Yankees' Joey Gallo Wants MLB to Axe the Shift

New York's slugger is a fan of banning the shift, saying "line drives to the outfield should be hits."

Joey Gallo has one major suggestion regarding how MLB can improve the game, which he believes would enhance his own performance as a hitter.

The Yankees’ outfielder, who struggled immensely after the Texas Rangers traded him to New York at the deadline last July, wants the league to eliminate the shift.

“I get the defensive strategies,” Gallo told The Athletic last summer. “I do. I’m 100% not against that. But I think at some point, you have to fix the game a little bit. I mean, I don’t understand how I’m supposed to hit a double or triple when I have six guys standing in the outfield.”

“I think most hitters are pretty adamant on the shift, that they have to do something with it. I don’t really see many hitters going, ‘The shift is pretty awesome, man. They need to keep that.’ I think people understand that hitting is hard enough — but when you have guys standing in different positions where it makes it almost impossible to get hits, that makes it even harder, obviously. ... I think (that no-infielders-in-the-outfield rule) would be huge for the league. You can still shift, but you can’t put multiple guys in the outfield. And at the end of the day, I think extra-base hits are important. And line drives to the outfield should be hits.”

As a result of the shift, Gallo lost 29 hits and gained a mere total of 14 in 2021, per The Athletic. But this would’ve only raised his batting average from .199 to .209. so not such a dramatic improvement after all.

READ: MLB Insider Shoots Down Joey Gallo Trade Proposal

Gallo is a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award recipient. The 28-year-old slugged 38 home runs, drove in 77 RBIs and posted a 4.7bWAR and .808 OPS, while drawing 111 walks (most in MLB) last season. However, he led the league with 213 strikeouts and slashed .199/.351/.458 across 153 games.

Not to mention, his production took a nosedive after getting dealt to the Yankees before the trade deadline. In 58 games as a Bronx Bomber, Gallo slashed just .160/.303/.404/.707, struck out 88 times and drew 37 walks in 228 plate appearances.

With or without the shift, Gallo has struck out a total of 885 times and carries a .206 career batting average across 626 games, 2,014 at-bats and 2,401 plate appearances since making his major league debut back in 2015. In the same breath, Gallo has slugged 158 homers, posted an .821 OPS and has drawn 361 walks during this span.

Gallo is under contract with the Yankees for one more season, and if they are unable to trade him after the lockout ends, they will hope to see a better showing in his first full campaign in New York. 

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