Every inning, Justin Turner jogs out to third base to play the position for the Dodgers. At some point in the inning, depending on the batter, Turner might move to his left about 80 feet to stand behind second base. Or he might move even farther afield and stand where the second baseman usually plays. Who knows where he’ll show up next?
Turner’s dance is not new to baseball. Major League teams have been moving players around the infield more and more for the better part of a decade. And the trend continues to skyrocket.
35,000 REGULAR-SEASON SHIFTS
25,000
15,000
5,000
0
’10
’12
’14
’16
’18
This season, teams played infielders in a position other than their traditional spots 34,673 times — more than 6,500 times above the previous record set in 2016. And that number counts only shifts when a ball is put into play — not shifts used when an at-bat ends in a walk or a strikeout.
But teams use the shift in different ways, as the Dodgers and Red Sox have shown during the postseason. Both teams use a treasure trove of data to decide where to place their defenders, but Los Angeles has logged nearly twice as many postseason shifts as Boston has when the ball is put in play.
SHIFTS
USED
POSTSEASON
GAMES
SHIFTS
PER GAME
Dodgers
119
13
9.2
Red Sox
56
11
5.1
In Game 1 of the World Series, for instance, Los Angeles had three infielders on the same side of second base 15 times, the Red Sox only 5 times.
Turner was by far the most traveled infielder in that game. Against a single hitter, the left-handed Jackie Bradley Jr., below, Turner showed up all over the place — playing three different spots in Bradley’s four trips to the plate.
Justin Turner
Dodgers 3rd baseman
1 time
8th inning,
runner on first
2 times
4th and 6th
innings, no one
on base
1 time
2nd inning,
runners on
first and third
Justin Turner
Dodgers 3rd baseman
1 time
8th inning,
runner on first
2 times
4th and 6th
innings, no one
on base
1 time
2nd inning,
runners on
first and third
Justin Turner
Dodgers 3rd baseman
1 time
8th inning,
runner on first
2 times
4th and 6th
innings, no one
on base
1 time
2nd inning,
runners on
first and third
Justin Turner
Dodgers 3rd baseman
1 time
8th inning,
runner on first
2 times
4th and 6th
innings, no one
on base
1 time
2nd inning,
runners on
first and third
1 time
2
1
Justin Turner
Dodgers 3rd baseman
The Dodgers’ second basemen — Brian Dozier, and later, Enrique Hernández, — didn’t log the miles that Turner did, but they were still busy. They played in the more traditional position only 10 times, or for about a quarter of the Red Sox batters. They played on the shortstop side of second base five times and they shifted to play more up the middle 22 times.
This photo shows the first Red Sox batter of the game, Mookie Betts, with Dozier on the shortstop side of second base.
1
10
22
5 times
Brian Dozier
Dodgers 2nd baseman
1
10
22
5 times
Brian Dozier
Dodgers 2nd baseman
1
10
22
5 times
Brian Dozier
Dodgers 2nd baseman
1
10
22
5 times
Brian Dozier
Dodgers 2nd baseman
1
10
22
5 times
Brian Dozier
Dodgers 2nd baseman
With Boston starting six right-handed batters, the Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado played in the traditional shortstop position much more often, about two-thirds of the time. But he did set up on the second-base side of the bag five times.
Four times, when he was the only infielder on the shortstop side of second (thanks to the wandering Turner), he played in on the grass, once against the left-handed Andrew Benintendi and twice against the lefty Bradley.
5
3
5 times
Manny Machado
Dodgers shortstop
25
5
3
5 times
Manny Machado
Dodgers shortstop
25
5
3
5 times
Manny Machado
Dodgers shortstop
25
5
3
5 times
Manny Machado
Dodgers shortstop
25
5
3
5 times
Manny Machado
Dodgers shortstop
25
The shift paid big dividends early for the Dodgers in Game 1. The image above is in the second inning with runners on first and third and one out for the Red Sox. Bradley hit a hard shot up the middle that looked like it would extend Boston’s lead. But Machado had him played perfectly, fielding the ball, stepping on second and throwing to first for an inning-ending double play.
Besides Machado’s double play, just how often have these shifts led to outs?
The Dodgers have used many more shifts in the postseason than the Red Sox and have accumulated more outs because of them. But if you consider the opponents’ batting averages on ground balls and short line drives — the plays the shifts are designed to defend — then the Red Sox have fared a bit better.
GROUND BALLS
SHORT LINERS
NO
HITS
BATTING
AVG.
HITS
Dodgers
61
10
51
.164
Red Sox
27
4
23
.148
As much as the defensive shifts have helped the Dodgers, they’ve also been victimized by them. Manny Machado and Todd Bellinger have each lost three hits to the shift, more than any other batters in the postseason.
Machado’s lost hits
Bellinger’s lost hits
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Braves, fielder’s choice
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Brewers, fielder’s choice
Machado’s lost hits
Bellinger’s lost hits
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Braves, fielder’s choice
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Brewers, groundout
vs. Brewers, fielder’s choice
Boston’s shifts were much tamer than the Dodgers’ in Game 1. Part of the reason was that the Dodgers started a lineup of all right-handed hitters against the lefty Chris Sale — a first for any team in the World Series.
So for the first 22 Dodger batters, the Red Sox generally played the same infield defense, with second baseman Ian Kinsler shaded well toward second base. At no point during Game 1 did Kinsler play on the other side of second.
8
30 times
Ian Kinsler
Red Sox 2nd baseman
8
30 times
Ian Kinsler
Red Sox 2nd baseman
8
30 times
Ian Kinsler
Red Sox 2nd baseman
8
30 times
Ian Kinsler
Red Sox 2nd baseman
8
30 times
Ian Kinsler
Red Sox 2nd baseman
After Sale came out of the game and the Dodgers started pinch-hitting some of their left-handed batters, Boston’s shift became a bit more interesting.
The shortstop Xander Bogaerts, having played in a more traditional position for all those Dodger righties, now played up the middle or on the other side of second base against the left-handers.
5 times
2
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox shortstop
31
5 times
2
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox shortstop
31
5 times
2
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox shortstop
31
5 times
2
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox shortstop
31
5 times
2
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox shortstop
31
5 times
2
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox shortstop
31
All of the extra shifting by the Dodgers has yet to pay the ultimate dividend in the World Series, with the Red Sox winning the first two games. Still, the Dodgers are likely to keep moving their infielders around as long as batters insist on pulling the ball no matter what. And because of that, Turner will continue to have one position in the box score and several on the field.
Bagikan Berita Ini
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