You’ve seen it hundreds of times over now, the overloaded infield with three infielders positioned on one side. But if you thought it has been commonplace for the Cardinals defensively, think again.
In their first four games of 2019, the Cardinals employed the shift for 10, 13, then 10 again, and seven plate appearances, respectively, according to Statcast. For context, only once in the span of 162 games last season did the Cardinals shift more than seven times–and that game with nine shifted plate appearances was an extra-innings affair. In fact, the Cardinals used the shift with less frequency against left-handed batters than any other team in baseball last year and second least often overall at just 4.