Another thing I found interesting on this site, since they are talking about ttaking the shift away, I found is that in 2014, the batting avg for balls in play was .299 for the season. This takes into account any time the ball is put into play and does not include homeruns as the defensive alignment cannot take away HR's.

.299 was the highest of the last 6 years.
2006-2008 it was between .300-.303.
In the last 50 years it was only above that 7 times. I am not so sure the shift really is doing much to lower the averages.

lhslep134;1700387 wrote:Quit yer bitching. I got a lot of people out at third base by using my lower left leg as a barrier absorbing cleats in front of the bag. Once I showed the umpire the runner never got his foot to the base, ump had no choice but to call him out. Resulted in a good amount of cumulative blood loss, but always worth it.

It is a good thing you didn't use your upper left leg...or the one in the middle ....I kid, I kid.

When I played in high school about a billion years ago, we had to tag the bag....no neighborhood play for kids. I still think they don't give you the phantom tag in most youth leagues....only the pros.

HitsRus;1700431 wrote:It is a good thing you didn't use your upper left leg...or the one in the middle ....I kid, I kid.

When I played in high school about a billion years ago, we had to tag the bag....no neighborhood play for kids. I still think they don't give you the phantom tag in most youth leagues....only

Youth leagues...not a whole lot of slick fielding double play combo's! and yeah...they usually have to touch the base.
Even at the HS level you have to be very, very close to it and they dont give you the leeway that MLB does. Much of it comes down to the initial throw. If it is right there and they dont touch second you have a chance, but if the throw is off a bit and you miss then ya see more HS umps not give it to ya.

I am not so sure the shift really is doing much to lower the averages.

maybe league wide, but I'm sure it's affecting some individuals more than others.

For your baseball historians/purists, how long have defensive shifts been in baseball? If it has been in baseball for as long as anyone can remember, then I have no idea how you can correlate that to the drop in singles around the league.

like_that;1700473 wrote:For your baseball historians/purists, how long have defensive shifts been in baseball? If it has been in baseball for as long as anyone can remember, then I have no idea how you can correlate that to the drop in singles around the league.

This was on my twitter feed yesterday. The Indians against Ted Williams in 1946:



It claimed he went 4 for 5 that game.

wkfan;1700384 wrote:And you sound like the middle school graduate, working in a minimum wage dead end job, saved my cigarette change for 2 years to be able to buy a ticket people who were sitting around me.

Thanks God many of the 'fans' left so that I could move during overtime and get away from that trash....

So, you are a pretentious ***** who went to a football game in a blue collar city. LOL, keep the lulz coming. OMG drunk fans at a football game! They cussed and stuff!!!!

like_that;1700473 wrote:For your baseball historians/purists, how long have defensive shifts been in baseball? If it has been in baseball for as long as anyone can remember, then I have no idea how you can correlate that to the drop in singles around the league.

spot on...I was going to bring that up. If you outlaw shifts, how does that affect stats? Does that make Williams the greatest hitter ever?

If this kind of stuff is going to mark the tenure of the new commissioner, we are going to wish for the good old days when Selig was in charge.

like_that;1700473 wrote: If it has been in baseball for as long as anyone can remember, then I have no idea how you can correlate that to the drop in singles around the league.

That's not true. That they existed in the 1940's doesn't mean anything. It's about shifts being significantly more prevalent now than in the past.

GOONx19;1700516 wrote:This was on my twitter feed yesterday. The Indians against Ted Williams in 1946:



It claimed he went 4 for 5 that game.

But but wut about teh singlez?

Changing defensive shifts is stupid. But then again, its baseball so pretty much the whole sport is stupid. Thankfully the boomers have all the money in this country and like boring things so baseball will be around for a long time.

^^^^the Indians are currently renovating Progressive Field to make it more attractive for millenials.... Upscale food options with tables and meeting areas for networking and meeting up with friends. Really a cool concept in viewing/attending games.

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Love that old pic of the Williams shift. How about that short "porch" down the line?

Looked up that 1946 Indians line up and didn't realize how bad they sucked that year. 68-86 with an outfield of scrubs. Infield halfway decent with Keltner and Boudreau.

