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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Tom Verducci

Banning the Shift Has Not Changed How Baseball Is Played

Cody Bellinger Baseball Mookie Betts Dodgers Brewers Dansby Swanson DJ LeMahieu George Springer Paul Goldschmidt Yankees
Balls hit on the ground are less productive than balls hit in the air. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The path to winning the World Series begins this week in training camps in Arizona and Florida. When it comes to offensive baseball, that path is found in one place: in the air.

The ban on defensive shifts and the limit on positioning depth of infielders have opened the field for more ground ball hits—just not nearly as many as you think.

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