“I Might Get Some More Hits” – Freddie Freeman Calls For Change in Restrictive MLB Rule

Major League Baseball is still grumbling under the lockout. But with no play currently ongoing, perhaps this is the best time to work out the rules once baseball resumes. The game has recently come under some scrutiny recently because of its field shifts and the inability of some hitters to get the same slugging consistency as before.

However, in a recent report by the Athletic, experts and players take a deep dive into the current state of the fielding regulations and how they see improvements coming along. Not the least among them, Freddie Freeman.

Freddie Freeman specifically spoke about how shifts can affect the left-handed hitter’s perspective on run-scoring. Speaking about shifts in a more general sense, Freeman elaborated about how things changed for him as a lefty hitter when shifts started becoming common in the Major Leagues.

A shift in baseball is effectively a positional re-assignment of players on the diamond and in the outfield to cover more hitting angles. These are usually carried out differently against right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters to cover maximum hits and keep the runs to a minimum.

While there exist several types of shifts that a team may choose to make, there are also some key observations that the Athletic report brings out in the statistical analysis.

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Freeman opens up about line drives and possible changes

So while clear that there is a marked difference in his performance between the two scenarios, Freeman spoke about what it is exactly that bothers him. Said Freeman, “It’s just the one up the middle is the one that gets me.”

While the shift of the field that puts a rover in the right field does not seem to bother him as much, the central fielder seems to be a spot of bother, specifically, when it comes to line drives. Said Freeman, “You’ve been taught your whole life to hit a line drive up the middle — and now you’re out.”

Speaking about what changes he would like to see be made to the shifts, Freeman had a few suggestions. Specifically speaking for lefty hitters, he added, “So maybe if they eliminate that (fielder up the middle of the park), and they keep the shortstop on the left side of the bag, I might get some more hits.”

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Freddie Freeman speaks about shifts in Baseball

Freddie Freeman, ever the gentleman, made clear that he took no issue to the promulgation of the shifts as they were taking place. However, there was to be a difference if the shifts were becoming too common. Freeman was top of the charts in the list for shifted batters in the sport and saw a 60 point drop in his batting average as against batting without a shift.

You’d think the solution was easy. If the fielders are making a shift to field heavy on one side of the outfield, just hit on the other. However, what we don’t account for when we think like this is pitcher skill. Said Freeman, “It’s not that easy. I wish it was, or I’d do it more often.”

The job of a Major League hitter includes covering a variety of pitches and most times it isn’t as simple said as done. “I’m trying to cover five pitches. They’re all moving. One is like 98 mph. And I’m just going to be able to do whatever I want and hit a ball to the left side?” added Freeman.

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And even while the shift seems to be favoring pitchers at the moment, we could soon see hitters accommodate and acclimatize to the new era and hit accordingly. But is a regulation regarding the shift necessary at this point from the League’s standpoint? Could the game not stand to profit from a contest between the pitcher and hitter?