Can't believe these MLB pull-hitters are whining about facing a shift

[Robert Fischer]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...ust-beat-shift

Weak.

Back off the plate a little bit and drive inside pitches to opposite field homeruns or doubles.

Should be able to do that at will if you call yourself a hitter.

Dare the pitcher to start trying to sneak fastballs by you on the outside corner while they are in a shift. See how that out works out for them.

""I think the easiest way to do it would be for guys to play where they've played for all the time the game has been around. Two guys on the left side. Two guys on the right side. You have a designated area where the shortstop, third baseman, second baseman and first baseman all go, and you play there. That would be the simplest way. Is it gonna happen? I don't know. But if you're looking to help even out the advantage that pitchers have over the hitters, that's the only way to do it.''
-Matt Carpenter

[jimmyb]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...ust-beat-shift

Weak.

Back off the plate a little bit and drive inside pitches to opposite field homeruns or doubles.

Should be able to do that at will if you call yourself a hitter.

Dare the pitcher to start trying to sneak fastballs by you on the outside corner while they are in a shift. See how that out works out for them.

""I think the easiest way to do it would be for guys to play where they've played for all the time the game has been around. Two guys on the left side. Two guys on the right side. You have a designated area where the shortstop, third baseman, second baseman and first baseman all go, and you play there. That would be the simplest way. Is it gonna happen? I don't know. But if you're looking to help even out the advantage that pitchers have over the hitters, that's the only way to do it.''
-Matt Carpenter

Over the years, Ted Williams encountered shifts quite often, and for a long time he, famously and proudly, didn't do much in the way of altering his approach with the bat. None other than Ty Cobb called him "stupid" for not being more adaptable.



Finally, a bit of advice from another great hitter helped Williams attack the shift by going the other way without tinkering too much with his cherished and carefully honed swing.

[MutuelClerk]

Hit it where they ain't.

[Robert Fischer]

They made some interesting arguments against ground balls to short(for leftys) and ground balls in general.

I understand that hitting a ball off the wall in left center is foreign to some of these left-handed pull hitters. They've spent their life's work trying to pull right-handed pitching into the right field porch.

But at some point, if extreme action is taken against you in one direction, you have to embrace adaptability...

Shoot, if I love My Boy Jack at 20-1 or whatever the Kentucky Derby morning line says, and come the day of the race he's 5-1 on the board... I'm adapting. I'm not riding my lemming off the cliff.

"The tactical result of an engagement forms the base for new strategic decisions because victory or defeat in a battle changes the situation to such a degree that no human acumen is able to see beyond the first battle. In this sense one should understand Napoleon's saying: "I have never had a plan of operations."
Therefore no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force." - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (expounding upon Napoleon Bonaparte).


Some smart guy decided you wouldn't adapt. And they (over)shifted. And then a bunch of teams started following suit, until it has become an interesting fad in today's game of baseball.
They shift and it dictates that they feed you hard stuff inside. They want you to pull the ball on the ground. They want it it to be difficult to drive (or even to simply get good wood on the ball) to the opposite field.

So if you back away from the plate a bit, perhaps close your stance a touch from normal... You are now putting the pitcher in a bad situation. If he tries to paint the outside corner; then he's pitching to the shift's weakness. Of course this isn't going to work against a Greg Maddux who can cut the ball both ways from a pitch that looks the same initially, but you are facing a lot of big horses who come in out of the bullpen and throw 95+fastballs and a slider. These guys are kicking in your door on the inside part of the plate.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...ust-beat-shift

Weak.

Back off the plate a little bit and drive inside pitches to opposite field homeruns or doubles.

Should be able to do that at will if you call yourself a hitter.

Dare the pitcher to start trying to sneak fastballs by you on the outside corner while they are in a shift. See how that out works out for them.

""I think the easiest way to do it would be for guys to play where they've played for all the time the game has been around. Two guys on the left side. Two guys on the right side. You have a designated area where the shortstop, third baseman, second baseman and first baseman all go, and you play there. That would be the simplest way. Is it gonna happen? I don't know. But if you're looking to help even out the advantage that pitchers have over the hitters, that's the only way to do it.''
-Matt Carpenter

If a dead-pull hitter is trying to hit the ball the OTHER way...shouldn't he be moving UP in the batter's box, instead of backing off the plate? If the batter moved UP in the box, then his swing would be a tad late...thus causing the ball to travel the other way by necessity. NO?

