The Lost Art of Bunting
March 12th 2009 21:28
The art of the bunt has become non-existent from the college gane to the major league level.
Since the steroid era, the majority of players focus more on hitting the long ball than working on the fundamentals of the game. A player will make more money for the amount of home runs he hits than for the amount of sacrifices he had in a season. As the saying goes “chicks dig the long ball”.
The worst is when a player can’t lay down the bunt. When there is runners on first and second with no outs, the batter is expected to move the runners over. It’s sad when they bunt it back to the pitcher and he throws to third to get the force out. It’s even worse when the batter squares to bunt and they pull the bat back after the pitch was thrown down the middle of the plate or they foul off the pitches. The chances to score runs are limited, especially on the major league level, so if a player can’t execute a bunt an opportunity is wasted.
This has become a lost technique in baseball, but everybody in a lineup should know how to bunt. It should be worked on during spring training and throughout the season. Even the best players on each team, including David Ortiz, David Wright, Lance Berkman, and Matt Holliday should practice because they could be asked in Game 7 of the World Series to move that winning run to third base in the ninth inning so the on-deck batter just needs to get the ball past the drawn-in infield or hit a flyball, and they win the game. It’s a fact that if teams execute the fundamentals they are going to be successful. Managers can’t always just sit back and wait for the long ball even if the “chicks” dig it.
Since the steroid era, the majority of players focus more on hitting the long ball than working on the fundamentals of the game. A player will make more money for the amount of home runs he hits than for the amount of sacrifices he had in a season. As the saying goes “chicks dig the long ball”.
The worst is when a player can’t lay down the bunt. When there is runners on first and second with no outs, the batter is expected to move the runners over. It’s sad when they bunt it back to the pitcher and he throws to third to get the force out. It’s even worse when the batter squares to bunt and they pull the bat back after the pitch was thrown down the middle of the plate or they foul off the pitches. The chances to score runs are limited, especially on the major league level, so if a player can’t execute a bunt an opportunity is wasted.
This has become a lost technique in baseball, but everybody in a lineup should know how to bunt. It should be worked on during spring training and throughout the season. Even the best players on each team, including David Ortiz, David Wright, Lance Berkman, and Matt Holliday should practice because they could be asked in Game 7 of the World Series to move that winning run to third base in the ninth inning so the on-deck batter just needs to get the ball past the drawn-in infield or hit a flyball, and they win the game. It’s a fact that if teams execute the fundamentals they are going to be successful. Managers can’t always just sit back and wait for the long ball even if the “chicks” dig it.
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