Instead of outlawing defensive shifts, perhaps MLB players should simply adjust

Ask Royals first baseman Lucas Duda the last time he saw someone break up a double play by taking out the pivot man and he says, “When Chase Utley broke our shortstop’s leg.”

At the time it happened, Duda was a New York Mets player and the shortstop was Ruben Tejada.

Ask Duda if he thinks it was a dirty play by Utley, and he says no. Duda likes the way Utley plays and thinks Utley was just doing his job: taking out the pivot man with a hard slide. It was just unfortunate that Tejada got hit while in an awkward position.

Duda then makes it clear that if a Mets pitcher had decided to hit Utley’s with a pitch the next time Utley came to the plate, that wouldn’t have bothered him, either.

For years, this was how baseball policed itself.

But after the Utley play, MLB rules-makers decided to get involved and changed the requirements for attempting to break up a double play. They defined a “bona fide slide.”

Even though it probably wasn’t what the rule makers had in mind, now you see runners peel out of the base path early because they’re afraid if they break up a double play, they’ll be called out anyway.

An exciting play has been taken out of the game.

Buster Posey and plays at the plate

After San Francicsco Giants catcher Buster Posey got his leg broken during a collision at home plate — and, once again, a throw put the player receiving it in a vulnerable position — baseball changed its rules on plays at the plate.

Even though catchers in possession of the ball can still block the plate, these days you see catchers set up several feet out in front of home plate, receive the ball and then turn and attempt to make a tag on a sliding runner.

Runners who would have been out in the past are now safe because the catcher has such a long tag to make from the point they receive the ball.

Even though it probably wasn’t exactly what the rules-makers intended, once again an exciting play has been taken out of the game.

New rules and unintended consequences

According to a recent story by the Associated Press, “Declining attendance is a concern, and the sport’s owners worry that slower games with less action on the base paths are taking a toll.”

So after changing the rules and taking two exciting plays out of the game, baseball is worried that there isn’t enough action on the base paths.

Now some people are talking about outlawing defensive shifts because when they work, they cut down on offense. It’s been suggested that a new rule should require two infielders to be positioned between first and second base and two infielders be positioned between second and third, and maybe those players should be required to stand on the infield dirt.

But as we’ve already seen, new rules often have unintended consequences. One possible solution is to let the players figure things out on their own.

If it’s a game of adjustments, adjust

Royals manager Ned Yost has said if it were up to him, he’d outlaw shifts. But Yost also said that if teams were shifting him when he was a player, he’d be out working on his bunting every day.

Later, Yost said that’s what he thinks now ... but as a player he might have resisted the idea of bunting. He has also said that he had a hard time hitting the ball to the opposite field.

Some hitters might have difficulty learning to hit the ball the other way against a shift, but Mike Moustakas, who was traded from the Royals to the Milwaukee Brewers late Friday night, has shown it can be done. In 2014, Moustakas hit .212 trying to go through and over the shifts; but after working on hitting the ball to the opposite field, Moustakas hit .284 in 2015.

If a hitter shows he’s willing to accept a bunt or opposite-field single against a shift, Yost said, depending on the situation, he might quit shifting against him.

But a lot of today’s players haven’t adjusted their games to take advantage of defensive alignments that leave half of the infield wide open. So those players continue to see defensive shifts.

Guys who can bunt for a hit or put the ball in play to the opposite field are said to be able to “manipulate” the bat. And not enough hitters work on those skills. Right now, the game is obsessed with home runs, but singles can win games, too.

So while some people think the rule book needs to be modified, others think it’s the players who need to change.

If it’s game of adjustments, adjust.

This story was originally published July 28, 2018 at 3:12 AM with the headline "Instead of outlawing defensive shifts, perhaps MLB players should simply adjust."