Question for Jays fans

by Matt Swartz on Aug 13, 2010 10:01 PM EDT

My name is Matt Swartz, and I’m an author at Baseball Prospectus. I’m doing some research on the infield shift (where three infielders play on the right side of second base for a left-handed hitter), and the data is a bit hard to come by. Since I know what a great resource the SBNation blogs are, being a former writer at one myself, I thought that some of you could give me some help.

I am curious who has gotten shifted against on your team MOST of the time, AND who your team regularly has shifted against in your division over the last 18 years. To jog your memory I am listing the lefties and switch-hitters that your team has had in the last 18 years that have hit at least 20 home runs.

Thank you for your help.

LHB

Adam Lind
Lyle Overbay
Carlos Delgado
Eric Hinske
Darrin Fletcher
Brad Fullmer
Shawn Green
John Olerud

SHB

Jose Cruz

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I'd say...

John Mayberry

by royshowell on Aug 13, 2010 10:21 PM EDT reply actions

I’ve only started watching recently but i’ve never recalled Overbay and Lind being shifted against o you can cross them off your lest. Both are good opposite field hitters

Toronto Maple Leafs: Nowhere to go but up!

by LeafFan1989 on Aug 13, 2010 10:57 PM EDT reply actions

I don't recall any of those guys getting the shift I could be wrong, definately not the current Jays

We use the shift on the typical guys, Ortiz for sure, Thome also.

by T_Mizz on Aug 13, 2010 11:04 PM EDT reply actions

I know we shift against Ortiz bigtime

Nobody on our current roster gets shifter against… which is surprising… I cant remember the last time i saw Lind hit a grounder hard to the left side.

Onions Baby Onions

by ohmybosh on Aug 14, 2010 12:51 AM EDT reply actions

well, not really

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_hitting_chart.jsp?c_id=tor&playerID=452252&statType=1

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Aug 14, 2010 9:04 AM EDT up reply actions

I had no idea Lind was such a pull hitter, based on his groundouts

They’re all to the right side, most of them are directly at the second baseman. Good thing is that when he sprays the ball around he gets hits, if you look at his hits on that chart it’s tough to pick out a definite pattern, I mean a lot of singles to right centre but really they’re all over the place.

by T_Mizz on Aug 14, 2010 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly

I dont know why more teams dont play the Ortiz-type shift against him.

Onions Baby Onions

by ohmybosh on Aug 14, 2010 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

probably because he's a totally different type of hitter

at least, when he’s going well

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Aug 14, 2010 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

he pulls all of his ground balls...

thats the only reason you’d play an infield shift against anyone.

Onions Baby Onions

by ohmybosh on Aug 15, 2010 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions

he has a lot of singles to left field

which were presumably ground balls. I think the shift would be counterproductive. What the chart shows is the more he hits to the opposite way and up the middle, the more hits he gets whereas most of his pulled grounders are already outs where he was beaten and rolled over. If you overshifted on him, I think he’d make you pay big time because he’s not a dead pull hitter at all.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Aug 15, 2010 7:42 AM EDT up reply actions

The only guy I remember getting that shift was Delgado. I am not sure if the shift worked too well against him because I remember him hitting the other way a lot during the shift.

by Joey P on Aug 14, 2010 7:37 AM EDT reply actions

Delgado got shifted on a lot

by Sum_Dim_Sum on Aug 14, 2010 11:52 AM EDT reply actions

I thought Wells gets a small shift

I don’t remember it being mentioned or seeing it any time recently though

Ball.

by Casusby on Aug 14, 2010 2:07 PM EDT reply actions

Only 2 Oppo shots this year, he is a pull type guy

by T_Mizz on Aug 14, 2010 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

for sure

but it’s rare to see a righty get much of a shift

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Aug 14, 2010 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Definitely Delgado. But I don’t think anyone else.

by GMac14 on Aug 14, 2010 2:32 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting thing I remember about Delgado

Is that he got shifted a ton throughout his career with the Jays, but teams stopped doing it during his monster years in 2000 and 2003. During these seasons, his BA was significantly higher than his career numbers and (IIRC) he actually managed to hit to the opposite field on a semi-regular basis, so teams didn’t shift him. In his other seasons with the team, when he would club 40+ homers but was a dead-pull, .260BA guy, they went right back to shifting him.

by SuckaMD on Aug 16, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions