Bunting Diagram

Let's try agreement on definitions, first

Traditional bunt: Deadening the ball so runners can advance

Push bunt: Two versions / approaches
- The hitter wants to roll the ball just out of the extended reach of the pitcher.
- LHH bunts the ball down 3b line, not too hard to the 3b can make the play, yet far enough away from the catcher. Use the Bear term "Perfect or Foul"!

Bermuda Triangle: Infield Area beyond the mound and between the second and first basemen where the triangle is visualized with the pitcher, 2b & 1b.
RHH push bunts has two varieties:
- Rolls down 1b base foul line. The term used is "perfect or foul" and applies to both foul lines, and push and drag bunts
- A RHH push bunt rolls to the middle of the Bermuda triangle, within the outreach of the pitcher, where the 2b's charge can not field it, and the first baseman is clueless.

I have also heard the term "no man's land" - and thought it meant either the Bermuda Triangle or the area down the foul lines

More later. (I may have to rewrite my rambled notes). Might also have to go find my again 'Baseball Playbook', and a real good reference.

Not a baseball fan of the slash hit. To me, it is a weak offensive attack against the defense. I realize it's used in girls/woman's fastpitch, and a lot. Sparingly in men's fastpitch, and yes it's around (lots of it in Wisconsin, and I hear ADM is cranking it up again but on a $5K budget)

Unlike Bear, I really like the slash for a couple of reasons/situations. It is very effective for teams that overcommit early after showing bunt. The slash should be shown early to lure the defense to move. As the pitch comes, the bat is drawn toward the back shoulder and the ball put in play in the middle of the field - where the SS or 2B have vacated.

For terminology sake, drag bunts are down the 3B line and push are toward the 1B side. Drags should be "perfect or foul" down the 3B line. Push bunts should be pushed toward the 4 hole...past the pitcher, pulling the 1B and confusing the charging 2B, roughly 5-10 feet from the grass edge/dirt.

Sacs need to be down and not at the pitcher. These do not need to be perfect but just away from the pitcher.

Squeeze - just get it down.

This is my philosophy and may differ from others.

Don't forget the fake bunt. I find it very effective in finding out how well coached or how baseball smart the other team is defensively. If I have a good runner on 2B, I will sometimes have my hitters show bunt early to see if the 3B charges.

What happens sometimes is the 3B will charge, there is not bunt and then either the player asks his coach if he wants him to stay home on the bunt or the coach will yell instruction out for this.

I've always used the squeeze a lot, regardless of the bats. It seems to be a forgotten 'skill' even when playing otherwise very sound teams. I've won more than a few games by having a middle of the order guy squeeze the runner in from 3B.

The other play to look at, if you a baserunner on who can get a GOOD jump AND has good speed:

Have a called play where the runner is going on first movement from 1B to 2B. The hitter is bunting (3B line most times) the goal is to get the bunt past the pitcher so the 3B has to field it. The runner advancing knows he's NOT stopping at 2B, unless he heard something from the 3B coach, he's never breaking stride and heading straight to 3B.

I have noticed more and more kids that don't know how to bunt very well at all. Sad when I have to teach 14 year old travel players how to bunt.

Also, drag and push are influenced by which hand the P throws with as well as his balance after throwing. A LHP who falls hard to the 3B side is a prime candidate for a push bunt and gives the bunter more room for error.

Where to bunt - so many variables.

For standard sac bunt, we practice by setting up lanes with a pair of cones on each side of the field, safely off the line but safely away from the pitcher (slightly closer to the foul line than the 45 degree imaginary line that would disect foul line and pitcher's mound).
The hitter should bunt to either lane, depending on pitch location.
If you have a runner on second, ideally you want to bunt to 3b but often, RH hitters will try this with an outside pitch and end up bunting hard back to P, so we allow for staying with pitch location.
Determining whether 3b or 1b is crashing or over-commiting, whether P is LHP or RHP and how athletic P is are other variables.

Bunt for a hit - we move cones more toward the foul lines. With the right guys, we'll allow for "bunt for hit" in sac situations. You'll have a much higher success rate on bunt for hit going to 3b - a decent fielding P will almost always make the play on something toward 1b.

As far as how far to bunt, field surface is a big variable. In any case, you don't want C to make a play within 8 - 10' of home and you obviously don't want to bunt too hard to allow for anything less than a do-or-die from the corners or P. Other variables are how much room each corner is giving, how well they move, etc. That's why you can't say to bunt exactly this distance or that. You basically want to split the fielders, wherever and whoever they are.

The hard push bunt is a thing of beauty when it works. The problem is, if not located just right, it is more likely to result in a double play than a standard sac. We only allow a few of our hitters to attempt this and they know who they are.
Remember, you can talk perfect location all you want, but pitchers are throwing with the intention of making it difficult to execute to that location.

w/r to raw hide and ash:

You may never see a slap bunt at the Major League level in your lifetime.

You may never see a slap bunt at the professional level your lifetime.

You may never see a slap bunt at the amateur collegiate level.

I never saw a slap bunt during the 16 years of HS Showcases that I directed.

I think it was at a Legion Mid-Atlantic Tournament in Virginia a decade plus ago that I saw a poorly executed slap bunt. From memory Pat Daneker was on the mound (~ 1994). A PA HS graduate, Pat pitched for UVA in 1995. This year the former majpr league pitcher, after several years in the NY Yankee farm system, is the pitching coach for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Professional Baseball Club.

You will never see a slap bunt from any power guys I watch.

Of course my memory has been in downhill mode for about 1/2 decade.

quote:

Originally posted by Bear:
...You may never see a slap bunt at the amateur collegiate level.

I saw one this past weekend at the UVA-NCSU series. I have seen it several times in SEC games this year.

Are we talking about the same thing? I am talking about a slash. You call it a slap bunt and mentioned it was done in FP softball. Two totally different things.

The Colgate Comedy Hour

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:
Are we talking about the same thing?
..... Two totally different things.

I know I was referring to same concept.
(and may I repeat (and not to be redundant), a
weak offensive approach to hitting. (I prefer
to teach the old way..... situational hitting)

Is known by several names.

First and foremost a "Swinging Bunt"

Other tags include (and is probably not limited to):
- Slap Bunt
- Slash Bunt
- Butcher Boy
- Slug Bunt

And as Casey Stengel would say: "You can look that up."

I am curious w/r to UVA vs NC State game where you witnessed it.
Which game? G1? G2? G3?
Which team?
Which hitter?

Am I sure you will remember the Colgate Comedy Hour!
But care to guess what baseball man did the follow on when the Comedy Hour lost the Colgate sponsor?

Leo Durocher on the NBC Comedy Hour

Yahtzee,

It just so happened, Leo was my neighbors best of friends. So many years ago......50+