Face guarding, the ultimate shift.

I was wondering if you could put more than one player in the catcher's box. The extra catcher might block the view of the umpire but a single catcher could do that too simply by standing up, which catchers did into the 1930s.

Catchers once stood upright and roamed the earth much like their human counterparts. Wednesday, March 26, 2014


Then it occurred to me. Put fielders directly in front of the batter. A penalty kick in soccer is defended by multiple players forming a line to deny the kicker an opening. A line of defenders in baseball could do the same thing.

Obviously, they would need a lot of protection but think about it. A wall of defenders smothering batted balls.

But wait again. Such a line could deny the batter the ability to hit the ball by blocking the batter's view of the pitch. Actually, a single defender might accomplish that.

This puts the shift into an entirely new light. If some people are talking about the incredibly stupid idea of banning the shift in its current very conventional form, they would become apoplectic about my suggestion.

Face guarding is banned in football and basketball. Baseball would likely follow suit.