Miami’s Luis Arráez Made the Rockies Look So Silly for Using a Shift Loophole

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Major League Baseball took big steps to eliminate defensive shifts from the game before the start this season but there are still ways teams can do it, which Colorado showed in Sunday’s loss to the Marlins.
And boy did this go terribly wrong for them.
With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth, the Rockies brought their center fielder, Brenton Doyle, into the infield. The rule states that you must have two fielders on each side of second base, so this was totally legal.
It was also a total failure on their part, as Miami’s Luis Arráez hit a single to an unmanned right field to drive in the game’s winning run.
Check this out:
NOW PLAYING: LUIS ARRAEZ'S GREATEST HIT. #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/vDm8fNqjW0
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) July 23, 2023
MLB fans crushed the Rockies for that move:
Rockies played a box n 1 and still got cooked https://t.co/D2sjUMzdCE
— tyler 🍿 (@klaylmao) July 23, 2023
If more baseball players had learned how to do this, the shift would’ve died on its own https://t.co/Q02mcSThrc
— Dan Gainor (@dangainor) July 24, 2023
The Rockies really thought "yeah, we can somehow get the best hitter in our division to roll over, bring in the outfield" https://t.co/jco2dWXFV3
— Netuno 🇵🇷 (@netunonextdoor) July 24, 2023
every time I have ever seen a team use the five man infield, it has failed. every single time. I can't believe teams insist on doing it. https://t.co/hgAftzi77I
— You Bunch Of Marks (@youbunchofmarks) July 23, 2023

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.
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