No Need for Illegal Defense in MLB

by Joe Holland

Tom Verducci posted an article today at SI.com about the need for an illegal defense rule in MLN and I have to say Tom, I completely disagree. 

His argument centers around how with the rise of the defensive shift in the last ten years, that left handed batters specifically have seen their batting average and babip decline over that time significantly.  He wants to see the SS or 2B not be allowed to shift any farther than 2b, leaving only two infielders on either side of the bag.  He acknowledges that the shift may not be the only factor involved here, but he focuses on it and that MLB cannot continue to sell a product that doesn’t score boatloads of runs.  

So what does his stance on this subject mean?  That smart defense should be penalized?  That slow footed pull hitters need to be elevated back up and rewarded for being one dimensional players? Why couldn’t we desire to have athletes that can hit the ball around the field?  These players exist and do not have a shift employed against them because they are well rounded hitters. A well rounded hitter renders this silly argument null and void.  Instead he wants hitters that can only hit the ball to the right side and prevent the defense from waiting for the ball where they almost always hit it?  If one of these hitters he cites, let’s say Curtis Granderson of the Mets, were to hit the ball down the 3rd base line while the shift is on, he easily gets extra bases than he would have with the shift not on.  Why not desire to have players do that? That sounds like more offense to me.  Tom laments that none of those left handed hitters were in this years all-star game, because players who don’t have shifts employed were hitting well… it is quite “sad” that the fans picked GOOD players to be part of the ASG.

Joe Maddon is quoted in the article that we can’t fix the players that are already in the majors, that it is organizational training to pull the ball.  I don’t really understand why this strategy has been employed when you think about it.  For it is ALSO each organizations training to employ the shift.  So you are telling me that you are teaching your defense to eliminate pull hitting and teaching your left handed hitters to pull the ball into the shift you KNOW the rest of the league is playing?  If this has been going on for the last 10 years, someone in baseball must have realized this and I do not accept this as being truth.  

So Tom, I’m sorry that the “extinction” of left handed hitters hitting for power and average is in full force.  Perhaps out of this extinction we will see a rise of quality left handed hitters.  We would be lucky to have more left handed hitters like the recently deceased Tony Gywnn, who if he were playing today would have never seen a shift.  I want that.  I do not want to tell a SS where he can and can’t stand.  If he wants to risk playing out of position, let him.  Until you can hit it where he isn’t, then you aren’t going to be much of a useful major league baseball player.