Slash

[Bigclubswinger]

Just to be clear. I'm not a fan of the slash but if the 3rd baseman is standing 6 FEET away every time you show bunt what else can you do? Tell your kids to lay down the bunt anyway? You've got to do something so they don't crash so hard. A couple slashes should put them in a more reasonable position. A coach should never have a corner 6 feet from the plate.

 

[tim_s]

Just to be clear. I'm not a fan of the slash but if the 3rd baseman is standing 6 FEET away every time you show bunt what else can you do? Tell your kids to lay down the bunt anyway? You've got to do something so they don't crash so hard. A couple slashes should put them in a more reasonable position. A coach should never have a corner 6 feet from the plate.

a few of them were that close, no exageration.....when my DD #2 or a few of my other really little girls were up there, they had little regard for anything.....my youngest said at one point that she didn't even see the pitch coming in because she thought the 3B was going to run her over before the pitch got there......granted, this was a 1st year travel ASA 8's perspective, but I could see her point

 

[Rocketech1]

Slash is part of the game. Get a mask on your 3B and 1B if you have a problem with it. Our local rec leagues thought about getting rid of it at 8U but decided its part of the game. At 12U travel ball, I see very few teams use this tactic, in fact I am surprised at how little "small ball" is used to manufacture runs which is a whole separate topic.

 

[Sweet Lou]

If you don't want teams to slash, don't crash your corners so hard. It's really that simple. Is one team supposed to give up the bunt simply because another coach has his 3B play 35 feet from home and run up to 10 feet whenever a batter squares?

 

[MNDad]

Slash is part of the game. Get a mask on your 3B and 1B if you have a problem with it. Our local rec leagues thought about getting rid of it at 8U but decided its part of the game. At 12U travel ball, I see very few teams use this tactic, in fact I am surprised at how little "small ball" is used to manufacture runs which is a whole separate topic.

I forgot, masks are the cure for everything

Kidding, not trying to reignite the mask debate.

 

[NorthMS]

So, if I play my corners at 20 ft all the time, some of you wouldn't let your girls swing? I know that's extreme, but you can't make the other team play how you want them to.

Originally had "would let". Kind of changes the question, huh?

 

[MNDad]

If you don't want teams to slash, don't crash your corners so hard. It's really that simple. Is one team supposed to give up the bunt simply because another coach has his 3B play 35 feet from home and run up to 10 feet whenever a batter squares?

When I saw this tactic it didn't make a difference if teams were crashing too hard or not. It was always at the B or rec level and the intent was to trick an inexperienced player into getting her out of position. It had nothing to do with reacting to not being able to bunt because the other team was taking it away. Part of the game, yes, but so is throwing high and inside to stop them. Is that really how we want to play at 10U?

 

[YOCOACH]

As other posters have noted, it's part of the game whether we like it or not and it can be used successfully at many levels. The easiest way to defeat it is to have your defense recognize it. When they square to bunt, corners charge hard on the pitch. When the batter pulls back, have them yell "slap," "slash" or whatever and freeze where they are. This will allow your corners to still crash hard on the bunts and yet somewhat defend the slash since your 2nd and SS shouldn't be too far out of position yet as well as the corners still being farther back. Of course, all bets are off on a line drive.

ETA: It doesn't matter whether we like it or not and it doesn't matter the level. If it's part of the game, then you need to teach the girls how to defend it and keep themselves somewhat safe.

 

[PA SB Dad]

So, if I play my corners at 20 ft all the time, some of you would let your girls swing? I know that's extreme, but you can't make the other team play how you want them to.

Yes I would. I did not place the girls there. You did.

 

[YOCOACH]

So, if I play my corners at 20 ft all the time, some of you would let your girls swing? I know that's extreme, but you can't make the other team play how you want them to.

Absolutely I would let them swing away. If that's where you want to play your girls, that's fine. However, I would not let it dictate how I call the game or how my girls play it.