Fansided · Mar 23, 2017
Anthony Hill’s Rant of the Week – The Shift by the Numbers
Ever since its introduction into baseball, “the shift” has taken over America’s pastime. Today, every team can be seen shifting into abnormal positions in a strategic attempt to get an out. But is the shift as effective as people believe it to be? And, is it helping the Mariners?
Although the sensationalist culture of baseball would tell you shifting is a fairly recent phenomenon, shifting is not as new as we think it is.
The shift was first used against Cy Young in the 1920’s and later used against Ted Williams in the 1946 World Series.
However, since 2010 the number of shifts in baseball is rising at an astonishing rate.