Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ Speaks Mind on New MLB Rules
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Major League Baseball announced the implementation of sweeping rule changes Friday. Foremost among those were the addition of a pitch clock and the ban on infield shifts.
First employed in the 1920's to combat Philadelphia Phillies left-handed pull hitter, Cy Williams, 'the shift' has been the bane of pull heavy hitters especially in the last decade.
Shifts are used now more often then ever, but with the new rules stating that there must be two infielders on each side of the second base bag before the play, that will change.
Ian Happ, the Chicago Cubs' MLBPA representative spoke with Casey Drottar following MLB's announcement. Though MLB players had voted against banning the shift and against the pitch clock, Happ was pleased with the new shift rules.
A switch-hitter, Happ bats from the left side of the plate more often than not. His positive estimation of the new rule resides in the fact that it should further open up the game for hitters.
"As a left-handed hitter, I think the shift going away is huge," Happ said. "There's a real skill to the game for left-handed hitters, when there's a guy on first, able to hit it in the hole. It makes it so that guys can't just throw you changeups because there's so many players over there."
When a left-handed hitter like Anthony Rizzo or Kyle Schwarber comes to the plate, there are often times five players to the right side of second base. When a power hitter like one of those players hits a line drive to the right side, they should be rewarded for their effort, in Happ's eyes.
"Those are going to be hits again. Those should be hits. That's a more appealing game than a guy smashing a ball and it looks like nothing because the guy in right field eats it up."
Of course, Happ and many players don't believe all the new changes are positive. Hated by many players, the pitch clock may be one of the most controversial new rules in the sport.
However, Happ's issues with the pitch clock stem more from the hitter's perspective than the pitcher's perspective. That is too be assumed of course, Happ is not a pitcher. One of the fallout rules from the pitch clock implementation is that batters only have one chance to call timeout in an at-bat.
The Cubs' who play at bitter cold Wrigley Field in April, might find issues with that compromise.
"It's brutal. It's cold. It's windy. If I can't see, and I call time once, am I not able to call time later in the event where the wind is blowing 20 miles per hour in my face," said Happ. "Am I not able to call time when I hit a foul ball and my hands feel like they're going to fall off?"
Of course, there is some leeway with those limits, but they're not codified, and players have every right to be concerned.
"The umpire has the discretion to give you time is something like that happens, but leaving it up to umpire discretion is a tough thing when you're looking at the back of a baseball card and getting called out on strikes."
Most of all Happ wishes that the players have been given more time to adapt to these rules, or that they had been engaged more gracefully, over a period of years, not one off-season.
"Guys having to change their routines or adapt the way they go about their business, and they've been playing this game for a long time at this level. Just some of the little things that would have helped players get behind it a little more."
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