For Giants, infielders adjust to new reality
As use of shifts grows, players have realized need to accept changes
Ty Cobb emerges from the cornfield looking for a ballgame. He steps into the lefthanded batter’s box, chokes up on the 40ounce telephone pole he starts to waggle and sees the third baseman take a few steps in on the grass to take away the bunt.
“Dandy,” Cobb thinks. “I’m just gonna knock that ball right past him.”
Cobb takes strike one and expects the third sacker to retreat a few steps. Instead, the defender runs to the other side of second base, where the shortstop oddly stood, while the shortstop jogs back to his normal spot — the only defender on the left side of the infield.
The Georgia Peach mutters a few nonpeachy words, throws his bat to the ground, spikes a batboy for giggles, then disappears into the cornfield.
Baseball evolves. In the information age, it evolves faster than ever, and there is no better example than defensive shifting.
It’s no longer enough to put three infielders on the right side for a lefthanded pull hitter. Teams
“We’re saving more runs than we’ve ever saved, but it definitely takes work.” Evan Longoria, Giants third baseman
are shifting multiple times within atbats, sometimes pitch to pitch, and even teams that were thought to be “old school,” like the Giants, are buying in.
“It obviously helps,” third baseman Evan Longoria said. “We’re saving more runs than we’ve ever saved, but it definitely takes work.”
According to Fangraphs, which uses data provided by Baseball Solutions Inc., the Giants have saved 10 runs this season through shifting, tied with the A’s and Blue Jays for 10th in the majors.
Baseball Savant, which relies on Statcast data, says the Giants have shifted in 22.8% of all plate appearances, which is middle of the pack in the majors and just under the 24.9% average.
Lest you think this is a Farhan Zaidi thing, the Giants under former general manager Bobby Evans and manager Bruce Bochy were moving in that direction. The Giants’ shift percentage rose from 4.1 in 2017 to 14.1 last season.
The shifterinchief is third base/infield coach Ron Wotus, who pores over the data and works with the infielders, pitchers and catchers daily to devise a plan for each hitter.
“The majority of guys we shifted on in the past were nobrainers,” Wotus said. “It didn’t matter about the pitch plan. They’re still going to pull the ball. But in trying to get an edge, the shifts have become more prevalent, and part of the key is making sure the catcher is on board and your pitch plan syncs up with your decisions on the shifts.”
It has become an intricate ballet that requires infielders to keep thinking and coaches to strike a balance between the numbers and the psychology of the pitchers and fielders.
Youngsters are indoctrinated into the world of defensive shifting early, even in college.
In a few years, it should be second nature to anyone who puts on a majorleague uniform. For now, players who have defended a certain way for 20 years or more have to get used to moving around, and pitchers are being told to trust numbers that show the shifts are helping them.
Pitchers still fume sometimes when groundballs that used to lead to double plays reach the outfield because of a shift, while forgetting the three balls up the middle that once were sure singles now are outs because the shortstop or second baseman is playing behind the bag.
“It’s tough on a pitcher,” Wotus said. “When you make a pitch and get soft contact and he dribbles one to that area, it’s not good. You feel like you did your job. It’s understandable.”
Giants fans probably notice Longoria and shortstop Brandon Crawford doing a lot of position swapping.
When a lefthanded hitter comes to bat — and by far more shifting is done against lefties — the Giants might put three defenders on the right side and leave Longoria at third, up on the grass, to take away the bunt.
Once the pitcher throws a strike and the Giants believe the bunt is off, Longoria will retreat and move into the shortstop spot or run to the secondbase side of the bag while Crawford reverts to the left side as the only fielder.
The idea is to have your best, rangiest fielder stationed where you think the batter is most likely to hit the ball. The more the pitcher gains advantage in the count, especially with two strikes, the less likely he is to drive the ball to the pull side as he moves into protect mode.
It’s not easy for a lifetime leftside infielder like Longoria to stand on the other side of second base. It takes work because, from a fielder’s perspective, balls slice and hook in the opposite direction from the other side of the bag.
Asked if shifting had become second nature to him, Longoria smiled and said, “Firstandahalf nature.”
Every team shifts differently. The Giants do not often station Longoria alone in the shortstop position because he does not have Crawford’s range or arm. Longoria is not terribly comfortable on the right side with a runner on first and less than two outs because he is not skilled at the second baseman’s doubleplay turn.
Teams are starting to move infielders deep into the outfield against some hitters, leaving just three defenders on the infield.
Wotus calls himself an oldschool guy, but he knows how to read the analytics. He just doesn’t trust them all the time. Some of this inevitably will be feel, and the disappointment of guessing wrong does not disappear.
“What the numbers say at the end of the day doesn’t do me any good if we didn’t shift or we did shift and we’re in the wrong spot, and it costs us a game,” Wotus said.
“When you get into playoff games and big moments, you can take all the probabilities in the world, but you can’t take away the heart of the hitter who wants to beat you.”