Encouraging Take on the Future of the Shift

[DitchTheDH]

I came across this tidbit towards the end of this article http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24142273/the-most-common-trade-deadline-mistake-mlb-next-big-thing (just above it is good news about the D.H.).  The bad news for our hometown boys is that they'll have to learn the fundamentals of hitting--or be winnowed out of the game:

On banning the shift:

The two best offenses in the American League, according to Baseball-Reference.com's OPS+, which is park-adjusted, have been the Astros and Red Sox. In the National League, the race for the top is a tight one between the Braves, Dodgers and Cubs.

The Astros, Red Sox, Braves and Cubs account for four of the six-highest team batting averages in the majors. This, I think, is a good reason to wait and see if current trends are defeated by an emergent preference for well-rounded hitters, those whose balls in play can't be so easily defended. If the best offenses are succeeding this way, others will follow by valuing that trait in the marketplace.

This shift thing is still pretty new. Let's not make it worse by introducing the kind of radical rule change that can carry with it all manner of unintended consequence. Let's see where we stand in a few years.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Nice post and good topic for general discussion!  Welcome!

[Minty Fresh]

If we agree to banning strategy we might as well embrace the multiple DH’s idea.