Boras calls defensive shifts 'discriminatory' against lefty hitters

Defensive shifts have garnered some notable critics as they've grown in popularity over recent years, and super-agent Scott Boras has joined the chorus of detractors.

In an interview with Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports, Boras said extreme shifts are "discriminatory" against left-handed hitters.

"You want right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters to be treated equally," Boras said. "I think you have to (legislate) having two players on the other side of the (second base) bag."

Over the last decade, the batting average for left-handed hitters has steadily decreased from .265 in 2009 to .246 in 2018. While it's not definitively attributable to defensive shifts, the implementation of the tactic has grown over that span. The OPS of left-handed players has also decreased league-wide by just under four percent (.763 to .733).

However, left-handed hitters have kept pace in comparison with right-handed ones. By wRC+ - a statistic that measures hitters against the league average - lefties have been at or just below the league mean in each of the last ten seasons. Further, the batting average of right-handed hitters has followed a similar trajectory over the last decade, dipping from .260 in 2009 to .245 in 2018.

Defensive shifts have been a polarizing topic since Major League Baseball's commissioner Rob Manfred stated he would be open to banning the fielding alignment back in 2015 when he assumed office. Since then, debates have occurred, but the league and players association have not addressed it despite ratifying a new collective bargaining agreement prior to the 2017 season.