Baseball seems to be an old mans game...Most young sports people would rather watch x games than a baseball game. I can watch about three pitches before I am bored to death with baseball. Being at the game is okay...but would not want to go more than about 2 games a year. The game is to slow, with no action and to much standing around.

rrfan;1700602 wrote:Baseball seems to be an old mans game...Most young sports people would rather watch x games than a baseball game. I can watch about three pitches before I am bored to death with baseball. Being at the game is okay...but would not want to go more than about 2 games a year. The game is to slow, with no action and to much standing around.

I don't know any "young sports people" that watch the X Games really. It's mostly all football, basketball, hockey and soccer

HitsRus;1700587 wrote:^^^^the Indians are currently renovating Progressive Field to make it more attractive for millenials.... Upscale food options with tables and meeting areas for networking and meeting up with friends. Really a cool concept in viewing/attending games.

It is because people are less in tune with the game and it is more about something to do.

Classyposter58;1700622 wrote:I don't know any "young sports people" that watch the X Games really. It's mostly all football, basketball, hockey and soccer

Right, who the hell actually watches the xgames. Sure if it's on I might flip to it, but ummm no. I know plenty of people who watch baseball, but it really depends on where you live. In neo there are definitely more than here in sc since they have no "team" other than the Braves.


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Call the games by the written rules, including the strike zone, and use technology to call balls and called strikes(now the most unfair thing about the game). The tell-tale that they don't strive to call by the rules is that the "neighborhood" play is not review-able, but tag plays are! If they called by the rules and enforced the catchers not blocking the plate without the ball, they would not have needed to institute the rule to limit collisions.

When no runner on base, time clock for pitch release(stepping off rubber would re-start the clock) that starts:
(1)when the catcher catches the previous pitch(unless a strike-out)
(2)when the pitcher gets the ball from the umpire
(3)15 seconds after out #1 or #2 of the inning

Batter with no one on:
(1)must be in the box within 3 seconds of the pitcher getting the ball, and continually after a pitch to him that the catcher catches
(2)can re-set the clock by stepping out of the box or calling time

No matter whether there is a runner on base or not, the offense is allowed only 9 step-outs of the box in a game(or time out calls), and the defense is allowed only 9 step-offs from the rubber(or time out calls). Extra inning games would call for adding two "play stoppages" for each offense and defense that could not be carried over to the next inning. Penalty for going over the limit to be a ball or a strike. A "play stoppage" would have to be used to discuss a play with the umpire or to video challenge a play.

Defense will not be charged a "play stoppage" for rubber step-offs that result in an out.

mhs95_06;1701664 wrote:Call the games by the written rules, including the strike zone, and use technology to call balls and called strikes(now the most unfair thing about the game). The tell-tale that they don't strive to call by the rules is that the "neighborhood" play is not review-able, but tag plays are! If they called by the rules and enforced the catchers not blocking the plate without the ball, they would not have needed to institute the rule to limit collisions.

When no runner on base, time clock for pitch release(stepping off rubber would re-start the clock) that starts:
(1)when the catcher catches the previous pitch(unless a strike-out)
(2)when the pitcher gets the ball from the umpire
(3)15 seconds after out #1 or #2 of the inning

Batter with no one on:
(1)must be in the box within 3 seconds of the pitcher getting the ball, and continually after a pitch to him that the catcher catches
(2)can re-set the clock by stepping out of the box or calling time

No matter whether there is a runner on base or not, the offense is allowed only 9 step-outs of the box in a game(or time out calls), and the defense is allowed only 9 step-offs from the rubber(or time out calls). Extra inning games would call for adding two "play stoppages" for each offense and defense that could not be carried over to the next inning. Penalty for going over the limit to be a ball or a strike. A "play stoppage" would have to be used to discuss a play with the umpire or to video challenge a play.

Defense will not be charged a "play stoppage" for rubber step-offs that result in an out.

Am a fan of electronic strike zone.

Not a fan of calling the strike zone by the old time rule. I think it should be modified. My reasons are stated earlier, but a bigger strike zone would lead to even less hitting that we have right now.


May seem extreme, but awhile ago HS implemented a rule where the batter had to keep at least on foot in the box between pitches. I am not sure if they still have that rule but when it came out it was pretty well enforced. Take the signs with one foot in and they get back to play quicker.