Bunting Plummets in MLB

[Panerista]

WSJ: War on Bunting is Over and the Nerds Won

 

The bunt, the go-to strategy for traditional managers and reliable friend to many weak-hitting pitchers, died this season in Major League Baseball. It was 122 (or thereabouts). The cause of death was logic.

 

For nearly two decades, baseball sabermetricians have banded together to decry bunting. They saw it as a rally-killing blunder in which a team willingly surrendered an out despite modest returns. Many in baseball appeared be listening as the number of bunting attempts dropped steadily. This year, the bunt has all but vanished.

 

Overall bunting is down throughout baseball from once every 109 plate appearances in 2004 to once every 179 this year. But that’s not the half of it. If you ignore pitchers altogether and look only at position players, batters are bunting once every 337 plate appearances this year versus once every 162.5 in 2004. That means that non-pitchers are bunting an average of about once every nine games, according to Stats, LLC.

 

 

It took baseball’s collective minds a long time to realize that men who are skilled at swinging bats should probably just swing bats. In 1927, Lou Gehrig was asked to bunt 21 times despite slugging 47 homers and knocking in 173 runs. To the delight of opposing pitchers, Babe Ruth sacrificed himself that many times in 1930 when he hammered 49 homers. The most bunts for a player with 20-plus homers this century is Derek Jeter’s 16 in 2004. But last year, Royals’ Mike Moustakas led baseball’s 20-plus-homer club with four sacrifices.

 

The Angels, with old-school manager Mike Scioscia at the helm, appear intent on keeping the dying art alive. Los Angeles began Monday tied for the MLB lead in sacrifice bunts with 11—remarkable considering none of them have been by a pitcher.

 

The bunt is only the most obvious casualty in a bigger movement. The rates of steals and intentional walks—two plays that are high on the sabermetrician’s enemies list—have also dramatically declined. If these trends continue, they will essentially turn managers into glorified caretakers, watching the games along with the rest of us.

 

Really interesting stuff. I thought it felt like bunting was way down. The game is changing like crazy with every-play shifts, insane pitching, lots of bad teams, and sabermetric dominance.

[lostfan]

I remember watching an All-Star game where Barry Bonds was batting 2nd, and on the first pitch he showed bunt (but didn't). I rolled my eyes so hard... why would Barry effing Bonds (at his steroid peak) bunt? That makes NO sense.

[Panerista]

I remember watching an All-Star game where Barry Bonds was batting 2nd, and on the first pitch he showed bunt (but didn't). I rolled my eyes so hard... why would Barry effing Bonds (at his steroid peak) bunt? That makes NO sense.

Ahh yes. The lost art of bad fake bunting. Awesome username, BTW.

[lostfan]

Ahh yes. The lost art of bad fake bunting. Awesome username, BTW.

heh, I should've changed it years ago

[mmmmmbeeer]

I know I'll sound like Hawk but I still believe it has its place in the game. Yesterday with a cold Sanchez at bat and a slow Jose at first in the 9th inning would've been a great time for a sac bunt, imo.

[Panerista]

I know I'll sound like Hawk but I still believe it has its place in the game. Yesterday with a cold Sanchez at bat and a slow Jose at first in the 9th inning would've been a great time for a sac bunt, imo.

If it's the 9th inning and you need one run, bunting might be appropriate. Even then, I'm not so sure.

[cabiness42]

If it's the 9th inning and you need one run, bunting might be appropriate. Even then, I'm not so sure.

 

I'm good with bunting a runner from 2nd to 3rd with no outs. Then you open up the possibility of scoring a run while making an out. Never bunt a runner from 1st to 2nd unless your pitcher is up.

[Panerista]

Here's a 2013 Bleacher a Report article on why bunting is bad in today's game

 

It makes me all the more frustrated. People just don't understand you DON'T bunt with a runner on 1st and no outs. That's not a productive out. Strikeouts are way up and slugging percentage in the top and bottom of the order is way up, so there is no longer a need to waste an out.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Deadpool

[Leonard Zelig]

The amount of bunting always plummets shortly after opening day and then spikes again in select areas in October.

[Bob Sacamano]

I hate bunting early in the game to get a quick guy over from second to third. A guy who can score on a hit to the outfield but you decide to give up one chance for him just to move 90 feet.

[Iwritecode]

I hate bunting when the starting pitcher just threw 8 straight balls to the previous 2 batters.