Why are so many hitters not able to bunt in these days?

[dominik]

I wonder about that often. I see so many badly executed bunts. Even higher level hitters all the way up to the majors are often terrible bunters.

Was this always like that? Or is this just a consequence of the game changing?

[tg643]

Most college and pro players were studs at previous levels. They were never asked to bunt. They were asked to drive the ball.

[Newyouthcoach]

I know that the last two weeks, we have focused on it in practice. Monday night at practice we set up a bunting station to where I had a machine and I would tell the kids to bunt down first or third. No swings allowed. I would guess every boy got about 40 bunts in each at that station.

[skipper5]

What TG said.
Also, players realize that with most coaches, if you bunt foul or through the ball, the bunt sign comes off and you get to swing away.
How often do you see, in a flat out sac bunt situation, batter gets the sign to sac on the first pitch, fouls it off, and the coach wipes off the sign. WHY? What has changed?

Regarding practice: nobody (except me and possibly newyouthcoach) practices it correctly: many reps against game-speed (or higher) pitches. (Unlike hitting, where it's OK, or even preferable, to practice against BP-speed pitching.)

Bunting practice vs. BP-speed pitching is pretty much a waste of time. Ditto having the BP pitcher move close to the batter, which decreases reaction time but doesn't provide high mph--that is, closing speed--which is what poses the primary difficulty in bunting.

[TexAg]

I wonder about that often. I see so many badly executed bunts. Even higher level hitters all the way up to the majors are often terrible bunters.

Was this always like that? Or is this just a consequence of the game changing?

most kids (i deal with 9/10u) take it as an insult if you give them the bunt sign.

[scorekeeper]

…Ditto having the BP pitcher move close to the batter, which decreases reaction time but doesn't provide high mph--that is, closing speed--which is what poses the primary difficulty in bunting.

?????

Sorry, I believe you’re very much mistaken.

When pepper disappeared, so did a lot of the ability of players to be comfortable handling the bat, and putting it on the ball. That’s the problem. In order to successfully bunt, you have to make solid contact, and most players don’t know how to do that on demand.

[jbolt_2000]

I've been teaching my players to bunt at the 8-10 y.o. level. And we teach/practice it at least once a week.
My son played for a 12u travel team a few years ago and the head coach (former minor league pro) said he didn't teach bunting because no player ever got a scholarship from bunting.

Most college and pro players were studs at previous levels. They were never asked to bunt. They were asked to drive the ball.

In our Little League, I can't remember when the best hitters on any team bunted at all. My best players would be asked to bunt at least 2-3 times a season, depending on the situation.

Also, players realize that with most coaches, if you bunt foul or through the ball, the bunt sign comes off and you get to swing away.
How often do you see, in a flat out sac bunt situation, batter gets the sign to sac on the first pitch, fouls it off, and the coach wipes off the sign. WHY? What has changed?

I had one of my better players bunt once and he executed it perfectly. Later the Dad/Assistant Coach asked why I had him bunt. I explained the situation. Later in the season I asked the same player to bunt a few more times and every time it was like I asked him to mow the lawn and do the dishes. He failed at bunting each time and ended up swinging away for the rest of the at-bat. At the end of the season the Dad finally admitted that he told his son to foul or miss the bunt so that he could swing away with one or two strikes.

[mudvnine]

Lost art Dom.....

Besides sac bunts, we work with our hitters on the proper footwork and bat work, for "push bunts" and "drag bunts". Had a young man two fours years ago who got so good at push bunting (RHH), that he laid done three of them in one game for base hits.

Haven't had a young man as adept at it as him, but every season we'll get several base hits with a "push" or a "drag" bunt......very gratifying when lessons come to fruition, and the kid is standing at first with a huge smile on his face. Definitely the best part of coaching.....

[tg643]

Another thing: When my son played college showcase ball the coaching staff said repeatedly, "You will not walk and bunt your way to college ball. Find a pitch and drive it." They never bunted unless it was the bottom of the 9th, runner on first and no outs.

My son was always a good bunter. We worked on bunting for hits from the time he was nine. In high school five bunt hits were worth about 80 points in the batting average. Batting third he only bunted for a hit when no one was on base. If a third baseman played him (lefty) to pull he had no chance to throw him out. But he never bunted in showcase ball. The coach got on him when he did. He was told his sixty time was all they needed to know about his speed.

There's also a philosophy that came out with Bill James/Moneyball a team only gets 27 outs per game. Don't give any away bunting. His analysis showed bunting was not as successful at creating runs as hitting away or at least hitting behind the runner. When hitting behind the runner there's still a chance for a hit.

[skipper5]

?????

Sorry, I believe you’re very much mistaken.

You know scorekeeping.
I know coaching.

[dominik]

What TG said.
Also, players realize that with most coaches, if you bunt foul or through the ball, the bunt sign comes off and you get to swing away.
How often do you see, in a flat out sac bunt situation, batter gets the sign to sac on the first pitch, fouls it off, and the coach wipes off the sign. WHY? What has changed?

Regarding practice: nobody (except me and possibly newyouthcoach) practices it correctly: many reps against game-speed (or higher) pitches. (Unlike hitting, where it's OK, or even preferable, to practice against BP-speed pitching.)

Bunting practice vs. BP-speed pitching is pretty much a waste of time. Ditto having the BP pitcher move close to the batter, which decreases reaction time but doesn't provide high mph--that is, closing speed--which is what poses the primary difficulty in bunting.

I have that feeling to that some kids in intentionally screw the bunt (or at least don't execute it very motivated) so that they can hack away because they think bunting is an insult.

I still don't like that. I know studs are not asked to bunt often (rightfully) but a lot of 3# hole HS studs will be 9# hitters in the majors or pitchers.

And then it is sad to see them missing a bunt play in the 8th inning of a playoff game (have seen that countless times). IMO every player should be able to bunt and insist on that. if some player thinks he is too cool for bunting just because he is a stud in some meaningless LL team there is something wrong.

[NJYankeeFan]

Simple. Two reasons. Players are not selected based on theory ability to bunt much like they are not selected on their ability to hit a knuckleball.

But more importantly bunting is a bad play for a guy that is good enough to play at the next level.

Iow. A kid who is asked to bunt in little league never makes the varsity team. The kid bunting in high school never plays in college. And so on.

[dominik]

Simple. Two reasons. Players are not selected based on theory ability to bunt much like they are not selected on their ability to hit a knuckleball.

But more importantly bunting is a bad play for a guy that is good enough to play at the next level.

Iow. A kid who is asked to bunt in little league never makes the varsity team. The kid bunting in high school never plays in college. And so on.

yeah but in the end most of these LL studs will have to bunt in the majors. and then it sucks if you cannot do this. IMO not teaching bunting because it's not flashy for the scouts is a very short sighted view.

BTW in japan this is different. there any kid has to learn fundamentals like bunting no matter if he is a stud or not. not being able to do those things is just not acceptable over there. there are coaches will make a kid who thinks he is too cool to bunt running a lot of rounds.

[tg643]

IMO not teaching bunting because it's not flashy for the scouts is a very short sighted view.

By the time a kid gets to showcase ball he's not being taught the game. He's getting his game fine tuned to show it off. If the focus of the team is to get the kid to college ball or drafted and the coaches and scouts could care less about bunting, it would be a waste of time to teach bunting at that level.

[dominik]

By the time a kid gets to showcase ball he's not being taught the game. He's getting his game fine tuned to show it off. If the focus of the team is to get the kid to college ball or drafted and the coaches and scouts could care less about bunting, it would be a waste of time to teach bunting at that level.

then maybe bunting should be taught before that age.