Sorry I’m late; I was busy protecting my dog from being eaten by a ravenous … well anyway, in that sense I suppose I am a terrierist. Anyhoo…
Rarely do you see not one, not two, but three consecutive batters bunt — especially in today’s “grip it and rip it” baseball culture. Last night, however, the A’s did just that to push across the two winning runs in the 12th inning of a wacky 4-3 win.
So today, let’s talk bunting. A few notes from me, and then feel free to chime in…
– I think in general the A’s show terrible fundamentals when they try to bunt, but a glorious exception was Daz Cameron’s bunt single in the 12th. He squared around with the bat actually at the proper angle and then did what so many A’s hitters don’t do and that is gently push the bat to the ball and guide it to the ground. It was a beauteous example of how to lay down a perfect bunt.
– Then the A’s got lucky twice, as Max Schuemann made one classic mistake and Nick Allen another. Schuemann bunted it sharply too close to the mound and only Hector Neris’ inability to field it and throw it properly saved the day. Allen bunted it in the air where it should have been caught had Yainer Diaz put his glove anywhere near where the ball was. But it all worked out.
As for bunting strategy, while I’m not a big fan of the old “hey let’s make an out on purpose” strategy, there are times when it makes more sense. Here is my short list of situations that do actually warrant bunting:
1. You are trying to score the one run you think will be the last run in the game, have a runner at 1B with 0 outs, a poor hitter but good bunter at the plate, and two good hitters to follow.
Note that even these situations are very dependent on context, such as: “Is Mason Miller available for the next half inning or will you be relying on a reliever you normally would avoid in a close game?”
2. You have 2 on, 0 outs, and a decent bunter up who is not a great hitter. Times when this makes the most sense are when the batter is a big risk to bounce into a DP, and/or your best hitters are up next, e.g., Schuemann followed by Butler-Rooker-Bleday or Wilson followed by Rooker-Bleday-Brown.
What I do like about getting to “2B and 3B, 1 out” is that it forces the infield to make a key concession: either they play back and concede a run on a lot of ground balls, or they play in and give the hitter a lot of holes for a hit that can score 2 runs.
3. You are bunting with someone capable of bunting for a hit with the default of “at least moving the runner over”. Nothing wrong with running your hand up the bat in the quest not to make an out.
So to me there are times bunting is a useful skill and strategy — but it is extremely situation dependent not only on who is up, but also who follows, what pitchers you have available and how much you should be willing to give up a better chance for a crooked number.
In other words, bunting has a place in baseball but mostly it should be decorative.