Is bunting considered "old softball"

[BigSkyHi]

I blame Ichiro Suzuki for ruining the bunt game. He did not bunt like everyone else so they said I quit rather than learning something new.

 

[cleareyesfullheart]

There's a lot of coaches that don't know how to bunt.

a lot of college coaches that just plain suck at being a coach as well

They only succeed because they receive good players

Trading an out for advancing a runner in a close low scoring game.....works.

You don't bunt to get on base.... Unless you're left-handed and very fast. You bunt to advance runners....it's somewhat easier to place that ball where you want it on a bunt against a difficult pitcher.

Daughter graduated 2 yrs ago. Played travel ball at highest level, and college. She was only player on her college team that could bunt worth a darn....even though she holds her school's home run record.... she was still bunted a lot. She was the only person on the team who was bunted.... Because she could bunt. I was amazed the coach couldn't teach these other girls how to lay down a bunt right. They did not even know how to hold the bat right, or kneel .

Same could be said for slapping as well a lot. slappers popping the ball up instead of hitting it into the dirt

when playing travel ball if we discovered a team couldn't defend against the bunt worth a darn, we score half-a-dozen runs on them just by bunting in a row. Probe your opponents weakness....exploit it.

It may not be the coach doesn't know how to teach bunting, many kids don't want to learn how to bunt... they think it's below them. Everyone should be able to bunt even if it's for that one time when the TEAM needs it.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

I was amazed the coach couldn't teach these other girls how to lay down a bunt right. They did not even know how to hold the bat right, or kneel .

So your position on bunting is that coaches are unable to teach hitters how to bunt? That these players (minus your daughter) reached the highest level of softball and didn't even know how to hold a bat in order to bunt?

That the dozens of coaches that these players had in rec ball, all-stars, travel ball, and high school ball all failed these players?

Or alternatively one of the issues with bunting is that it's hard to do consistently (even for professional hitters).

 

[PJR]

I ran into a former HS player at a tournament who graduated from a Big 10 school this year. She had just gotten a job at a midwest college as an assistant coach. We spoke for several minutes on the state of our HS program, and game strategy we play. Near the end of our conversation she flat out said "and don't waste outs bunting".

I've always believed in small ball as a weapon. Is this now considered "old softball"?

It is just bad statistically and coaches in college are starting to realize that. No one has done the numbers in softball but even with a smaller field "money ball" principles come into play. Plus the fence is 200 to 220 feet and any player in a college lineup is capable of hitting one out. This includes players at DII, DIII and NAIA. Don't get me wrong bunting when necessary should never go away but playing for a 2 or 3 run homer or a couple of doubles is becoming more the norm in college. At the lower levels bunting may help win games because I am sure those "Money Ball" numbers don't translate to 10U & 12U but hitting, throwing and fielding are the things that help you advance to the next level. If you are an athlete someone can teach you to bunt no matter your age. What I see out there is if the focus in winning you will see more bunting at those levels if the focus is development you will see less. The strategy of not bunting early also becomes more apparent as girls get older and play 7 inning games. Those 21 outs are precious. The beauty of 7 inning softball is letting the game play out and take its natural course. Coaches knowing those critical moments, when to do nothing and when to do something is a joy to watch.

 

[eagle6]

This post had been teetering on the the "money ball" mentality and it finally came. I totally understand some of the new statistically driven decisions in baseball, but i hope softball doesn't go the route of MLB. An out by strikeout is not the same as other outs. If there is a dominant pitcher that half your lineup is going to strike out against, BUNT! We see it happen at the highest level of college softball when Kelly Barnhill strikes out 17 of the 21 outs and Florida wins by 2. Get the ball in play. Players that can bunt for hits are a weapon, but sometimes bunting will give some of your players their best chance to help the team even if the odds are low.

 

[C00kie16]

What do you do when a team runs into a pitcher that throws fast and is hard to hit? Just shake your head and walk back to dugout after a strikeout? No, then this becomes a teaching moment, you have that player attempt to bunt to get the timing of the pitcher. It really gets frustrating watching players go up to bat just hacking at the ball they probably will never hit. The next time the player is up more times than not that player will hit the ball after attempting to bunt.

 

[tamss13]

I am so lost reading theses replies. Isn't slapping considered bunting????....and I have seen a many great batters that once they get the defense to back up to respect their hitting game....they go into a slap bunt and always get on base.

 

[Nimrod]

Problem with this debate is that the issue is hard to research. College softball coaches don't get the same statistical analytics that MLB managers get. Far more people watching and recording MLB games with far more statistics. Even MLB doesn't get stats on how at-bats turned out when the coach gave the bunt sign at any point in the at-bat. So arguments on both sides of the bunt debate are largely anecdotal. There are times when a struggling team began to bunt and it turned the game around vs. a dominant pitcher. There are times when a struggling team was patient and figured out a dominant pitcher the second time around. It's probably good that we don't have all the answers here. Coaches and players have to use their instincts more, right or wrong.

 

[FP26]

I realize that some coaches overuse the bunt for various reasons, but I definitely think there is a place in the game for it. DD has always been a middle of the order hitter on her travel ball teams, but she still takes pride in bunting when it is called for. In fact, she absolutely loves the squeeze play.

Bit of a brag here but I remember one game in particular. We were playing a team that we should have beat easily, but were tied with time ending. We were still batting so we finished the inning. Coaches daughter (decent speed) was on third. DD was batting. Coach was extremely frustrated because he knew we should have been up by several runs. He gave DD the squeeze sign. As soon as the ball left the pitcher's hand he walked off the field with his head down. Afterwards he commented that he had complete confidence that DD would get the bunt down and we would score, but he hated that it required a squeeze to win the game. The win actually seemed to pump the girls up. We won the next 3 games in a row before the tournament was cancelled due to rain. Good times..

 

[joe720]

Think it depends. Conceding an out with a bunt doesn't make a lot of sense. If you have a quick player a bunt turns into a triple in 2 more pitches. My dd can hit pretty well. She probably bunts 25% of the time and rarely gets thrown out at first. And as soon as she is on first, she's on third.