Sac Bunting?

I think it all depends. There are definitely times to sac and times not to IMO. First I think it depends on who you are playing both team and pitcher. If you feel you are better, then don't. If you think it might be a 2-1, 1-0, 3-2 type of game then do even early in game. If it is late in game and a sac can move a runer to third with less than 2 outs, I am all for it, especially if it is tying or lead run. But even then depends on who your hitter is. Is he one of best hitters, is he "hot" right now?

Basically I believe in sac bunt in certain situation and other times not. So many factors it is hard to cover them all. Good coaches do it properly most of time, but like everyone, they make decisions that don't always work (one way or other).

Not a real good answer, I know. But I think as I said initially. It all depends

Originally Posted by Passion4baseball:

I am interested to hear any thoughts about sac bunting in the high school game.  A fan not a fan?  Is it too many free outs? Etc.

Passion,

The 1^st thing you need to understand about baseball at the HS level, is that in GENERAL, every time a ball is put into play in the IF, the chances of a snowball fight is definitely there. It’s better than all levels below, but the levels above make better plays because the skills are better. That said, a sac bunt at the HS and below level carries with it a pretty good chance of an out not being recorded. That means it’s a pretty good offensive weapon because if the ball is put into play, there’s a very high probability that the result will be a positive one for the offense, i.e. either a runner(s) will move up or the batter will reach safely and the runner(s) move up.

In the end, its very seldom that a FREE out takes place. The only time that happens is when the lead runner is forced, and that’s not often.

Passion,

First, there are several posts here on the topic that you can search.  There are some very good baseball people on this site who make good arguments against giving up the free out.  But most of those folks and/or their sons went well beyond HS level, so I think they may tend to forget the frequency of defensive chaos at most HS levels when a good bunt is put in play.

I agree with Chef's post.  We are a pretty good mid-level program in Calif.  We consider many factors and he covered most of the key points.  I lean toward using the bunt frequently in HS provided you have your players executing them well.  There have been years where our hitters were strong enough, I rarely bunted.  Where I tend to differ with others is I will even use it early, working for one run and an early lead instead of going for a big early inning.  Against a good opponent in a competitive game, I hate missed opportunities to score at least one, thus creating momentum in our favor..  That said, I understand the other side of the coin and it does depend on the hitter's strengths and speed or lack of, opposition, gut, etc.

To somewhat offset that conservative approach, when I bunt early in a game, it will usually come with instruction to try to bunt for a hit, squaring a bit late to give yourself a chance to reach safely (and trying to work the ball a bit more aggressively toward the line).

I am 3b coach and dictate our offensive decisions.  Once in a while, our HC will over-ride me.  Over the long run, it seems to be a wash who is correct more often.  Of course, you can't know for sure what the result would have been with the opposite decision.

I have seen many games where playing for one and moving runners via sac bunt snowballs into big innings, even at a pretty decent HS level. 

Coaching 3B,  I seldom sac from first to second, opting much more often for hit and run when the straight steal isn't a good choice.

But I sac more than most with runners at first and second, no outs, and also with runners at first and third.  On sac bunts, I like to get two-for-one.