The Effects Of The Defensive Shift Ban On Major League Baseball Hitters’ Batted Ball Profiles And Offensive Success
Project Author
Issue Date
2024-04-26
Authors
Perkins, Score
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First Reader
Ormiston, Russell A.
Additional Readers
Nonnenmacher, Tomas W.
Keywords
shift , Major League Baseball , ban , rule change
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Abstract
The defensive shift was banned at the beginning of the 2023 Major League Baseball season to increase offense. The study aims to see how the ban on the defensive shift affects different types of hitters based on their profiles and offensive success. To test which kinds of hitters were affected most, the change in batting average on balls in play in 2023 was noted for all hitters who had at least 100 at-bats in 2022 and 2023. The statistics tested in the study are average launch angle in 2022, pull percentage in 2022, ground ball percentage in 2022, and fly ball percentage in 2022. There is room for future research as the results contradict each other. The P-value is significant and shows a slightly positive change in BABIP for hitters with higher average launch angles and batters who hit ground balls at a higher rate.
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Major
Business
Department
Business and Economics
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Honors
Business and Economics, 2024