Bunt or no Bunt?

[Goobie]

1) Batter in box with two strikes. She takes a normal stance and as the pitch comes she slowly (about half speed) brings the bat to the contact point parallel to the front of the plate, stops, never breaks her wrists. The ball hits the bat, goes sharply to the ground and rolls foul about 2 feet up the 1st base line.

Defensive coach politely asks the ump if the batter is out since she "bunted" the ball foul with two strikes. Blue said "she wasn't trying to bunt, her hands were still together!" Do you have to "try" to bunt in order for it to be considered a bunt? It sure looked like a bunt.

Oddly enough, the first pitch she tried to bunt "for a hit" or a "sneaky bunt" as some call it... and it went foul for the first strike. Second pitch was a strike looking (change up).

So... the question is what exactly defines a bunt. I understand the good old "square up and get it down" sacrifice bunt. But what about the "sneaky bunt" or "drag bunt?" How are those defined?

Surely the fact that her hands were still together on the handle of the bat is irrelevant... right?

2) Similar but slightly different. I have seen other scenarios where a batter "checks" their swing and in essence bunts the ball with the bat parallel to the front of the plate. The swing is usually a full-speed swing where they slam on the brakes. In effect on this check-swing hit, the ball that is hit ends up taking the same flight path as a bunt. So is it a bunt... and if that check-swing hit goes foul on strike two is it just a foul ball? or strike 3?

 

[redhotcoach]

Our last game of year other teams batter bunted foul on 2 strike. Her coach screamed til he got a warning, "SHE WASN'T BUNTING! SHE WAS DRAG BUNTING!"
Definition is "a pitch tapped slowly with the bat". So I would say it is a judgement. Where the hand are have nothing to do with it, I have girls that drop the bat in their hand to the barrel and bunt, both hands are together. Plus the split grip hit is getting more popular, is that a bunt to that umps definition?

 

[chinamigarden]

Someone much more qualified then I will be here shortly to give you the exact definition, but no where in the description of a bunt, in any rule set I have seen, is there any mention of where the hands are placed on the bat,

 

[jbooth]

1) Batter in box with two strikes. She takes a normal stance and as the pitch comes she slowly (about half speed) brings the bat to the contact point parallel to the front of the plate, stops, never breaks her wrists. The ball hits the bat, goes sharply to the ground and rolls foul about 2 feet up the 1st base line.

Defensive coach politely asks the ump if the batter is out since she "bunted" the ball foul with two strikes. Blue said "she wasn't trying to bunt, her hands were still together!" Do you have to "try" to bunt in order for it to be considered a bunt? It sure looked like a bunt.

Oddly enough, the first pitch she tried to bunt "for a hit" or a "sneaky bunt" as some call it... and it went foul for the first strike. Second pitch was a strike looking (change up).

So... the question is what exactly defines a bunt. I understand the good old "square up and get it down" sacrifice bunt. But what about the "sneaky bunt" or "drag bunt?" How are those defined?

Surely the fact that her hands were still together on the handle of the bat is irrelevant... right?

2) Similar but slightly different. I have seen other scenarios where a batter "checks" their swing and in essence bunts the ball with the bat parallel to the front of the plate. The swing is usually a full-speed swing where they slam on the brakes. In effect on this check-swing hit, the ball that is hit ends up taking the same flight path as a bunt. So is it a bunt... and if that check-swing hit goes foul on strike two is it just a foul ball? or strike 3?

The wording in the various rule books is not the same, but the definition is fundamentally the same.

A BUNT is when the batter intentionally taps the ball, or meets the ball to intentionally hit it slowly.

It is a judgment call. The batter's hands do not have to be apart for it to be a bunt, and it can be a bunt if the hands are together. The ump must judge whether the batter swung at the ball to hit it, or intentionally tried to tap it slowly.

The NFHS rule book is clear on an attempted bunt.

Rule 2 section 8 Article 2 - An attempted bunt ("offer") is any movement of the bat toward the ball when the ball is over or near the plate area. The mere holding of the bat in the strike zone is NOT an attempted bunt.

 

[JAD]

We routinely have our left handed slappers do a 'drag bunt', but because the bat is continuously moving and the batter does not 'square up', we have never had one called out on a 3rd strike foul ball.

 

[MTR]

We routinely have our left handed slappers do a 'drag bunt', but because the bat is continuously moving and the batter does not 'square up', we have never had one called out on a 3rd strike foul ball.

That is a misconception. The bat moving with the body, is not a swing.

The definition of a bunt:

ASA: A pitched ball that is intentionally tapped with the bat, slowly, within the infield

NFHS: A legally batted ball not swung at, but intentionally tapped with the bat

 

[Whayne Pack]

Awesome. Well stated. MTR

 

[FPump]

That is a misconception. The bat moving with the body, is not a swing.

The definition of a bunt:

ASA: A pitched ball that is intentionally tapped with the bat, slowly, within the infield

NFHS: A legally batted ball not swung at, but intentionally tapped with the bat

Adding to MTR's two citings...
USSSA: ......."the batter does not swing to hit the ball, but holds the bat in the path of the ball to tap it slowly to the infield."

USSSA (Bunt,drag): ......."the batter attempts to bunt the ball by running forward in the batter box, carrying the bat with her. The movement of the bat is in conjunction with the batters forward movement."

PONY: ......"a legally tapped ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield."

NCAA: "A legally batted ball not swung at but intentionally tapped with the bat."

 

[JAD]

That is a misconception. The bat moving with the body, is not a swing.

The definition of a bunt:

ASA: A pitched ball that is intentionally tapped with the bat, slowly, within the infield

NFHS: A legally batted ball not swung at, but intentionally tapped with the bat

What is the difference between a slap and a drag bunt? It is an umpires judgement call on if the ball is 'tapped' and it has been my experience that most umpires will not call a girl out on a 3rd strike drag bunt because the hitting motion is very similar to a slap. It is basically a controlled slap hit.

 

[Comp]

A drag bunt and a slap are two completely differnt things. A slap is an attempt to drive the ball past the infielders,while a drag bunt is an attempt to deaden the ball in the infield.