[MattyC]

Yes, indeed. I agree. Players are primarily paid to help win games. Shoot a double or clutch single the opposite way occasionally, and opponents will ease up on the shift-- then more pulled balls fall for hits, too. Sluggers aren't getting paid to watch their averages drop from .295 to .216 the way Tex's have been going. The game's history is littered with elite sluggers who used the whole field and batted for good averages, in addition to power. Any hitter getting paid big bucks should try, with hard work, to add dimensions to their game that will help them and their team improve, bottom line. Stubbornly making out after out into the shift is not good.