And my take, which I didn't really get into, is that I bunted very little with my teams and generally wouldn't recommend lots of bunting for other coaches who might be on the fence. I don't see it as that valuable, and I'm less interested in winning games by taking advantage of known weaknesses (a very bad, slow-footed third baseman, for example) than by swinging away and letting kids take their hacks. Unless a kid really likes and wants to make bunting a part of his game, I'll let players swing away.
I believe teaching bunting is very important at the youth level. Having as many tools in their arsenal gives them a better chance of succeeding when they may go play for another coach or once they reach the next level. Young athletes go through slumps every so often and a good way to get yourself a boost of confidence is to catch an opposing team off guard with a bunt. I often say to the athletes I work with, every good basketball player knows how to finish with both hands so why can't you learn how to bunt? Also I have found many team-competition bunting based drills that get pretty intense during practice.
Very much like how you compared the advanced game vs youth game because I couldn’t agree more that the answer to “should we bunt” is “it depends on many variables.” If only they had EV charts for each age level! Thanks for putting out quality content- keep it up!
My high school coach is big on it because most teams arent good enough under pressure so if you fast and you drop a good bunt 80 percent of the time your safe
I always enjoy your thought provoking subject matter! Extrapolating from MLB to youth leagues can definitely lead a coach to some wrong calls, for bunting at the youth level can be successfully employed quite often given the nature of youth baseball, and teaching kids to master bunting is easier, requring less time than instructing them to overcome a long established hitch in their swing and other well entrenched bad habits.
Here in Taiwan in good High School leagues with a runner at first and no or one out, the bunt is systematic. The batter is always out at first, but they judge a runner at second is valuable enough.
One of my son’s team teammates really worked on bunting as a u8-u10 player. But the problem became that at the plate he struggled to know if he should swing or bunt. A lot of half swings and hitting last in the line up. As a u12 player, his swing started to get better.
I preach to be an athlete, everyone should know how to bunt, slash, everything. This is where I could care less what they do in MLB. I'd rather see a pitcher put a good bunt down than watch him strike out with 3 garbage swings or watch pitches go by.
Bottom line.. Bunting is GENERALLY a horrible strategy. HOWEVER, there are a few instances when it makes sense, even if it's not the optimal thing to do.. Specifically, it pretty much comes down to: the only time you should bunt is when there is a terrible hitter at bat who has virtually ZERO chance of making solid contact. In that scenario, the automatic out by bunting plus the extra base, has greater value than the automatic out by swinging away WITHOUT the extra base.. In other words, if the batter is going to make an out practically 100% of the time, you may as well get the extra base while you're at it.. There's a reason that you really only see sacrifice bunts by the pitcher and the worst of the worst hitters.. The difference between professional and amateur baseball though, is that there are a lot fewer players, besides pitchers, that are SO bad that they will practically NEVER get a hit in that situation. In addition, you also have the luxury of having quality hitters on the bench that are available to pinch-hit, obviating the need to give yourself up. Mathematically, you also have to factor in that sometimes the runner will be advanced even when swinging away AND an out is made. So it's not a mutually exclusive situation where EITHER you bunt, give up the out and advance the runner OR you swing away, make an out and fail to get on base.. There is also the outcome of: swinging away, making an out AND also advancing the runner.. For example, the batter does not bunt and hits a ground ball in the 5-6 hole. The shortstop has to go to his backhand and his only play is at first. Or a little dribbler up the third base line with the same result.. In effect, sometimes you swing away and settle for the same result as a sac bunt.. The reason I bring this up is that when constructing probability outcomes, you have to account for this outcome as well, because there is that extra bit of statistical value in terms of run expectancy when you swing away and fail, but still manage to advance the runner to second base ANYWAY.
My team bunts a good amount in tournaments and it works out pretty good most of the time. In the spring I’m playing 14u and that isn’t exactly “youth” but it just shows how you can take advantage of the situation and make that much of a difference in the game.
That's fair. But you're talking about kids here. Even on a traveling tournament team, there is a highly variable level of talent. Are you suggesting that the same approach should be taken at the pro level?
