been linked to Cleveland Indians manager Lou Boudreau, who said in his book, Player-Manager, that he viewed it more as a psychological tactic than anything else.
Over the past decade-plus, the shift has become more prominent in MLB as teams tried to defend against extreme pull hitters such as Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Jason Giambi and Ryan Howard.
In almost all shifts, the third baseman moves to his left into the shortstop position. The shortstop moves to the other side of the second base bag and the second baseman moves closer to first base, typically playing on the grass in shallow right field.
The first baseman then hugs the line along with the right fielder as the center fielder plays in the right-centerfield gap.
Now, what would be the purpose to eliminating the defensive shift?
Manfred claims that he would consider doing so if the outcome would mean increased scoring across the league. He wants offense to explode again, as it has dropped off some the past couple of years.
Offense has dropped across MLB because of an increase in strikeouts and a decrease in walks. It makes sense right? The fewer men you have on base, the fewer runs you will be able to score.
In my humble opinion, leave defensive shifts in the game. They are a part of the excitement the game provides because of the chess game being played between opposing managers.
Think about it; teams have adapted since the game first started being played as players evolved into better hitters. Teams should be allowed to send eight position players and a pitcher onto the field and place them however they like defensively.
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in our comments section.
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Jim is the creator and editor of At the Dish, Cinn City Sports, Life with Tony and Enzo and owner of JAVFreelancing. He coached baseball for five years, three at his former high school (Holy Cross in Delran, NJ) and two at prominent Division III program Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He has worked for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ; Metro Networks in Bala Cynwyd, PA; and was the play-by-play announcer for the Camden Riversharks of the Independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for two seasons (2007-2008) on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM, the student-run radio station at Rowan University. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, sons Tony and Enzo and dog Phoebe. He can be reached at jimvassallo@mlbdrafts.com.
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