Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Crowding the Plate Episode 5: Defending the Infield Shift

Joe Girardi wants to ban the infield shift after he used it and it cost his team. Joe and Greg debate if the shift is a good idea and why it's popular.

The infield shift is a hot topic again after Joe Girardi advocated for it’s banning after he used it and it didn’t work for him. Joe and Greg thought this made zero sense, so they defend the infield shift and discuss whether or not it is a good strategy for stopping hits from dead pull hitters. They also go into how long the shift has actually been around and why it has become more popular in recent years.

Also, the first Red Sox-Yankees series goes down this weekend in Boston, why is Joe, a crazy Red Sox fan since youth, far from excited about it? Tyler Collins also delivered the fans of Comerica Park a one fingered salute on Monday night. Why did he do that and does it offend Greg as a Tigers fan?

Music in this episode:

Intro/Outro: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sung by Edward Meeker and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” by The Isotopes Punk Rock Baseball Club

Break 1: “Bamboo” by The Hard Lessons and a quote from the Seinfield episode “The Visa”.

Break 2: “Dirty World” by StaggoLee and quite from Major League.

Hosted by Joe Hojnacki and Greg Hessen, Crowding the Plate is a weekly baseball podcast here on Last Word on Sports. It aims to cover the fun, yet analytical, side of baseball once a week.

Joe Hojnacki writes about soccer for Last Word on Sports and is also co-host of the Crowding the Plate Podcast. An avid Red Sox fan, Joe idolizes Bryce Harper and feels that his fun showmanship is the way to save baseball from becoming overrun by old folks, and from dying out.

Greg Hessen is the resident Tigers fan on Crowding the Plate. As somewhat more of a traditionalist, Greg longs for the days of pitchers hitting in the American League and a landscape that doesn’t include things like bat flips and PEDs tarnishing the greatest of all games.

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