Bunting: An Offensive Difference Maker

Bunting: An Offensive Difference Maker

If you talk to many amateur level coaches, one offensive weapon is usually talked about and that is the skill of bunting. Many players hate to practice bunting or even talk about bunting because it is perceived as boring. On the flip side, players that are good at bunting like to talk about bunting because, it is a way for those players to still get on base when things at the plate are going difficult for them. Now back to the coaches. A team that bunts well will put themselves in more chances to win, than they will lose. Bunting at the right time can allow a team to put itself in a position to win in tight ballgames. 

Like any skill, there must be an understanding of the fundamentals. When in the batter's box, a hitter must either move to the front chalk of the batter's box or be in the middle-front of the batter's box. A key for any successful hitter with the skill of bunting is in the knees. A hitter who moves up and down with his knees will be successful with the skill of bunting. The hitter will move his chest towards the middle of the strike zone. The batter will then bend his knees so that the barrel of the bat is positioned horizontally in the middle of the strike zone. The head of a batter will be close to the bat in order to see the contact of the bat on the ball. The hands of the hitter will be on the bottom of the bat making contact with the knob and the other hand will be positioned next to the barrel which will allow the batter to hold the bat under control. When the bat is under control, it will be easier for the batter to catch the ball with his barrel. The barrel of the bat should be positioned above the knob, just like the picture above. To bunt the ball to the first or third base side, have the barrel pointed towards either first or third base and catch the pitch in order to have the ball go to either side. A sacrifice bunt will have the batter show bunt early. If the batter is trying to bunt for a hit, he will wait until the pitcher has planted his front foot in order to catch the defense off guard. The fundamentals and skills stay the same, just the time showing the bunt is different. To visualize this, click on this link: https://coachesinsider.com/baseball/videos-baseball/bunting-fundamentals-dan-mcdonnell-univ-of-louisville-video/ .

After the players have been shown how to properly bunt, they must practice this skill. One way for batters to understand the catching concept of bunting is to have them use a glove instead of a bat. Have them get into their bunting stance, and have them put on an opposite handed glove to catch the baseball either being thrown at them by a coach or a pitching machine. Another drill is to have the batters grab a bat and still have their glove positioned on their hand. To have success with this drill, the batters must still catch the ball with the barrel of the bat, just like how they caught the ball with the glove. After this, the batters can practice bunting regularly and have success. If some of your hitters are struggling to bend their knees, have them sit on a bucket or chair and do these same drills to understand what they should see and feel. Here is the drill series and what it should look like: https://coachesinsider.com/baseball/videos-baseball/the-best-bunting-drill-baseball-by-the-yard-video/ .

As coaches and players, we love competition. After you go over fundamental practice with your players, have them divided up into two teams and have them practice executing their bunting skills. The coach should simply verbalize what you want the players to execute. Either a coach can throw the pitches to the batters, or a pitching machine can throw pitches at the batters. Either way the batters must execute what the coach has requested in order to receive points. Here is the competition drill: https://coachesinsider.com/baseball/videos-baseball/sacrifice-bunt-competition-louisville-baseball-video/ .

Bunting is a lost art in the opinion of some coaches and fans of the game of baseball. But when taught well and executed properly, bunting can be a devastating defensive weapon for a team to have. Like any skill, this must be practiced regularly for success. Bunting practice cannot be a once a week skill to be practiced, but rather a daily skill that needs to be practiced. Bunting may be seen as an old school baseball, but when used properly in a game, it puts momentum on the side of the team who executed the bunt properly.