Kevin O'Sullivan goes off on crazy shifts Jac Caglianone faces: 'It's unfair'
After weeks of facing some creative shifts, Florida slugger Jac Caglianone is getting some vocal support from his head coach against the tactic.
Caglianone’s absurd power at the plate has given teams reasons to sit back in the outfield and hope it can get to his knocks, but many teams have taken the shift to some real extremes. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan doesn’t think it’s entirely fair.
After a game against USF in which the Bulls employed a very heavy shift against Jac Caglianone, O’Sullivan spoke out.
“I don’t like the shift, it’s unfair for left-handed hitters,” O’Sullivan said, according to GatorCountry’s Nick Marcinko. “The game is to be played with three outfielders and four infielders.”
That’s certainly not how things have been playing out of late.
You can check out an image of the USF shift against Caglianone on Tuesday night, the latest that triggered O’Sullivan’s comments about the practice. But the Bulls are far from the only team that has employed a heavy shift against the Florida slugger.
Auburn, Columbia and others have used it, with varying results.
Tennessee, though, might have used the biggest shift in a recent series. The Volunteers essentially had five outfielders, with four shaded toward the right field side of center. Check it out below.
In any case, Caglianone has still dealt plenty of damage. He homered against USF on Tuesday night, his 27th of the campaign.
Caglianone tied an NCAA record earlier this season by hitting a home run in nine consecutive games. He’s also made other school history.
He has passed some half-dozen of the program’s best home run hitters in recent weeks. He sits second all-time with 67 career home runs, just seven shy now of Matt LaPorta‘s school record of 74.
If Jac Caglianone can keep his current pace, he’ll have a decent shot to tie or break the mark … if Florida can make a decent postseason run.
In any case, you can expect teams to continue to take extreme measures against one of college baseball’s best hitters. He’ll be ready for it, fair or not.