Major League Baseball has gone through many changes over the years. New York Yankees slugger Joey Gallo is adamant that one new change in particular should be made. Gallo, talking to The Athletic, said he believes that MLB should ban the shift.
"I get the defensive strategies. I do. I am 100 percent not against that… But I think at some point, you have to fix the game a little bit…" Gallo said. "I don't understand how I'm supposed to hit a double or triple when I have six guys standing in the outfield."
He is not the first player (or fan) to bring this idea up. The shift has become extremely common in baseball. It's a particular defensive alignment in which teams will put extra fielders in spots where, statistically, a certain player usually hits the ball.
There are two arguments about the shift. One is that it is ruining baseball, the side Gallo seems to be leaning on. The other is that hitters need to improve and adjust where they hit the ball.
No matter what side you take, the numbers state that the the defensive strategy teams take has shifted in recent years.
The Athletics Jayson Stark reported that in 2013 there were about 6,900 shifts during the regular season. The number has increased drastically, with last season seeing around 59,000 shifts played during the regular season.
