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| SOFTBALL LINKS |
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2 Strikes, Time To Bunt!
by Dave
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
How many times have you seen this: a girl tries to bunt but fails twice. Now she's down 0-2, 1-2 or something like that and she swings away. Why? Why not try to get one down with 2 strikes?
There is an obvious answer to my question. It is the one which always comes immediately to mind. The reason many coaches and players do not bunt with two strikes is, if the ball is hit foul, that results in a strikeout. We want to avoid the K, so we stop trying to bunt. Makes sense, no? No, not necessarily.
Before we move on and address my strategic suggestion, let's define a few terms and discuss the rules a bit. The term "bunt" is not necessarily a very well understood one. The 2009 NCAA rulebook defines the term as "a legally batted ball not swung at but intentionally tapped with the bat." That is an inadequate definition since "slapping" pretty much fits within this definition unless a relatively full swing is taken. In another definition, the term "bunt attempt" contains a further elaboration which reads, "holding the bat in the strike zone is considered a bunt attempt. In order to take a pitch, the bat must be withdrawn — pulled backward and away from the ball."
So a bunt attempt really consists of holding the bat in the strike zone as the ball enters the hitting area. This definition distinguishes between a true slap in which the bat should at least theoretically be run through the strike zone, not merely held like a swing and placed into the zone to tap the ball. In other words, the archetypical beginner youth or high school slapper who merely puts the bat into the zone, though not in the classic bunting mode, is actually bunting rather than slapping.
One's hand placement on the bat does not determine whether a bunt attept has been made. We know that there is a style of hitting which involves splitting the hands rather than having them in contact with one another. We also know that there are bunting styles which do not require the hands to be split. The determining factor over whether a "swing" is a bunt attempt or not is whether the bat is held in the strike zone or not. And this becomes rather important with two strikes when a foul ball is hit.
Another NCAA rule notes, "A strike is charged to the batter ... when the batter bunts foul after the second strike." In other words, if you have two strikes and bunt the ball foul, you're out on a strike out.
I have seen a number of instances in which a self-described "slapper" has been called out for a fouled third strike. This almost always precipitates a discussion between coach and umpire as well as catcalls from the batter's father and mother claiming the umpire doesn't know the rules. Generally, the umpire has ruled the "swing" a bunt attempt and, therefore, the foul is a third strike. The ump is right. The coach and parents are wrong.
OK, so a bunted foul with two strikes is an out. Sometimes, that thing some people call a slap is actually a bunt, not a true slap. A slap really involves more movement of the bat than a bunt. The NCAA rulebook says a slap is a "short, chopping motion rather than with a full swing." If you leave the bat in the strike zone as the ball travels through it, I think what you have is a bunt. If you swing the bat through the zone in a short, chopping motion, what you have is a slap. And, importantly, "A ball that is slapped foul is treated like any other foul ball and shall not result in an out unless caught in flight."
But enough of the rules, I think you get it. Let's get back to the strategy.
I do not believe I know of more than a handful of people - players, coaches, and parents - who think bunting with two strikes is a viable strategy. It is almost never called for by the typical coach. I do know some high school coaches and a few in travel who will do it as a strategy. I also know of some including me who would call for it as a sort of punishment for girls who deliberately bunt the ball foul, sometimes because their fathers who don't understand softball have suggested it as a strategy to get a "real" at-bat. But, for the most part, bunting with two strikes is avoided like the plague.
Without looking at any cold and hard facts, let's instead talk about this anecdotally. How many times have you seen this: bunter fouls off a couple and has two strikes after which the defensive coach instructs the corner infielders to move back because there are two strikes. That is common, probably to a 95% rate. And it is a safe approach since 95% of all coaches won't call for a bunt in this situation. But the good and aggressive ones will!
