Baseball: The Shift

Nice piece by David Waldstein in yesterday's New York Times about shifting fielders, a current trend in baseball pioneered by Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Of course the shift goes back many years but is now starting to be used more often against more players because of computer tracking of every play.  The shift was used against Ted Williams, first used extensively in 1946 by Lou Boudreau, player-manager of the Cleveland Indians, who knew that Williams hit to right field 85% of the time.  Manager Jimmy Dykes of the Chicago White Sox employed the shift in 1941, moving his fielders to the right of 2nd base, but quickly abandoned it when Williams got a hit down the left-field line.  Which brings up the crucial question of why don't players just hit to the opposite field or bunt when the shift is on? One reason is certainly mental, as Maddon said, "it's a psychological ploy," everything looks different and that has an effect.  Also, batters such as Ted Williams and other power hitters have been reluctant to adjust the natural arc of their swing and settle for an opposite field single or a successful bunt.  One result of the shift may be to get power hitters to learn to bunt and hit singles, both better than outs.  Any diminution of home runs can only be a good thing for the game and more opposite-field hitting and bunting for base hits can only bring beauty and excitement to the game.  Perhaps next will be the return of the stolen base!

Of course one problem for the TV watcher of baseball is that one usually doesn't even see the shift, since to show the whole field would mean lost revenue from the virtual ads behind the catcher. At least Mets radio announcers Howie Rose and Josh Lewin let you know when the shift is on and Gary Cohen on TV usually does also, in spite of his frustration that they can't even show it on TV.  John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, the Yankee radio announcers, barely know who is at bat, much less where the fielders are, and Michael Kay, on TV, seldom mentions when the shift is on.  Perhaps the increasing use of the shift will get more fans out to the ballpark!.