Sac bunt question
As we all know a sac bunt is not worth much unless you need just one run. I'm watching the OSU/UGA game and OSU has cashed in on a few sac bunts. One was actually an E-1 so they had runners on the corner. Just curious about the responses to the following question.
Say FSU is down or up by 1 in the 7th with a runner on 2nd and a hitter that tends to strike out a bunch up to bat. We'll call this hitter Ohmid Danish. Do you sac bunt with Danish? On one hand the sac bunt is at least a productive out, however you lessen your chances of a base hit but the batter doesn't really handle the bat all that well and is in the lineup for his superb defense.
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I would definetly have him sac bunt and try to move the runner, even if it means 2 outs.
But here is a different question, not to hijack this post, that has been bothering me since last night. I hope someone with more baseball scoring knowledge than myself can answer this.
I did not get to watch or listen to the UGA game due to other plans, but I did watch the replay on GameTracker. (If you have never watched a replay, it is pretty neat in that you can watch the whole game in about 5 minutes, batter by batter, play by play).
2 times in the 5th and 7th, our leadoff batter was scored as a out by " bunting". The first was a “bunt” to the pitcher. The second was a “bunt” that looked like a pop out fou to the 3rd baseman.
If these were truly bunt attempts, WHY WOULD YOU HAVE YOUR LEADOFF BATTER BUNT WITH NO OUTS? In both cases if I remember correctly they were a couple of our power hitters.
Were these “bunts” called by Martin or did the batter decide to bunt on his own (unlikely)? If yes to either situation, again WHY?
or
Is my ignorance showing and it is because if the batter hits a dribbler to the pitcher or 3rd baseman, the official scorer scores it as a “bunt”.
Just curious.
>-----:----:------>Spear 'em then Scalp 'em
A lot of it depends on the positioning of the defense...
There are times that a batter leading off the inning, particularly if he has excellent speed, will try to lay down a bunt to get on base. If this scenario is going to work, the bunt has to be played down the third base line. The bunt can only be right down the line our foul. If you pull it too close to the pitchers mound, you allow the pitcher to make a play on the ball, with a shorter throw. The other piece of the puzzle is that the third baseman has to be playing deep. Typically, I have seen this done on the first pitch of the inning. If the bunt is pulled down the line, it can work. However, if the ball is bunted poorly you get the results you describe above.
The advantages of this are two fold. If it works, you get a speedster on base and it is usually a surprise play, again this is why the third baseman needs to be deep. If you lay down a good bunt and it happens to go foul, you suddenly get the infielders thinking…meaning that third baseman will take a few steps in and may even break a couple of steps to home on the pitch. If that is the case, swing away and try to rip it down the third base line, either the third baseman will mishandle a hard hit ball or it will squirt through the gap.
Again, the keys to the play are a well placed bunt, typically on the first couple of pitches of the inning and a third baseman that is playing deep. Easier said than done.
I have no idea if these were called by Martin or not, but sometimes it can be an automatic play with certain batters, especially if they recognize that positioning. It can be an effective play if executed well. Obviously, those are big if’s.
Hope that helps…
Also a bunt is defined as...
a. To bat (a pitched ball) by tapping it lightly so that the ball rolls slowly in front of the infielders.
This could either occur by swinging at the ball or the typical bunt we think of when the batter squares to the pitcher. I’m sure you have heard the expression “swinging bunt,” the dribbler that rolls back to the mound.
Excellent.
Who knew one innocent tryst with a Nintendo Entertainment System would forever change Mike Martin’s career?
I don't specifically remember those as bunts
by Bud Elliott on May 31, 2009 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Again I did not watch the game. I am only going on the way it was scored on the GameTracker replay.
I was just surprised that a dribbler to the mound and a pop up to the 3rd baseman were ruled bunts.
I was even more surprised that Martin called, or the batter chose to, bunt. Especially with no outs and in both cases 2 of our power hitters. Maybe they were real bunts maybe they weren’t, I was just curious why they were scored this way and if anyone actually saw the batter square up. As always TC and everyone else here gave me excellent reasons and answers. THANKS.
>-----:----:------>Spear 'em then Scalp 'em
Say FSU is down or up by 1 in the 7th with a runner on 2nd and a hitter that tends to strike out a bunch up to bat. We’ll call this hitter Ohmid Danish. Do you sac bunt with Danish? On one hand the sac bunt is at least a productive out, however you lessen your chances of a base hit but the batter doesn’t really handle the bat all that well and is in the lineup for his superb defense.
I do not bunt here. In college baseball this is too early. The other team will have 2 or 3 more innings of at bats.

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