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The infield shift ban is no big deal

Reports that surfaced Sunday regarding Major League Baseball and its players union agreeing to ban defensive shifts as early as 2023 has triggered much discussion on the topic and had me pondering whether I liked the idea or not.

At this point, I’m not completely sure where I stand, but I’m learning toward liking the idea.

As an older baseball fan, I grew up in the era where shifts weren’t nearly as big a part of the game as they are today. And I have to say that I found it reassuring to know that when a batter stroked a pitch up the middle, most of the time it was going into center field for a base hit.