Why wait until 2023?

[Toots_mcgee]

The players and owners have agreed to limit the shift. This shows that they concur with me that the shift is bad for baseball. So why not do it immediately? It is maddening.

I can see waiting a year on the pitch clock for technical and other reasons. But “not shifting” is not something that needs to be studied or tinkered with. )$&@7-/:

 

[3Rfan]

The players and owners have agreed to limit the shift. This shows that they concur with me that the shift is bad for baseball. So why not do it immediately? It is maddening.

I can see waiting a year on the pitch clock for technical and other reasons. But “not shifting” is not something that needs to be studied or tinkered with. )$&@7-/:

Will they stop managers from pulling their outfielders into the infield in the bottom of the 9th when a flyball would win the game but they might get an out or DP with 8 guys in on the grass? I don't like the shift but I don't know why you stop managers from playing anybody they want anywhere they want. MLB hitters should be able to adjust.

 

[Toots_mcgee]

They put five people to the right of second base and then pound fastballs inside to a left handed hitter. What is he going to do with an inside fastball. Come on bro.

A sinking line shot to right center should be a hit not a fly out to the short stop.

 

[Toots_mcgee]

Shifts are up 900% from 2013. This is NOT what ole Abner had in mind for baseball!

 

[3Rfan]

Should they tell basketball coaches they can't pack in a zone of the other team can't shoot the 3? Will they tell a coach he can't press if the other team's best PG is out? Where would you draw the line and in which sports?

 

[Toots_mcgee]

Should they tell basketball coaches they can't pack in a zone of the other team can't shoot the 3? Will they tell a coach he can't press if the other team's best PG is out? Where would you draw the line and in which sports?

The NBA outlawed zone defenses for decades. Try again.

when a man makes great contact and smokes a line drive he should get a hit most of the time. The science has made the game less interesting and fun for the average fan. Requiring two infielders in the dirt on each side of second isn’t going to ruin the game grandpa.

In 1968, pitching had developed to the point of total domination so they lowered the mound. Did that ruin baseball? No. It led to great years for the game. If you are freaked out over change, the crazy shifting is the change that is hurting baseball.

 

[3Rfan]

The NBA outlawed zone defenses for decades. Try again.

when a man makes great contact and smokes a line drive he should get a hit most of the time. The science has made the game less interesting and fun for the average fan. Requiring two infielders in the dirt on each side of second isn’t going to ruin the game grandpa.

In 1968, pitching had developed to the point of total domination so they lowered the mound. Did that ruin baseball? No. It led to great years for the game. If you are freaked out over change, the crazy shifting is the change that is hurting baseball.

I don't like it either but I don't know how you can tell a manager where to put his players. If it didn't work they would stop doing it. I asked if you would also tell them they can't pull outfielders in with a game on the line in the bottom of the 9th. Would you want to tell college and HS coaches they can't play a zone? Nearly all of them do now, for the same reason baseball has the shift, it works! Just like the NBA MLB guys are pros, figure it out. What's being a grandpa have to do with it, that should mean I'm against anything new.

 

[Toots_mcgee]

MLB is in the entertainment business. I personally am not entertained by seeing my slugger have to bunt or seeing the shortstop in right field. They have effectively run guys like Matt Adams and Matt Carpenter out of baseball. I liked those guys.

I don’t know about your bringing the outfielders into the infield. That happens once in a blue moon. What’s important to me is being entertained without making the game a joke. The shift is a bad joke.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

They put five people to the right of second base and then pound fastballs inside to a left handed hitter. What is he going to do with an inside fastball. Come on bro.

A sinking line shot to right center should be a hit not a fly out to the short stop.

Maybe back off the plate? Guys hang all over the plate. They aren’t afraid to. So yeah, I’ll shift and pound their hands until they adjust. Why shouldn’t I?

 

[WCS Coach]

Will they stop managers from pulling their outfielders into the infield in the bottom of the 9th when a flyball would win the game but they might get an out or DP with 8 guys in on the grass? I don't like the shift but I don't know why you stop managers from playing anybody they want anywhere they want. MLB hitters should be able to adjust.

What they need to limit are their outrageous prices.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

What they need to limit are their outrageous prices.

Welcome to the age of increased wages. It's weird, you pay people more, and prices increase. Strange. It's almost like business owners pass the added cost of operating a business on to the consumer.

