The first weekend of Spring Training was definitely one for the books, but it was also very necessary.
We have already seen the rule changes for the 2023 season have an impact on games, and that's a great thing. On Saturday, a game ended with clock violation strikeout in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded in a tie game with a hitter having a full count: perfect. The earlier these situations arise, the longer that the umpires have to adjust to them. It's much better that a game end this way on February 25, than have it happen on March 25. There will no doubt be situations that will require a little bit of common sense when it comes to the new rule changes in MLB, and umpires need practice at it too.
With the pitch clock stealing the show in Week 1 of Spring Training though, we heard very little about anyone having problems with the biggest cosmetic change of them all: the elimination of the shift. The elimination of the shift made just about every game over the weekend better by bringing back one of the lost arts of baseball: defense.
Middle infielders were making plays by diving for balls and making rangy throws; it was a beautiful thing to see. While giving fans a better spectacle on the field that takes us back to the days of Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel, it will also put a much bigger magnifying glass on Braves shortstop Vaughn Grissom as he challenges for the starting shortstop role with the Braves.
Vaughn Grissom had four fielding errors in 42 games in 2022, that's a pace of 16 for the season, which would put him in the middle of the league WITH the shift. As Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael put it: it didn't matter that a lot of the greatest shortstops in the league didn't do a lot at the plate, because their defense was so good.
How will Vaughn Grissom stand to that pressure? Will he fold or stand out? I'm putting my money on the latter.