@@brianschmitzer6722 I mean not really in the mlb because the average guy can hit a bomb but I’ve seen it a lot in college and like Dan said it’s more likely to be a hit. But towards AAA and mlb I think it won’t really do that much
Bunting is a skill and if a kid can bunt well, I'll practice them at it. Just like not every kid practices Pitching or even catching be hind the plate. I'll place that kid as strategically as I can in the line up with that skill set in mind. No slow pokes in front of them.
Great comparison here. I am a huge advocate of bunting on a youth and amateur level. Its also a great weapon against a pitcher who is getting locked in and settled into a game to break his rhythm. Get them running around and start to wear on their legs and shorten his outing.
I run a 12u team and we don't bunt at all. We're a new team, and with COVID a lot of my guys missed a year (or more) of baseball. Every AB is precious for the development for my guys. So I don't give up live ABs by bunting. It may be less good for our W/L but it is better for the individual player. I think below high school that's more important.
@@DanBlewett When they have a coach that values that skill? I have seen kids fall in love with bunting and use it as a crutch, or lose confidence in their ability to actually get a hit because their coach has them bunt in every pressure situation. All of my guys know that I believe in their ability to do damage, and drive in a runner. I'm not going to spend practice time on a skill we're not going to use in a game. Also, our team is a supplement to the local little league. So our practice time is limited, and the players we have are playing a full LL season with other coaches, that colors my outlook quite a bit.
is it good for coaches to pick and choose which fundamental skills their players are allowed to learn at such a young age, because of the coach's personal views?
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And my take, which I didn't really get into, is that I bunted very little with my teams and generally wouldn't recommend lots of bunting for other coaches who might be on the fence. I don't see it as that valuable, and I'm less interested in winning games by taking advantage of known weaknesses (a very bad, slow-footed third baseman, for example) than by swinging away and letting kids take their hacks. Unless a kid really likes and wants to make bunting a part of his game, I'll let players swing away.
I believe teaching bunting is very important at the youth level. Having as many tools in their arsenal gives them a better chance of succeeding when they may go play for another coach or once they reach the next level. Young athletes go through slumps every so often and a good way to get yourself a boost of confidence is to catch an opposing team off guard with a bunt. I often say to the athletes I work with, every good basketball player knows how to finish with both hands so why can't you learn how to bunt? Also I have found many team-competition bunting based drills that get pretty intense during practice.
Very much like how you compared the advanced game vs youth game because I couldn’t agree more that the answer to “should we bunt” is “it depends on many variables.” If only they had EV charts for each age level! Thanks for putting out quality content- keep it up!
My high school coach is big on it because most teams arent good enough under pressure so if you fast and you drop a good bunt 80 percent of the time your safe
I always enjoy your thought provoking subject matter! Extrapolating from MLB to youth leagues can definitely lead a coach to some wrong calls, for bunting at the youth level can be successfully employed quite often given the nature of youth baseball, and teaching kids to master bunting is easier, requring less time than instructing them to overcome a long established hitch in their swing and other well entrenched bad habits.
But who cares that it is easier and successful in youth baseball? What is the point? How does it help the player?
@@BigJKU316 - Successful bunting at the youth level will help the player succeed and win ball games, and those ballplayers care a lot about that.
Here in Taiwan in good High School leagues with a runner at first and no or one out, the bunt is systematic. The batter is always out at first, but they judge a runner at second is valuable enough.
thats a bad play.
@@DanBlewett Sure, you know better. By the way check out for Taiwan baseball, see how it fares.
I played with a taiwanese player - Fu Te Ni was my teammate in 2014 or 2015, I cant remember which year. Love that guy.
One of my son’s team teammates really worked on bunting as a u8-u10 player. But the problem became that at the plate he struggled to know if he should swing or bunt. A lot of half swings and hitting last in the line up. As a u12 player, his swing started to get better.
I preach to be an athlete, everyone should know how to bunt, slash, everything. This is where I could care less what they do in MLB. I'd rather see a pitcher put a good bunt down than watch him strike out with 3 garbage swings or watch pitches go by.
