Quote:
Originally Posted by z28jd
Joey Gallo said he gets paid to hit doubles and homers so he doesn't even try to go the other way. I would say that other players feel the exact same way. He wouldn't even need to learn to go the other way. He could bunt for hits a few times and it will stop. Heck, with how far they play him off of the third base line, he could get some doubles on a good bunt. He could even put the odds in his favor by using a bat with a bigger barrel to bunt. Since he's not swinging it, who cares if it is heavier. If they give you a hit, take it. Make them adjust to you.
The shift is easy to beat if you want to beat it, but current hitters have the caveman mentality of swing hard and hope for the best. As someone who gets paid to watch minor league baseball, I can tell you without a doubt that it's only going to get worse. There are very few hitters with a nice approach at the plate and even less who change their approach in situations, and no one ever has a two-strike approach anymore. That mindset doesn't exist.
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My guess is most teams have hired a literal genius to crunch the numbers and attempt what you’re suggesting and the analytics based on thousands and thousands of outcomes has said the team is better off not doing it. I like Buck as Manager on the Mets because he’s a bit old school but even he is doing math on games. If you toss the math aside over the course of the season that could hurt a little.