Mike Schmidt: Why can't I just accept it's all about power?

I get it. Today the game is asking for home runs. The temptation is too great, analytics support it, and coaches coach it.

Small parks, maple bats, a new ball and shifting defenses have given hitters the green light to let it fly. Hitting into the shift is flat-out dumb.

I didn't hit against a shift, or in a small park, or with a new ball every pitch. I faced Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard and that Houston crew, but I didn't hit every day against a 6-foot-5 pitcher throwing 98 mph.

OK, so why can't I just accept that now the game is all about power?

It's the Year of the Home Run. Pete Alonso broke the rookie record with 53. The Twins had five guys with 30-plus dingers. Half the teams set franchise marks.

Why hit a groundball when 1 for 4 with three Ks and a home run is a great game?

To me, it's crazy.

Has baseball's charm given way to all-or-nothing entertainment, trading its subtlety — what made it special — for home runs and their partner, strikeouts?

What happened to the sac bunt, the hit-and-run, the squeeze, the A-B-C stuff that won games? My generation knew that understanding and executing fundamentals was essential to winning. These days, many of those have been eliminated.

Seems the only people who notice are us old folks.

We don't like the game to be given over to statistics and probability. Analytics provides managers the exact information they need on just about everything. Boggles my mind — how did they make decisions 20 years ago?

For hitters, there isn't much of a choice. Everyone loves the long ball. The lure of the home run is so hard to avoid.

Whoa ... not so fast, Michael Jack!

Maybe there's a good reason for this. Maybe numbers tell a different story.

Personal experience told me not swinging to put...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Mike-Schmidt-Why-can-t-I-just-accept-it-s-all-14551018.php