The signals from 236 major league games played under the new rules indicate the stolen base environment will have a bigger impact on strategy than the ban on shifts.
It’s much too early to draw conclusions, but there are trends emerging. Batting average on balls in play is up from .290 to .299—which is something, but only enough to bring the game back to where it was in 2017. Balls in play per game are actually down slightly because of increases in the walk and strikeout rates. The shift ban has helped open the game, but maybe not as much as many people (such as lefthanded hitters) expected or hoped.
The bigger change is how easy it has become to steal bases and how often teams are doing it. Among the first impressions:
