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One of MLB's many rule changes this season has been widely called a ban of the defensive shift, but that's not entirely accurate, as new Minnesota Twins outfielder Joey Gallo learned Friday.
Gallo, a dead pull hitter and one of the players most victimized by the shift, found himself once again hitting with a defender in the shallow outfield between first and second base in a spring training game against the Boston Red Sox.
In this shift, the Red Sox kept their infield near their usual positions, but moved left fielder Raimel Tapia to center field and center fielder Adam Duvall to the usual shift spot:
Why could the Red Sox do that? Well, the new MLB rule aimed to get rid of the shift by requiring all infielders to stay in the infield and have two of them on either side of second base at all times. The rules, however, say nothing about what teams can't do with outfielders.
If a team like the Red Sox is more worried about a line drive single to shallow right than a potential extra-base hit to an empty left field, it's still its prerogative to move the outfield as it pleases. Teams are also allowed to bring an outfielder in to form a five-man infield in a situation where defending groundballs is pivotal. The upshot is Gallo could still struggle to get the non-homer hits that have eluded him in his career.
Among players with at least 1,200 plate appearances over the last three years, Gallo's .236 batting average on balls in play ranks third-lowest in all of MLB, per Fangraphs. He hits the ball hard, isn't slow running the bases, had a fly ball rate higher than Aaron Judge and a line drive rate higher than Juan Soto last year, per Baseball Savant, but also hit into the shift in 90% of his plate appearances.
Combine that with a ghastly 39.8% strikeout rate, and you can turn an All-Star into a journeyman who hit .160/.280/.357 between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Whether or not Gallo can make a change, shift or no shift, will determine the rest of his career.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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