Big Papi takes opposing view of Hinch in regard to shifts
In a revelation that surprised few, David Ortiz said Sunday that he is no fan of defensive shifts.
The most feared lefthanded hitter of the last decade, affectionately known as “Big Papi,” estimated he had “500 hits” taken away from his probable Hall of Fame career by extreme defensive positioning on the right side — a shift, introduced by then-Rays manager Joe
Maddon in 2006, that now bears Ortiz’s name.
“It seems like it’s taking some of the fun part of the game away,” said Ortiz, the former Red Sox great who managed the World team during Sunday’s Futures Game in Washington, D.C.
Last month, commissioner
Rob Manfred acknowledged the competition committee was in the “discussion-analysis” phase — but not a decision phase — to limit or even ban defensive shifts.
The idea seems “radical” to Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who arrived in Washington alongside his six American League All-Stars on Sunday. Hinch said in June the problem of diminished offense does not lie with shifts but a lack of commitment to beating them by hitting to the opposite field.
Hinch’s club leads the majors in shifting this season, a title the Astros claimed in 2017 and 2016. They often shift division rival Joey Gallo — a lefthanded pull specialist — with a four-man outfield.
“To me, shifts are designed to take away the strengths of the hitter or what the tendencies of the hitter are,” Hinch said in June. “If those tendencies could change, then the hits would change. But it’s not a failproof situation where we’re not giving up something — we’re giving up half the field sometimes to some of these guys.”
Speaking from the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park, Ortiz used Washington’s Bryce
Harper, a familiar fellow lefthanded hitter, to illustrate his point. Though his OPS is .833 and his 23 home runs set a torrid pace, Harper enters the All-Star break with a paltry .214 batting average.
“And he’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Ortiz said. “So you ask that question to yourself: How come this guy is hitting .220? And you look, and he’s hitting line drives right in front of the right fielder, and it’s supposed to be a hit. Or hitting line drives up the middle, and it’s supposed to be another hit. And it seems like he has 20 guys playing defense against him. That answers your question.”