There continues to be talk that the current lockout of the players by the owners during negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement may result in some rule changes, including the odious banning of the shift: not allowing players other than the pitcher and catcher to stand anywhere in fair territory when the pitch is delivered.
"Hit 'em where they ain't" seems quaint and archaic. The quote is attributed to Willie Keeler.
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/willie-keeler/
Keeler himself suggested, “Learn what pitch you can hit good, then wait for that pitch,” but he is best remembered for his description of his hitting style to Brooklyn Eagle writer Abe Yager. “I have already written a treatise and it reads like this: ‘Keep your eye clear and hit ‘em where they ain’t; that’s all.’
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Willie Keeler: Bats: Left, Throws: Left. He was a natural lefty batter.
Keeler played 1892-1910 and hit only 33 home runs in 8,591 At Bats. Only two of his homers went over the fence on a fly, one bounced over (the bouncing rule was eliminated after the 1931 season) and 30 were inside the park home runs (IPHR). The two over the fence were hit at home in Orioles Park III in Baltimore and on the road in Boundary Field in Washington, D.C.:
| 1894-06-22 | BLN | PHI | Kid Carsey |
| 1896-06-27 | BLN | @ | WHS | Win Mercer |
Keeler played for the old Baltimore Orioles in the National League in 1894-1898, then returned to the three New York teams.
Keeler struck out 136 times in those 8,591 AB.
The shift is boring. Idiot strike out specialist Joey Gallo can't figure out how to beat the shift. And says so. Thursday, February 24, 2022
Joey Gallo has averaged more than 200 strike outs in his three full seasons...
New York Yankees slugger Joey Gallo while speaking to The Athletic shared his very strong thoughts...
“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… I don’t understand how I’m supposed to hit a double or triple when I have six guys standing in the outfield.” ...
Mickey Mantle and others who bunted for hits. Thursday, April 9, 2015
Mantle also hit 536 career home runs, led the American League in home runs four times and hit more than 50 home runs in a season twice. Mantle played on pennant winners in these seasons (BOLD when the Yankees also won the World Series): 1951, 1952 ,1953 , 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964.
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You're allowed to hit home runs to the opposite field ... and singles, doubles, triples. Let fielders stand where they want. Don't ban the shift.
Mickey Mantle: Bats: Both, Throws: Right. He was a switch hitter.
Home Run location for the 30 players with at least 493 homers. Monday, March 7, 2022
Willie Mays Home Run location. Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Joey Gallo: Bats: Left, Throws: Right. He's a lefty batter opportunist.
Lefty batters stand closer to the bases. Now they want the fielders to move out of their way? Friday, December 7, 2018
150 years ago for some bizarre reason two batter's boxes were created. This let players in the lefty box start running about a step and a half closer not just to first base but to all the bases...
That's why MANY players chose to bat in the lefty box. Notice I've refrained from calling them left handed because they are not. Those who chose the lefty box rather than assigned to it by left handedness at birth were lefty batters of opportunity. They threw righty but chose to bat lefty because of the advantage, which predated the curve ball...
Curve balls are more difficult to hit by batters in the same box as the pitcher throws. Example: a righty batter has more difficulty hitting a curve thrown by a righty pitcher. And about 72 percent of pitches have always been thrown by righty pitchers.
So that's TWO huge advantages for lefty batters.
In recent seasons batters have pulled the ball more than ever to try to jack it out of the park. 2018 was the first season in which strike outs exceeded hits.
With the addition of ever increasing data on where balls are hit by individual batters, teams have shifted their fielders to stand where batters are most likely to hit the ball in specific situations.
Teams can afford to play an extreme shift more against lefty batters because the fielders have been moved closer to first base where an infield out will be recorded. Shifting like that against righty batters moves fielders away from first base.
So the historical advantage for lefty batters is now working against them but only because they are too stubborn or incompetent to do the Willie Keeler thing...
The objective is not to hit the ball hard but to hit it away from fielders. One way to do this is to hit a home run over a wall. But even in this extreme home run era that still has a relatively low percentage of success.
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Let fielders play anywhere. Do not ban the shift. If MLB does ban the shift, boycott MLB. Shift your time away from MLB.
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