I think everything you said makes being able to bunt more important and than less important.
Bottom line.. Bunting is GENERALLY a horrible strategy. HOWEVER, there are a few instances when it makes sense, even if it's not the optimal thing to do.. Specifically, it pretty much comes down to: the only time you should bunt is when there is a terrible hitter at bat who has virtually ZERO chance of making solid contact. In that scenario, the automatic out by bunting plus the extra base, has greater value than the automatic out by swinging away WITHOUT the extra base.. In other words, if the batter is going to make an out practically 100% of the time, you may as well get the extra base while you're at it.. There's a reason that you really only see sacrifice bunts by the pitcher and the worst of the worst hitters.. The difference between professional and amateur baseball though, is that there are a lot fewer players, besides pitchers, that are SO bad that they will practically NEVER get a hit in that situation. In addition, you also have the luxury of having quality hitters on the bench that are available to pinch-hit, obviating the need to give yourself up.
Mathematically, you also have to factor in that sometimes the runner will be advanced even when swinging away AND an out is made. So it's not a mutually exclusive situation where EITHER you bunt, give up the out and advance the runner OR you swing away, make an out and fail to get on base.. There is also the outcome of: swinging away, making an out AND also advancing the runner.. For example, the batter does not bunt and hits a ground ball in the 5-6 hole. The shortstop has to go to his backhand and his only play is at first. Or a little dribbler up the third base line with the same result.. In effect, sometimes you swing away and settle for the same result as a sac bunt.. The reason I bring this up is that when constructing probability outcomes, you have to account for this outcome as well, because there is that extra bit of statistical value in terms of run expectancy when you swing away and fail, but still manage to advance the runner to second base ANYWAY.
My team bunts a good amount in tournaments and it works out pretty good most of the time. In the spring I’m playing 14u and that isn’t exactly “youth” but it just shows how you can take advantage of the situation and make that much of a difference in the game.
That's fair. But you're talking about kids here. Even on a traveling tournament team, there is a highly variable level of talent. Are you suggesting that the same approach should be taken at the pro level?
@@brianschmitzer6722 I mean not really in the mlb because the average guy can hit a bomb but I’ve seen it a lot in college and like Dan said it’s more likely to be a hit. But towards AAA and mlb I think it won’t really do that much
Bunting is a skill and if a kid can bunt well, I'll practice them at it. Just like not every kid practices Pitching or even catching be hind the plate.
I'll place that kid as strategically as I can in the line up with that skill set in mind. No slow pokes in front of them.
Great comparison here. I am a huge advocate of bunting on a youth and amateur level. Its also a great weapon against a pitcher who is getting locked in and settled into a game to break his rhythm. Get them running around and start to wear on their legs and shorten his outing.
Yeah, definitely value in the youth game.
I run a 12u team and we don't bunt at all. We're a new team, and with COVID a lot of my guys missed a year (or more) of baseball. Every AB is precious for the development for my guys. So I don't give up live ABs by bunting. It may be less good for our W/L but it is better for the individual player. I think below high school that's more important.
If they don't learn to bunt young, when will they learn it? A few bunts here and there would have a negative impact on their longterm development?
@@DanBlewett When they have a coach that values that skill? I have seen kids fall in love with bunting and use it as a crutch, or lose confidence in their ability to actually get a hit because their coach has them bunt in every pressure situation. All of my guys know that I believe in their ability to do damage, and drive in a runner. I'm not going to spend practice time on a skill we're not going to use in a game. Also, our team is a supplement to the local little league. So our practice time is limited, and the players we have are playing a full LL season with other coaches, that colors my outlook quite a bit.
is it good for coaches to pick and choose which fundamental skills their players are allowed to learn at such a young age, because of the coach's personal views?
@@DanBlewett Is bunting a fundamental skill?
Yes. Is that a real question?
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Bunting against the shift is almost always a guaranteed hit.
*a good bunt - not all bunts. Most bunters aren't that good. Pitchers can cover a good amount of ground.