Bunting

[Gashouse6]

When you bunt, should you just drop your back leg or should you turn your body facing the pitcher?

[Mike D.]

I almost always squared around to the pitcher. I suppose if you're trying to bunt for a hit, there might be some advantage to just dropping the back leg (element of surprise), but it might make for a worse bunt, negating any advantage.

Bunting is a great skill to perfect, and with practice, most anyone can get good at it. It's kind of a lost art, even at the major league level. In high school, I played a few years longer than I ever would have on raw talent, making more than one team because I could drop down a bunt on command, even if I couldn't hit a lick!

[BadKarma]

Square around to face the pitcher. Keep the barrel of the bat at a slight angle and use your legs to move the bat up and down. Using this technique will allow you to bunt the ball with more control, and more effectively.

[Gashouse6]

What about this?

[CoachZee]

It depends on what you are trying to do.

If you are bunting for a hit, you drop the back leg back and push the ball towards first (for a right handed hitter). You do this as late as you can to catch the defense off guard.

If its a sacrifice bunt, then you square to the pitcher.

[Riverdog]

Squaring to the pitcher allows you to get a better look and it gives you the opportunity to move forward in the box to get more into fair territory. The bat should be held flat and held near the level of your eyes.
While that might make sense, I hate it. My players drop their back leg and have the bat at an angle to increase the chances of getting on top of the ball. The only time they would square to bunt would be on a squeeze play where we can't afford to make a mistake.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

It depends on what you are trying to do.

If you are bunting for a hit, you drop the back leg back and push the ball towards first (for a right handed hitter). You do this as late as you can to catch the defense off guard.

If its a sacrifice bunt, then you square to the pitcher.

If you're a righthanded batter bunting for a hit, why wouldn't you drag instead of push. Especially with a right on the mound who falls off to the first base side? The drag has always been one of my favorite weapons. After a peek down at third, if he's playing even or behind the bag, it's a sure-fire base it. An outside fastball is the best pitch to drag bunt, and ss long as you remember that if you miss, you wanna miss foul, it's a gimme. I usually drop the back foot as soon as the pitcher's foot hits the ground, in sort of a hop step to get your momentum going. Beautiful play when executed properly.

[East Coast Bat Co]

I prefer to pivot on the back leg. If you look at your lower half, it should appear as if you have just finished your swing. You should be balanced in this stance and as long as you do not have any tilt in your head, you should be able to see the ball just as easily. This also allows you to get out of the box a little easier. It is also safer and easier to pull the bat back if the pitch is a ball.

[wogdoggy]

if you square you'll lose a step right outta the box.just turn that back foot facing first base.