“The holes will be in different spots,” Rojas said. He views them as just the latest salvo in ongoing pitcher-vs.-hitter battle that’s ebbed and flowed for more than a century. Most stuck to their modern, pull-heavy approaches, in part because pitchers strategized to make going to the opposite field difficult – even big league hitters struggle to slap an up-and-in 98 mph fastball the other way.Īrizona’s Josh Rojas, a left-hander hitter, said he wasn’t particularly worried about the changes. MLB also mandated infield dirt have uniform dimensions in all 30 ballparks – the outfield edge must be 95 feet from the front of the pitching rubber.Ī few hitters – notably New York Mets star Jeff McNeil – adapted to exploit the gaping holes in the infield shifts with hard-hit balls the other way. The new rule states that all four infielders must have both feet within the outer boundary of the infield and two infielders must be on each side of second base when a pitch is delivered. 243 batting average last season, the lowest since 1968. “You’ve got to have range now as an infielder. “I’m sure some guys will like it and some won’t,” said former Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, a four-time Gold Glove winner. And two, stress on athleticism and range for those playing defense in the infield. The hope is twofold: One, a few more hits for lefty mashers like Kyle Schwarber or Corey Seager, who were among those hindered by the shift. One of Major League Baseball’s most visible rule changes for 2023 is a limitation on infield shifts, which had grown exponentially and are partly to blame for a league-wide batting average drop. There’s little doubt that hiding a couple bulky sluggers in the infield is going to be more challenging this season. “I don’t think you’ll ever see that again.” “They combined for a weight of over 1,000 pounds,” Counsell said, laughing. PHOENIX – Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell needed to add some pop to his lineup a couple years ago, so he put a few more big bodies in his four-man infield, sacrificing defensive range for offensive thump.
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