The Power Shift Didn’t Really Fail by Marc LeVine

‘You guys really need to understand all this analytical stuff that’s going on. Otherwise, if you do not, you’re going to deem yourself unemployable.’ - Joe Maddon, Baseball Manager

The power shift in baseball is a defensive strategy of fielders skewed from the traditional placement of players. Baseball managers employ the shift by placing their infielders on the field for well-informed defensive advantage over batters. ?They shift the defense to either side of the baseball diamond based on analysis of where in the field each batter tends to hit to.? The problem is the power shift works too well and makes for a much more boring and low scoring sporting event. Fans were losing interest in the game because of the extreme shift because too many well hit balls went directly into the welcoming gloves of players in the field.

Something needed to be done to return some excitement to the game of baseball and it was.

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Major League Baseball has not done away with the power shift entirely. However, because of the constant presence of the shift in recent years, particularly on left-handed hitters, MLB instituted rules in 2023 to get rid of extreme shifts. Players can no longer be dramatically out of position ahead of the pitch. These rules also only apply to infielders.? And now, batters can once again poke holes in the infield to get more base hits and more baserunners.

Here is the thing. What may be considered boring in baseball may be of great benefit to business leaders, who are much less interested in entertainment value than they are with enhanced revenue figures based on improved efficiencies and enhanced bottom-line results.

Analytics has been critical to business performance for many decades long before bean counting was ever applied to sports managerial decision-making.? In the old days, the only baseball analytics were on the backs of baseball cards.? They were meant more for Hall of Fame consideration than game day predictability.? Baseball managers had always made their moves on the field based on their gut reactions. They shunned analytical analysis, which they probably felt made them seem less heroic and flamboyant and more cerebral than they wanted to appear. Frankly, some baseball managers and their coaches are not that technically savvy or are just darn poor at math. Casey Stengel would NEVER have accepted analytics in baseball, but Oakland A’s GM, Billy Beane (“Moneyball”) embraced it and turned the concept into a winner on the field.

For those not familiar with Billy Beane and “Moneyball,” Beane is known for using advanced data analytics; Sabermetrics, to statistically analyze the data in baseball which aims to quantify baseball players’ performances based on objective statistical measurements. By setting strategy and articulating the metric to evaluate and acquire the players who would ultimately implement his strategy on the field, Beane’s sabermetrics approach brought about a cultural shift in baseball from the players and managers to coaches and scouts.? Beane started it all…and his system proved that there is science in sports.

What has happened is that time passed as it always does, and technology got a lot smarter than people. We all know that in any endeavor advantages are sought after and analytics tells some important stories and created confident predictability that cannot be overlooked.? Maybe it is not the “whole ballgame” in sports or business, but it is serious data to be strongly considered and factored into most business decision making.? It creates a “more informed gut.”? Anyone who may disagree with that appraisal is severely out of touch with the realities of the world. We have reliable data, and we must use it.? It is foolhardy not to.? If we choose to ignore analytics, we give others who do – including competitors – a clear advantage over us.

With engineers, we preach to the choir when it comes to most facts and figures.? But many apply analytics in their technical roles more than they do in the business part of their jobs. Making a computer run efficiently is much different than making a business run effectively.? These are different sides of the mathematical brain – The FAT sheet is very different from the spreadsheet. Technical professionals aspiring to management must recognize this and become more familiar with the many ways analytics apply to business decision-making.

The Author

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Marc LeVine is a graduate of Syracuse (NY) University with a degree in Industrial Psychology, Marc is currently Talent Acquisitions Manager at Thermo Systems. He is the recipient of the Excellence in Talent Acquisitions Award from HR Awards in 2021.

Marc's prior employment includes senior Human Resources and Staffing Industry management roles with Edgewood Properties in Piscataway, NJ, Brickforce Staffing in Edison, NJ, InfoPro Inc. in Woodbridge NJ and Plainsboro, NJ and Harvard Industries in Farmingdale, NJ, a former Fortune 500 company. He also served as Director of Human Resources for New Jersey Press, the parent company of the Asbury Park Press, Home News and Tribune and WKXW-NJ101.5. Earlier in his career, Marc served as Director of Career Services and Placement at Union Technical Institute in Eatontown and Neptune, NJ. In addition, Marc owned and operated Integrity Consulting Associates, a New Jersey based Human Resources and Social Media Marketing firm for 11 years. Marc also served as Council President in his hometown of Freehold Borough, NJ