Bare hand bunt defense?

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I was told last night that when fielding a bunt, it is fast to field it in the glove than to barehanded it by my dd's coach! I do not believe this to be true, what does the ofc think?

 

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I think all bunts can be handled differently and a couple methods can be acceptable.....Too fast of a bunt, use your glove, super slow bunt where ball almost stops, use your bare hand, something in between use a sweeping motion with the outside of your glove....

 

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I was told last night that when fielding a bunt, it is fast to field it in the glove than to barehanded it by my dd's coach! I do not believe this to be true, what does the ofc think?

I know Howard Kobata has always advocated not using the barehand, unless he has changed in the last five years or so. I timed several attempts by different third basemen and found little difference, as long as the fielder did not reach behind herself to barehand the ball. Often, players end up barehanding the ball to their right and slightly behind, which negates any advantage in time and greatly increases the likelihood of a bobbled ball since they are now reaching back while their body is still moving forward.

My current third baseman is very good at the barehand and is a little quicker with it than with the glove, so I let her go ahead and do it.

The other thought is that the barehand is good if a third baseman or shortstop is capable of making a quick, off-balance, sidearm throw from close to the ground like you might see from MLB players. I have seen some college players pull this off, but not many.

 

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I like the barehand for some and the glove for others. There is no 1 way to field a bunt, it all depends on how the ball is bunted. I like to teach my corners many different ways to field the bunt so they can decide for themselves when it's hit what is the best approach for that situation.

 

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Catchers should use the glove because of the spin usually occurring in their location of fielding it. Corners depends on how slow it is. Bottom line if they aren't proficient doing it, use the glove.....

 

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I agree it depends on the speed,but if you bare hand make sure to scoop from behind palm up don't grab from on top of the ball.

 

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There is also the hybrid method of using the bare hand to trap the ball against a closed glove as if using a quick hands glove.

 

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Use the glove unless the ball is not moving!!! As Joe stated, in most cases fielders will have to actually field the ball behind them and off to the side, while trying to gain a grip on the ball. I hate seeing a fielder bare hand a moving ball!! Field the ball out in front with both hands so you can use the glove to gain better control/grip of the ball. If done properly, the fielder will be able to fly through the ball using momentum coming through the ball with a little extra for the throw. If you watch your fielders who go with the bare hand you will notice them slowing down, as to not over run the ball.

 

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I have seen to many errors occur while attempting to bare-hand a bunt. I like the player to use both the hand and the glove to corral the ball. This keeps her head down, eyes on the ball and body behind the ball. When they bare-hand they tend to look up and miss the pick-up, fumbling the ball and then rushing the throw, nothing but bad things then occur; Field first and then throw; Use the glove.

If the ball has stopped rolling the batter is already at first and it doesn't matter.

 

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While this has all made me think some about fielding more bunts with the glove, I have to agree with a few who have said it depends on the bunt. Fairman, I see bunts all the time which have stopped rolling shortly in front of the plate, but which are still playable for an out. It make no sense at all for me for a catcher to try to pick up a dead ball like that with her somewhat bulkier glove and then transfer the ball to make the throw to first. I also think that experienced infielders at the older ages have some kind of an internal clock that is going to tell them sometimes that they have no choice but to barehand it. With that being said, I do follow the logic that probably a majority of the time that it makes sense to use the glove, and that probably some of those barehanded pickups and throws are more at risk to turn into errors which make the situation worse.

 

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I watched Candrea and he advocated picking up the ball with the hand and throwing from where you pick the ball up, this would be for the slow roller or stationary ball and if your 3B plays up close enough to actually make a play on the runner. Worked great in HS, but in college, the girls that bunt/slap are on first base before a throw can be made anyway...

 

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I watched Candrea and he advocated picking up the ball with the hand and throwing from where you pick the ball up, this would be for the slow roller or stationary ball and if your 3B plays up close enough to actually make a play on the runner. Worked great in HS, but in college, the girls that bunt/slap are on first base before a throw can be made anyway...

This is what our 3rd baseman does and she does it very, very well. She grew up and played in So Cal on many of the top teams. At first when I saw it I didn't like it, but she does it so well that I just let it go. We give up almost nothing to bunters/slappers who try to go down third base.

 

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These must be old baseball coaches or players that now coach softball. A softball is twice as big as a baseball and a girls hand is smaller than a mans hand, so imo softball players should never barehand the ball.

 

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Little girls hands are too small but not all softball players are little girls. Half the girls on my 14u team have banana hands and can just about wrap their hands around a softball. Some plays must be barehanded if they want to make the out, the girls get faster and faster as they get older and 60 feet isn't very far.