No. 1 LA Angel who will benefit most from MLB banning the shift: Shohei Ohtani
All LA Angels fans remember just how dominant Shohei Ohtani was in 2021, correct? Of course they do--he had the greatest season in not only baseball history, but sports history. Now imagine him being even better, which will be the case for Ohtani once the shift is banned. Check out these numbers from Ohtani's season last year:
Can you imagine how dominant Ohtani will be once the shift is no longer in place? It won't be fair to face Ohtani. It already isn't, so just imagine how electric Ohtani will be once the new rules are set. Imagine the TV ratings on Angels games. We won't be able to see him bunt for hits against the shift, like he did last year, but we will likely be able to see something even greater.
The Angels will be a better team when the shift is done with. Not only will three of their best hitters benefit from it at the plate, but their defensive performance won't dip one bit. Anaheim can't wait to get back on the field for 2022, but 2023 will likely be even better.