Just a few years ago, Major League baseball teams began employing the “overshift” defense — disproportionately loading fielders onto the one side of the field where a pull-hitter is statistically more likely to hit the ball.

It bewildered an older generation of baseball fans that the tactic has endured. They see the obvious openings for a bunt or well-placed opposite-field hit; and they’re equally perplexed that today’s overpaid star hitter more often refuses to bunt, preferring instead to hit directly into the overshift, and then complain that such tactics should be outlawed.

The old-timers trust the rules. They trust the game. It’s the backward thinking of some of the younger players that worries them.

This little new wrinkle in America’s pastime has become a metaphor for America itself. There was a time when adversity brought out the best in us; when we seized a new circumstance as opportunity.

Politicians who once challenged: “Ask not what your country can do for you” now campaign by promising voters the most free stuff; or better yet, promising to build the highest wall against outsiders.

And we all need to be reminded that there’s nothing wrong with the rules — but the backward thinking of some of the players is becoming worrisome.

Monday’s Butler Eagle included a story about Saudi farming interests buying large tracts of farmland in the semi-arid regions of Southern California and Arizona, intending to grow and export alfalfa hay to feed its 170,000 dairy cows back home.

For decades, Saudi Arabia tried to grow its own water-intensive crops for food rather than rely on farms abroad. But it reversed that policy about eight years ago to protect scarce resources.

To further conserve water, the kingdom has banned selected crops like wheat and alfalfa.

Already, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are significant buyers of American hay. Together they accounted for 10 percent of U.S. exports of alfalfa and other grasses last year.

Water is nearly as scarce in the Southwest as it is in Saudi, particularly after years of drought. In a free-market economy, high demand and low supply means water should be expensive. When California residents are being urged to take short showers and remove grass lawns to conserve water, officials should make sure the Saudi farms are charged a premium for irrigation water.

But there’s a fine regulatory line in the Southwest, where agricultural interests take priority for limited water resources. The regulations favoring farmers were what attracted the Saudis in the first place, even though the acreage was significantly more costly than elsewhere.

In their case, the price for water should be steep enough to compel the Saudis to grow — or buy — their alfalfa in a location where water is more plentiful.

It would seem that hay would be cheap and plentiful where there’s abundant water. Ultimately, that’s how the free market is supposed to work.

In this instance, the Saudis are not villains, and the rules don’t need to change. Let the market do what the market does. Watch and wait for opportunities and trust the rules of the game.