Perfect or foul

In my opinion, one of the least worked on aspects of offense is base hit bunting.  I suppose with the introduction of aluminum bats and the emphasis on the home run, it was inevitable that small ball stratgies that included base hit

bunting would fall by the wayside.  I mean, let’s face it.  Nobody is getting a million dollar signing bonus because he can bunt.  And the saying is NOT “chicks dig the base hit bunt.”

However, with the new BBCOR bats in amateur ball and less, shall we say, chemical advancements, at the MLB level, maybe base hit bunting will emerge again.  I think it needs to.

I did a two part post on the do’s and don’ts of the push bunt (Part 1 & Part 2) but this post deals with one of the major components of a base hit bunt to the third base side.  It involves the phrase “perfect or foul.”

One of the things that scares players into NOT trying a bunt is that they are afraid of bunting a ball that will be easily fielded by the pitcher which turns into an easy out for the defense.  A batter does that a couple times and is then unwilling to “waste another at-bat” in the future. 

Here’s where the phrase “perfect or foul” comes into play.

Unless there are two strikes, whenever a batter is going to try for a base hit bunt towards the third base side, he should focus on putting the ball near the foul line.  If the ball hugs the line and stays fair, the result is usually a perfect bunt and a base hit.  Neither the pitcher nor the third baseman will normally be able to make the play.  If the ball rolls foul, the batter comes back and continues his at-bat.  The point is, it becomes a win-win situation for the batter.  It’s either a hit or a foul ball.  No outs made, no wasted at-bats, and therefore no worries.

Of course, hitters have to practice it frequently to get better at it but it all starts with the “perfect or foul” philosophy.