FanPost

Gardy is not keen on the defensive shift

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Despite finishing in the middle of the pack among MLB teams in frequency and being the best team in baseball when it comes to employing the defensive shift, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire is kicking it old school in this article from FanGraphs.

In regards to questions about banning the shift, Gardy is quoted in stating, "I like two guys on each side [of second base]... Or at least keep them all in the dirt rather than in the grass... Yeah, I am old school in that respect." Our favorite former Twinkie skipper also went on to provide this entertaining bowl of word salad:

"I think Abner (Doubleday) when he set this game up a long time ago, he set it up the right way," said Gardenhire. "Boom, boom, boom. You know? I don't think you can, in football, put the whole line on one side? Can you put everybody on the left side of the field from the center? Would that be legal?... I'm just saying, let's try to keep it normal here... I was a shortstop. If you stuck me on the other side, then I became a second baseman. I played shortstop as a second baseman. That's confusing. That's Laurel and Hardy stuff."

So while the numbers from last season suggest that Gardenhire and his staff are embracing the shift, it's hard to believe that the manager is not doing so begrudgingly. However, it should be encouraging to Tigers fans that Gardy is willing to step out of his comfort zone and embrace more modern approaches to the game, even if he is old school. Perhaps you can teach an old dog new tricks, and for that, Ron Gardenhire deserves a Laurel and Hardy handshake.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.