Bunting Should Not Be A Lost Art
During every at bat, it costs you absolutely nothing to take a sneaky and very quick
glance and see where the first baseman and third baseman are playing. You will occasionally see one of them six or seven steps behind the bag and you can get a hit that is really "on the house."
RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS
In executing a good bunt toward third base, the right-handed batter must angle the bat down the first base line and try to make contact on the bat somewhere between the sweet spot and the end of the bat.
Slide the top right hand down just past the trademark on the bat as soon as the pitcher is releasing the ball, so the pitcher and the third baseman are not tipped off too early.
You pinch the bat with the thumb and an index finger, making sure your hand stays safely behind the bat.
You should put the bat right in the middle of the strike zone so you won't have too far to move the bat no matter where the ball is pitched.
Your bottom left hand is the hand that pivots the bat and the right hand guides the bat.
Try to deaden the ball so the surprised third baseman has a long way to come in and field it. Deadening the ball with the bat is referred to as "catching" the ball with the bat.
The ideal bunt should go very close to the third base line and not between the third baseman and the pitcher.
You do NOT want the pitcher to field the bunt.
By bunting and having the ball go very close to the line, it makes the third baseman's throw longer and from a much more difficult angle.
When the right-handed batter wants to bunt for a hit on the right side of the infield, he should try to push the ball just past the pitcher.
The batter should not square around, as in a sacrifice situation but should remain mobile and preferably be already moving toward first base as he is actually bunting the ball. His body should be turned more toward first base than toward the pitcher.
The preference is to have the much deeper second baseman field the bunt.
The perfect bunt on the right side should just barely be out of the pitcher's reach, which will create chaos between the first and second baseman as to who should field the bunt and very possibly nobody will be covering first base.
LEFT-HANDED BATTERS
The left-handed batter slides his left hand to just past the trademark on the bat.
You should try to be in motion as you bunt the ball, unlike when sacrifice bunting where you would be stationary.
You use the thumb and index finger to guide the bat and the bottom right hand pivots the bat.
If bunting on the right side of the infield, once again, you want the second baseman to field the bunt!
Sometimes, if you don't bunt the ball hard enough, you will see both the first baseman and pitcher closing in on the ball. You may very well end up with a hit in this situation because first base is left unguarded because the second baseman is charging in also. That's great, but in the long run you are still better off bunting so that the second baseman has to field your bunt.
If you are bunting down the third base line, just like with the right-handed batter, you do NOT want the pitcher to field the ball.
In closing, remember that it cost you nothing to take a sneaky, quick look to see if the first baseman or third baseman are playing seven steps behind the bag and you can very easily get a bunt single that is pretty much a gift and is "on the house."
by: Larry Cicchiello
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