New commissioner Rob Manfred said last month that he might consider banning defensive shifts to help boost offensive production, but it didn’t seem like a very well-thought-out suggestion -- how would you implement such a ban? -- and it doesn’t sound like there’s much support for it in MLB front offices.
This blurb comes from Nick Cafardo’s weekly Sunday notes column in the Boston Globe ...
General managers actually took a vote on defensive shifting at their November meetings in Phoenix, and only approximately 4-6 wanted to eliminate it. Agent Scott Boras is against defensive shifting, and is in agreement with commissioner Rob Manfred in having discussions about eliminating it. Boras cites a number of reasons, among them lefthanded pull hitters not being rewarded for hitting the ball hard and where it’s pitched (a mantra taught by coaches as players come up through the ranks); the effect it may have on amateur players down the road; and the possible increase in strikeouts.
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