OK, so how about this, how many times have you seen a former bunter, now with two strikes, finish herself off with a third strike. Let's face it, softball is filled with strikeouts. Now that is a legitimate plague in our sport. If the pitcher is a contact pitcher, then you don't see so many Ks but, ordinarily, there are a ton of them in the typical, well-pitched game. And if the former bunter has put herself into an 0-2 hole, the strikeout is an all too common event. The high percentage event on an 0-2 pitch, or at least shortly thereafter, is a K. And yet, we do not even attempt a bunt because we are trying to avoid a strikeout! It makes sense to at least consider bunting a kid with two strikes since what we are trying to avoid when we don't is probably going to happen anyways.
Therre are advantages to bunting with two strikes, if you can get it down. The field situation for an 0-2 bunt is often a lot better than it was prior to this point. The corners are back. Just about everyone on the field will be surprised if the batter bunts. If she can get one down in fair ground, it is almost always successful. So in a tight game, why not give it a try?
As a corollary to the two strike bunt, I have another suggestion which is probably only applicable to youth games, though sometimes presents itself in higher levels. At the youth level, it is fairly common to encounter a "slapper" who is just learning. She steps over to the left side for the first couple of pitches but if she fails to execute a slap into fair ground, she moves back over to the right side for the next couple of pitches. This is fairly common in youth play but I have seen it as late as high school, where often a coach identifies a fast kid and tries to teach her to slap for the first time.
(I want to add one rule element here because I have seen it called. When the batter steps across the plate while the pitcher is holding the ball inside the circle, perhaps while in contact with the rubber, some umps will call her out. Before a batter crosses the plate, she should call time out to avoid this. You are allowed to cross the plate when time is out. You're not supposed to do this while the pitcher is on the rubber.)
I understand that a girl may want to try out the new skill she is working on but, after failing a few times, wants to go back over and take some real swings. I'm not going to criticize this approach. It's a learning tool. But what I want to suggest is a strategy which may catch the defense off guard.
When a kid who throws righty steps to the left handed batter's box, not very many people are fooled into believing she is a natural left-handed batter. The defense expects a slap or a drag bunt. Either the corners move in or the defense takes up one of the defensive positionings we refer to as slapper-D. After those first couple of pitches, after which the batter decides to go back over to the right-handed box, they move back into standard positioning. This is the perfect time for a right handed drag bunt!
As a final strategic point, I want to bring up the situation in which it is far more prefereable to tap a grounder to one of the middle infielders than it is to take a full cut and strike out or otherwise accomplish an unproductive out. We've been over the offensive perspective when you have a runner on third with one or no outs. In that circumstance, we want our girls to be conditioned to run home if the ball comes off the bat angle down and not directly back to the pitcher. This is more true when we have runners on second and third but anytime there is a runner on third, we want the batter to hit the ball into play rather than try to drive in the run with a hit.
There is a technique I have seen many well-experienced batters use. I refer to it as a "two strike swing." the batter starts out looking as if she might be thinking of bunting, with the bat out in front of her in the strike zone. Then, as the pitcher begins her motion, the batter draws the bat back but not to a full cocked, loaded position. Basically, she pulls back to perhaps the halfway point, possibly as far back as three quarters. Then she attempts to hit the ball into play with less force than she might have during other pitches. What she is trying to do is reduce the liklihood of a K and increase the probability of hitting the ball into play, preferably on the ground. The reduced swing provides the batter better bat control. This is an effective technique which when well practiced very often produces the desired result.
My strategic suggestion for this technique is, why wait for two strikes? Anytime you have a runner on third, I think the situation dictates a "two strike swing."
I think we often get caught up in the illusion that baseball and softball are essentially the same game. We do many of the same things in one that we learned in the other despite the fact that there are pronounced differences between the games. Not bunting with two strikes is something which I learned in baseball - though even there, it can be effective. In softball, with its relatively lower scoring, bunting is a more important tool. And in softball, with its higher rate of strikeouts, I think attempting a bunt with two strikes makes more sense than it does in baseball.
In softball, the difference between the winner and loser, especially in championship games, often involves the winner catching the loser off guard. Aside from two strike bunting, moving from the left to the right and yet still attempting a drag bunt can be an effective strategy. Aside from these, practicing so-called "two strike hitting" can be an effedctive way to push a run across. And it works even when the batter does not have two strikes.Labels: batting, Bunt, game strategy, Offense, rules
 
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