![]() "Joe Maddon and Tampa, they were at the forefront," free-agent hitter Mitch Moreland said. As a result, defensive setups that put fielders in those spots have increased dramatically over the past decade. Over the years, technology has allowed for more precise data to be gathered on where batters tend to hit the ball. ![]() "I smoked a one-hopper up the middle and he made the play and I was like, 'Damn, that should be a hit.' "I remember playing the Cardinals when Tony was there and one day they had a second baseman almost up the middle on me," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. But until recently, the alignment was rare enough that it made a lasting impression when employed. Ted Williams famously did face the shift. Our circumstances are that a ball up the middle is not a hit. "All those people in the Hall of Fame, they were playing under their circumstances. "That's the way we saw it for a long time," Rizzo said. It's hard to find a player - batter or even pitcher - who isn't for some regulation. "Ultimately, the new joint competition committee will determine whether the benefits of banning extreme shifts are worth the new 'intrusion' of limiting where teams can position their fielders within fair territory." "The best rule changes are ones that provide the most benefit to the style of play with the least amount of intrusion on competition or disruption to the game we love," league consultant Theo Epstein said in an email. Who is the best prospect not in MLB right now? Here are 8 top candidates.The expectation is to require two infielders on each side of second base before the pitch is thrown - potentially with all four of them prohibited from starting on the outfield grass. The league is working toward a rule that would regulate the shift - and, for the first time, mandate where players besides the pitcher and catcher can stand on the baseball diamond. That help might be on the way - as soon as next season. ![]() "And a credit to how good pitching is, because hitters are starting to need help now. "It's a credit to how smart the game has become," Rizzo's Yankees teammate Joey Gallo said. Many a hitter has cursed the trend that has caused them so much angst, ever growing in an era that has seen the use of analytics become commonplace across the sport. His sentiments sum up the yin and yang of a word that many hitters - and baseball purists - think should be four letters long. "Then again, I hit a couple balls in the gap against the Blue Jays and I'm headed right to the dugout." "The four outfielders, I kind of like, because it gives you room to hit a ground ball and get a hit," Rizzo said. But recently, other teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers, have taken things a step further by employing four outfielders against the 12-year veteran. Rizzo, a left-hander who is pulling the ball 52.6% of the time this season, has had the defensive alignment used against him for most of his career. "Looking at the shift doesn't bother me," he said. Anthony Rizzo shook his head, a slight smile on his face, as he stood next to his locker in the New York Yankees' clubhouse.
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