Joey Gallo Wants To Ban The Shift Because He's A Big, Fat Baby Who Doesn't Know How To Go The Other Way
Oh Joey, this isn't it. Gallo spoke to The Athletic this week and mentioned that the shift is getting out of control. While I do agree at times the shift is insane and looks ridiculous, I get why teams do it. Gallo complaining that he doesn't understand how he's supposed to get an extra base hit when there's 6 guys in the outfield is wild, he does know theres a whole other side of the field open and if he can adjust his swing he can put the ball there, right?
Last season the Tigers put on a death shift against Gallo, he's obviously a heavy, heavy pull hitter so they put a ton of guys on the right side in the outfield. What did Gallo do? Went up the middle for a single. And if you peek over to the left side, there is no one there, so use that side of the field! Baseball is a game of adjustments, the pitcher makes them, the fielders make them, hitters have to make them too. So if the shift gives you the entire left side open, a professional hitter should be able to adjust and take the ball that way.
Take what they're going to give you, Cano saw a wide open side and ended up with a bunt double. It works.
Gallo even did this once. Guess what, you do this a few more times and they wont keep shifting you so dramatically. It sucks because Gallo is a home run threat, and you don't really want a guy with that power bunting for a single when he could hit it 430. But if they're giving it to you and there is a small crowd in right field, bunt and I guarantee they wont keep doing it for long.
Bryce Harper, a guy who defenses shift on, has pulled this move quite a few times and I respect the hell out of it. Sure he could try and hit it around the shift into the outfield, but again, he took what the defense gave him. Think about what Tony Gwynn or Ichiro would have done with a shift, they'd become strictly left field hitters because they were that good at adjusting. Not every hitter is Gwynn or Ichiro, but every hitter should have that mindset to go up there, survey the field and if the defense is giving them an open field, take it.
And yes, Gallo has a point, I wrote about it last year saying "it may be time to get rid of the shift" when Detroit did that to Gallo, but I think it was just hyperbole. I also wrote in there how hitters must adjust, just try and go the other way.
See how Mike Trout adjusts to 4 guys in the outfield? He just hits it over them. Sorry Joey, I'm done feeling sorry for guys who get these extreme shifts put on them, learn to adjust and go the other way. I don't think shifts are going anywhere.