Man on 1st & 3rd. Bottom of the ninth 1 out. Down by1 . Do yo play for the tie ?

I agree that usually tying the game is job one. However, bunting isn't the only way, and in fact it takes a good bunt to score the runner from third. Perhaps the batter had a better chance by swinging away, and they weren't willing to pinch hit.

In some tournament situations (not of Olympic caliber!) a team may need to play for the win because they are out of pitching. Once in a while, MLB teams go for the win in extra inning games in order to save pitching for the following games.

Play for the win.

Have runner on first steal second to eliminate double play. With first base open batter sees more pitches out of the strike zone.

Before scoring the winning run, the tieing run has to be scored. Anything on the ground (not to third) should have scored the runner.

In this case, the batter did not put the ball in play in a manner that would have benefitted his team.

Usually your big strong guy is a better bet for a sac fly than a sac bunt. Maybe that's what they were thinking. The problem you face is, if you pinch hit for him you may as well tell him to bunt out loud because giving signs is pointless. And if you let him stay in and swing, you could see an unproductive out or worse, a DP. A true Hobson's choice, so it's tough to criticize the coach's decision either way.

Personally, I would probably let him swing away and hope that either he or the next guy would come through with a hit. I might start the runner at some point, though, to try to avoid the DP and maybe get the ball thrown around to score the run that way. This also enhances the possibility of maybe even starting a multi-run rally so as to win, not just tie. It could put 2 guys in scoring position, force an intentional walk and get you a bases loaded situation for added pressure on the pitcher and the defense.

This was against the Cubans and it was their 3rd 1 run loss. The pitchers was very seasoned and tough.

I still think a bunt or sqeeze play is the best call. If a pitchers job is to give the team a chance to stay in the game so is it the hitters job. That was an extremely important game and a small ball was the best approach since the hitter was 0 for 3 in the game.

Its a tough call. You could say since the hitter was 0-3 he was due. In a situation like this you are looking for a sac fly , base hit anything but a pop up , K or a double play. If you bunt it has to be a squeeze because a safety squeeze or sac bunt does nothing but put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs if he can not score on the bunt. If you steal 2nd and hope they kick it around so you can score and the runner gets hosed and you dont score then you are runner at 3rd with 2 outs. Its just a tough call.

The coach knows his players better than we do. I am sure he was looking for the big strong guy to sac him or drive him in. You still have a runner in scoring posistion with one out and two chances to get the job done. At some point and time its out of the coaches hands and in the players hands to get the job done.

If you know your guy is going to get the bunt down then of course you squeeze and tie the game. But thats a big gamble. If you dont get it down then you have 2 out and a runner at 2b. If he does it and it works he is a great coach. If he does it and the guy doesnt get it down then the coach is an idiot for doing it.

I probaly would have let my hitter do his job and hope he got it done. And if not I still have another hitter with a chance to get it done. But its hard to say without knowing the hitters. And its alot easier to make those decisions when you dont have to live with the outcome of making those decisions. I would bet the coach just left it in the players hands to win it or lose it and was not going to put it in his hands.

If you don't tie the game, you can not win it. So the smart play here is to let the batter hit with the hope of a SF or a failed DP. And still the chance that a gapper put you ahead in the score. The squeeze, or the hit and run or stolen base are possibilities but like Coach May said how you make a decision if you don't know the bunt ability of the hitter, the speed of the runners, etc...

These guys were or are MiLB players. The runners were very quick. The batter was over matched by the Cuban pitcher.

If my hitter was overmatched them I might go to the bench for a guy I feel could get the job done. But do I have a guy on the bench I feel better about in that situation than the guy that has already had three ab's under his belt and has seen the guy on the hill already? Its just a tough call. Give me 1st and 3rd with one out in that situation everytime and I feel good about my chances for the batter or the next batter to get it done. If you try to make something happen and it doesnt work everyone says what was that coach thinking he had two chances to tie the game and he ran his team out of the game. If you dont try and make something happen and both batters fail to produce then everyone says why didnt the coach try and make something happen.

Its a tough call and the coach went with the conventional play here. It could have worked out but it didnt. Thats baseball imo.

He also had the batter hit with the runner still on 1st. I can't even count the douible plays I have see in that situation.