by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Just think what would happen to you and millions of drivers if, there was a new law in the United States of America, in which we all would have to drive on the left side of the road(like in England)and all our cars would have the steering wheel on the right side of the dashboard. In a way the very “popular” shift today in baseball has frustrated many hitters. Today’s computer generated technology gives each team and manager a full list of the tendencies of each hitter, where they usually hit the ball, where they do not. Obviously this technology was not available before.

Fans simply believe that hitters should hit(slap the ball)where there are no fielders. But anybody that has played baseball, knows that one of the most difficult things to do, is to hit the ball where you want. A guy like Red Sox David(Big Papi)Ortíz, he has shown his frustration and his displeasure with the shift every time he comes to the plate. But Ortíz has been playing for 20 years, do you think it is easy for him to adjust? Yes, he is a talented hitter, but we are creatures of habit, and it is not easy to change your swing when you had great success for so long. It will be easier for the younger guys to adjust, and eventually most will.

Called the Boudreau or Ted Williams shift, used against Ted Williams during the 1946 World Series by Boston Red Sox manager Eddie Dyer, to “contain” and “get into the head”of a great hitter like Williams. It was devised on a blackboard in between a doubleheader by Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau. Today’s shift were standard to guys like Johnny Bench or George Foster when they came to the plate. But usually was reserved for those type of hitters.However, as I have seen with my own two eyes, teams now use the shift for .178 hitters with regularity. In some cases it looks like a joke.

Ted Williams was first man who hit against the shift, always refused to try beating the shift, because it would mess up his swing. Can anybody argue against Williams here? Have we seen anybody hitting .400 since Teddy Ballgame?

The great Ted Williams, maybe the best pure hitter in the history of the game, must be turning over his grave!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and the Spanish TV voice for the Angels and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com