Defensive shift restrictions
At the moment the pitch is released, the defense must have four infielders with both feet on the infield dirt, two on each side of second base. The full-shift era is over — no parking three infielders on the pull side.
- Two infielders on each side of second base, all four on the dirt, when the pitch leaves the pitcher's hand.
- Players cannot swap sides mid-inning to exploit the rule.
- A violation is an automatic ball; if the pitch is put in play, the batting team may choose the result of the play instead.
- Outfielders are unrestricted — a four-man outfield is still legal.
The shortstop is standing on the right-field grass when the pitch is delivered.
Ruling · Illegal alignment. The umpire adds a ball to the count, or the offense can take the play's result if the ball was hit.
Illegal-alignment balls change counts, and legal alignments change where balls in play find gloves — both show up in the box score as ordinary events.
Reference note: one or more section citations on this page are being verified against the current official rulebook edition. The explanation reflects the rule as played; confirm the exact subsection in the official text.