The Major League Baseball lockout remains ongoing with no end in sight.
The league and players' union are still battling over many different issues. Both sides need to come to a resolution on a new collective bargaining agreement soon or the start of the 2022 regular season will have to be delayed.
Another debate that's going on in the baseball world is what steps can be made to make the game quicker and more exciting.
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These discussions often involve the defensive shift. The shift has been around for many years, but it's been used quite often in recent years as teams look for any edge possible against the best hitters.
New York Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo had some interesting comments on the shift in a story by The Athletic's Jayson Stark published earlier this week.
“I get the defensive strategies,” Gallo told Stark last summer. “I do. I’m 100 percent not against that. But I think at some point, you have to fix the game a little bit. I mean, I don’t understand how I’m supposed to hit a double or triple when I have six guys standing in the outfield.”
FOX Sports' MLB account tweeted this quote from Gallo, and Boston Red Sox legend Fred Lynn reacted to it with a strong take of his own.
This debate is an interesting one.
It's a little odd seeing so many players on one side of the field when a pull-hitter is at the plate. It's not hard to understand the frustration from players like Gallo.
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Conversely, if Gallo and similar hitters don't like the shift, they should be better at using all parts of the field. Show that you can hit to the opposite field (or bunt) and the shift won't be used against you so often.
In regards to Lynn, there's no doubt Ted Williams could beat the shift -- he's arguably the greatest hitter ever. But no player today hits like Williams, so using him as an example in this debate doesn't make much sense.
There are a bunch of changes baseball could consider making to improve the sport. The adjustments that would shorten the game should probably be higher on that list than banning the shift, though.