The home run became glorified with Babe Ruth. Starting with him, batters have been thinking in terms of how far they could hit the ball, not how often.
~Rogers Hornsby
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The home run became glorified with Babe Ruth. Starting with him, batters have been thinking in terms of how far they could hit the ball, not how often.
~Rogers Hornsby
Just a theory, but I wonder with the shift being banned next year, if batters will focus less on a launch angles and more on hitting line drives and hard hit grounders (up the middle/in the hole) with the result being less long distance blasts and more line drive homeruns……more homeruns, ones that barely make it over the fence.
That’s an interesting theory, and I can understand what you’re getting at. There could be a real shift in focus, for sure, and maybe a return to just trying to put the ball in play rather than trying to belt it. If that turns out to be the case, I’d be pretty thrilled about it. Like anyone, I enjoy home runs, sure, but small ball is significantly more exciting, in my opinion. There’s something about having runners on base and the suspense of wondering if the next guy in the lineup is going to pull through and knock them home that I find thrilling. With a home run, sure the excitement is there, but it comes to an end almost as quickly as it begins.