When MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred met the media last week, following the owners’ meeting in New York, he covered a wide range of topics. In the conversation he hinted that the days of the over shift on batters are numbered.
The fact is the shift defense on batters has been going on for decades. They shifted on Ted Williams. They shifted on Lou Boudreau. I could go on and on. But baseball believes the shift is taking away from the game’s excitement, so changes are on the horizon.
While surfing through You Tube one day, I happened upon a game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox on June 11, 1968. And guess what Eddie Stanky, the White Sox manager did? Correct. He employed the shift too.
In this podcast, I include a couple of play-by-play clips from Yankees broadcaster Jerry Coleman and then comment on banning the shift at the minor league level.
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They shifted back then too | Ep. 37