 

[oldroundballer]

Welcome to the age of increased wages. It's weird, you pay people more, and prices increase. Strange. It's almost like business owners pass the added cost of operating a business on to the consumer.

It's gotten to the point that I don't attend hardly any games anymore. I'm going to a hockey game tomorrow on corp tickets. I didn't attend a baseball game last year at all for probably the first time ever. I paid more to get Bally Sports this time around. I honestly don't think I'll do that again. I don't mind people making money, even a lot of money. But obscene money is getting harder to take. The way everything is increasing all of us are going to have to decide what's worth spending more and more money on. For me it's not going to be professional sports. Even the rooks make many times more than the average middle class Joe. I realize I'm just one dude and I won't make a difference. But its not going to be a problem for me to not watch games at all. Especially as boring as baseball has become. I grew up listening on the radio and I'll likely go out doing the same thing, at least until they limit that to subscriptions, which will likely happen at some point.

As far as the shift. I kind of agree with Toots. I follow sports to be entertained. When it becomes not entertaining I lose interest. I can't disagree with the proponents of hitting around the shift. I wish they would do that more. But for the most part they just refuse to do so. If they want me to stay interested they need to do something to make it more entertaining again.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

It's gotten to the point that I don't attend hardly any games anymore. I'm going to a hockey game tomorrow on corp tickets. I didn't attend a baseball game last year at all for probably the first time ever. I paid more to get Bally Sports this time around. I honestly don't think I'll do that again. I don't mind people making money, even a lot of money. But obscene money is getting harder to take. The way everything is increasing all of us are going to have to decide what's worth spending more and more money on. For me it's not going to be professional sports. Even the rooks make many times more than the average middle class Joe. I realize I'm just one dude and I won't make a difference. But its not going to be a problem for me to not watch games at all. Especially as boring as baseball has become. I grew up listening on the radio and I'll likely go out doing the same thing, at least until they limit that to subscriptions, which will likely happen at some point.

As far as the shift. I kind of agree with Toots. I follow sports to be entertained. When it becomes not entertaining I lose interest. I can't disagree with the proponents of hitting around the shift. I wish they would do that more. But for the most part they just refuse to do so. If they want me to stay interested they need to do something to make it more entertaining again.

This is me, mostly. But I'll add this, I'm just one guy (with a family of 5 though). But as rabid as I once was about Cardinals baseball, I haven't been to a game in four years I think. Now part of that is I moved away from the STL area 14 years ago, but I always made it a point to go to a few over the summer. We either made a weekend of it, or up and back. Whatever it was, it was a priority. But the decline of what is interesting baseball (IMO) and the rise in the cost has just kept me away. Heck, for two of the 14 years away, we lived in the KC area and didn't go to games there. And it would've been super easy and cheap. It's just a juice isn't worth the squeeze situation any longer. And I have to think if guys like us (more than just the average fan probably) aren't going to games, or even watching on TV for that matter, it's a big problem for baseball.

 

[Pancho and Lefty]

This is me, mostly. But I'll add this, I'm just one guy (with a family of 5 though). But as rabid as I once was about Cardinals baseball, I haven't been to a game in four years I think. Now part of that is I moved away from the STL area 14 years ago, but I always made it a point to go to a few over the summer. We either made a weekend of it, or up and back. Whatever it was, it was a priority. But the decline of what is interesting baseball (IMO) and the rise in the cost has just kept me away. Heck, for two of the 14 years away, we lived in the KC area and didn't go to games there. And it would've been super easy and cheap. It's just a juice isn't worth the squeeze situation any longer. And I have to think if guys like us (more than just the average fan probably) aren't going to games, or even watching on TV for that matter, it's a big problem for baseball.

Agree on this. Would seem to me the coming problem will be that the young generation has less interest in MLB as well. They have to be falling more and more behind the NFL and NBA

 

[cardsrock15]

The players and owners have agreed to limit the shift. This shows that they concur with me that the shift is bad for baseball. So why not do it immediately? It is maddening.

I can see waiting a year on the pitch clock for technical and other reasons. But “not shifting” is not something that needs to be studied or tinkered with. )$&@7-/:

Well if I was the manager I would have my left handed power hitter turn around and bat from the other side of the plate on every other pitch. Unlike the pitcher the batter can bat from either side and change sides on every pitch if he wants to. If the defense moves back to a normal position then he can move back to the left hand side of the plate. If they shift back then move to the right side.

Its a game play it like one