[Robert Fischer]

That would work although you'd have to adjust for reaction time and bat position. However, you'd have less overall adjustment than with my approach.

Whatever method you choose, you have to either adapt or if you are set in your ways; overcome the shift by hitting through it...

It's ridiculous to campaign for rules that outlaw defensive shifts.

Even the NBA has accepted zone defense. Although in a comparison like man-vs-zone, you could almost say that traditional MLB defense is the 'zone' and the shifts are more 'man-to-man'... Regardless, much different sports.

[barahona44]

One of the goals of the shift is to minimize a batters power.Ther's a reason switch hitters usually have better numbers,especially power numbers, from one side of the plate as opposed to the other.Opposite field home runs aren't rare but most sluggers it's usually between 10 to 20 % .

[Valuist]

I blame poor coaching and lack of fundamentals. A hitter is supposed to learn how to HIT first; not just swing from their heels to see how far they can hit.
But you get some guys who just can overwhelm bad pitching in HS and college so they never have to learn to use the whole field. Then they finally get to a level where the pitchers are every bit as talented, and they can't adjust.

[Nutz and Boltz]

I used to live and breathe baseball, now I barely watch and never watch the All-Star game. I was listening to an announcer on WFAN , Steve Summers ,who was comparing the participants of the All Star home run derby today to the old TV show "Home Run Derby" where every week you saw legends like Mantle, Williams, Mays, Aaron, etc. hitting homers for a few hundred dollars in prizes. Now we get Matt Muncy ?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Valuist

I blame poor coaching and lack of fundamentals. A hitter is supposed to learn how to HIT first; not just swing from their heels to see how far they can hit.
But you get some guys who just can overwhelm bad pitching in HS and college so they never have to learn to use the whole field. Then they finally get to a level where the pitchers are every bit as talented, and they can't adjust.

Can't some of these dead-pull hitters even lay down a BUNT the other way? The way some of these shifts are set up...a well-placed bunt could go for a DOUBLE.

[BELMONT 6-6-09]

lost a lot of interest in MLB as the game has changed for the worse imo.

* The strike out level is astounding
* The whining of the so-called stars and the shifts
* The ridiculous amount of key injuries every year
* The lack of fundamental play
* Bunting is virtually a lost art
* Starters content to go 5 innings (tell that to Seaver or Gibson)
* Pitchers in-ability to command their pitches and throw strikes
* The lack of hustle by certain players who seem to be saving their energy
* The hitters rant when a pitcher throws inside

I could go on and on but you get the picture. when I was 5 years old in 1965 i knew every player in the game. It was a magical time then when the sport was a game and not a business. What a shame!

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by BELMONT 6-6-09

lost a lot of interest in MLB as the game has changed for the worse imo.

* The strike out level is astounding
* The whining of the so-called stars and the shifts
* The ridiculous amount of key injuries every year
* The lack of fundamental play
* Bunting is virtually a lost art
* Starters content to go 5 innings (tell that to Seaver or Gibson)
* Pitchers in-ability to command their pitches and throw strikes
* The lack of hustle by certain players who seem to be saving their energy
* The hitters rant when a pitcher throws inside

I could go on and on but you get the picture. when I was 5 years old in 1965 i knew every player in the game. It was a magical time then when the sport was a game and not a business. What a shame!

I agree with pretty much all of this. The game has become pretty unwatchable. I don't know that pitchers are necessarily content to go 5 innings so much as they are now conditioned to that by pitch counts and even limitation on innings pitched when they are early in their careers. Team now carry seven relief pitchers on the roster and still manage to overuse some of them.

[thaskalos]

I watch the games more than I ever did...because now I bet on them on a daily basis. But the frustrating thing, from a bettor's perspective, is that the bullpens are getting more innings than ever before...and there is no reliable way by which to form an adequate handicapping rating for the bullpen. I know how to assess the prowess of the starting pitchers and the closers...but there is no way of knowing which middle-relievers will get into the game.

[Robert Fischer]

It's weird seeing stat lines from stars like Bryce Harper that make guys like Mickey Tettleton seem 'ahead of their time'.

[woodbinepmi]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Can't some of these dead-pull hitters even lay down a BUNT the other way? The way some of these shifts are set up...a well-placed bunt could go for a DOUBLE.

AMEN! Somebody teach these guys how to bunt and it would all stop.