Effectively Wild Episode 1583: The Shift in Conversation

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley reflect on the recent protests, statements, and strikes across the sports world and in MLB specifically, touching on why some teams did or didn’t opt to play on Wednesday and Thursday, the messages that those decisions sent, and whether this week will mark a lasting break from MLB players’ past apolitical tendencies. Then (24:34) they welcome shift-doubting Baseball Prospectus author Russell Carleton and shift-endorsing Sports Info Solutions analyst Alex Vigderman for a knock-down, drag-out debate (OK, maybe more like a friendly discussion) about the present and future of fielder positioning, in an attempt to answer a few pressing questions about how MLB does defensive alignments: Is it possible that the shift is actually increasing scoring? If so, why are teams shifting more often every year? Can teams shift more effectively than they do now? And what can we learn from the, er, shifting perceptions of the shift over time? Audio intro : Bill and Joel Plaskett, " Solidarity " Audio interstitial : Snowgoose, " Shifting Sands " Audio outro : Ty Segall, " I Am Not a Game " Link to FanGraphs’ Jon Tayler on MLB’s scattered response Link to Brodie Van Wagenen video and transcript Link to Bradford Williams Davis on the Mets mess Link to video of Mets and Marlins Link to statement by The Players Alliance Link to David Roberts on rethinking kneeling Link to Shakeia Taylor on Jackie Robinson Day Link to Marc Normandin on players taking a stand Link to Michael Baumann on MLB’s apolitical foundation Link to Ken Rosenthal on players exerting their power Link to Russell on killing the shift Link to Russell on room for nuance in the shift Link to video about the Mets shifting less Link to Tom Tango on shifting Link to Matt Trueblood on shifting Link to leaguewide shift rates by year in the Statcast era Link to Ben on outfield shifting Link to Alex on the latest uptick in shifts Link to Alex on shifts being added to Defensive Runs Saved Link to Alex on the most extreme catch locations Link to FanGraphs post on the 2020 DRS update Link to article about the Tigers shifting in 2020 Link to Josh Levin on what early sabermetrics got wrong Link to The Fielding Bible, Vol. V Link to Russell’s book, The Shift Link to the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Facebook Group Effectively Wild Wiki Twitter Account Get Our Merch! Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source