Who Killed MLB Doubles and Triples — Causes and Solutions

This article digs into how today’s analytics-driven outfield is quietly changing Major League Baseball’s offensive landscape. As doubles and triples drop to historic lows, the sport faces a real question: should MLB let deep, perfectly positioned outfields keep doing their thing, or step in to bring back the extra-base hits that once electrified fans?

The Vanishing Double: A Historic Dip in Extra-Base Hits

Across MLB, the gap shot that used to be routine is fading fast. Doubles per game have hit their lowest point since 1992, and triples have sunk to a level that ties the lowest ever recorded.

Since 2007, teams have “lost” nearly 1,500 doubles. Since 2015, more than 300 triples have disappeared from the stat sheet. These aren’t just stats—they’re the line drives that used to rattle around the alleys and the chases that turned routine jogs into all-out sprints.

How the Outfield Turned Into a Run-Prevention Machine

We’re not seeing weaker hitters or softer contact. The big change is smarter, deeper, and more precise outfield positioning. With advanced analytics and Statcast data, teams treat the outfield like a living heat map.

Every pitch, every hitter, every count—they’re all data points. Clubs don’t just stick outfielders where tradition says, but where the data predicts the ball will land. That includes not just left and right, but crucially, how deep they play.

Why Deeper Outfields Mean Fewer Doubles and Triples

Back in the day, outfielders played a bit shallower and dared hitters to go over their heads. Now, the logic’s flipped. Teams guard the gaps and the wall, cutting off extra-base hits even if they give up a few more singles in front.

It’s a subtle but powerful shift. Balls that once split the alleys now end up in outfielders’ gloves, often without much effort at all.

From Extra-Base Hit to Routine Out

Hitters notice. Take Freddie Freeman, who’s always made hard contact. Balls he smoked into the gaps years ago now get tracked down by outfielders playing several steps deeper, turning likely doubles into loud outs or maybe just singles.

Freeman and his peers aren’t hitting the ball any less hard. League-wide, exit velocities haven’t dropped. What’s changed is where the defenders wait.

The Role of Athleticism and Pitch-by-Pitch Precision

Analytics don’t tell the whole story. Today’s outfielders are faster, more agile, and better conditioned, which makes optimized positioning even more effective.

They’re not just standing in smarter spots—they’re also covering more ground after the ball’s hit, closing what used to be safe landing zones.

Hyper-Targeted Defensive Schemes

Teams now customize outfield alignment with extreme granularity. They adjust based on:

You’ll see outfield depth change from pitch to pitch. A power hitter facing a high-velocity fastball might see three outfielders at warning-track depth. Next batter up, a contact hitter, and those same defenders move in.

Baseball’s Central Dilemma: Strategy vs. Spectacle

This evolution puts MLB in a bind. Teams use all the info they can to prevent runs, just like they should. But that efficiency quietly strips away some of the sport’s most exciting moments.

Doubles and triples get the crowd buzzing—the ball splits the gap, runners fly, defenders scramble. When those plays disappear, the game feels more static, more like a home run or bust, walk or strikeout.

Should MLB Regulate Outfield Positioning?

Former executive Theo Epstein and others have floated a controversial fix: outfield positioning rules. Just like MLB restricted infield shifts to bring back singles, it could set guidelines for how deep or far shaded outfielders can play.

The goal? Bring back:

It’s a big debate in today’s baseball: how much should the game embrace data-driven strategy, and when does it start costing us those unpredictable, thrilling plays that made so many fans fall in love with baseball in the first place?

The Future of the Gap Hit

Where MLB lands on this issue will shape the next era of the game. If nothing changes, the deep, analytically tuned outfield will keep suppressing doubles and triples.

This approach rewards the smartest defenses and the most powerful bats. But if new rules come in, maybe we’ll see a revival of the classic gapper.

Imagine the racing outfielder and the headlong slide into third—those heart-pounding moments that used to define baseball. Right now, the battle over outfield depth is really a battle over what kind of baseball fans will get to watch in the years ahead.

 
Here is the source article for this story: The gapper is dead: Who killed the double and triple — and what can MLB do about it?