Bunting with 2 strikes and 2 outs???

[CSA]

Does anyone have any input on this. Our coach has done it several times with people on with nobody on there is no rhyme or reason to it. I finally asked and of course they took offense then she says well we are going to do it till we get it right. The the other coach/spouse says it's small ball. Ok I get small ball, but with 2 outs and 2 strikes how's it small ball??? Not to mention they can't answer the question and be on the same page about it. Sorry coach but i didn't drive 2 hours for you to have bunting practice. And if you 2 don't know what's goin on and as a parent I can't figure out what your trying to do then it's probably safe to say that a team of 11-12 year old girls don't get it either.

 

[Chad Strahler]

I have a unique situation like this. I have a girl that bunts fair and well more than she makes contact swinging. I bunt her a lot no matter the count or outs, did I mention she is safe a lot with 2 outs and 2 strikes?

 

[CARDS]

We had a player where bunting was her game.. Bunted almost every time up?. She lead the "GMC" in hitting over .500 by bunting with two strikes and two outs in 2013... Check out the link below...

http://www.gmcsports.com/bsstatistics.aspx?satc=249&year=2012&div=1

But; honestly it sounds like the OP was talking about a ladie that struggled getting it down and obviously getting contact with a swing.
In that case I still think teaching the lady how to bunt will help her hitting?

 

[FastBat]

I see both sides; Parents probably want to win and want their kid to swing away, coaches are trying to teach. But, if coaches are teaching, that isn't teaching a true game situation. No right answer here, two different agendas.

 

[wannaplaysb]

I will call a bunt day in or out. Best sac you can give up for the sake of team first.

 

[Louuuuu]

The fact that there's 2 outs means that you have confidence that your player has wheels. 'cause this isn't a sac situation. If the corners are playing back, and you think you can pull it off, I say "go for it".

 

[coachjwb]

Learning to bunt is something that every single fastpitch player MUST learn to do well. And I could care less if the parents get PO'd for not letting their precious DD hit away. It still astounds me to see so many poor bunt attempts at the high school and college age levels. WITH THAT BEING SAID, I personally don't think that "forcing the issue" is the right way to do it. I'm not a fan of bunting on two strikes except on very rare occasions, and I especially think it could do more damage than good for a young player who is still learning the skill. Because they are inevitably going to miss or foul off these pitches, they are going to strike out a lot of the time and end up going back to the dugout feeling like a failure. There is a time and a place for everything and making players who are learning to bunt attempt it with 2 strikes is not the right time and place in my mind. Nor is bunting with two outs if the batter doesn't have the speed to beat it out. And yes, we have all seen the players who purposely look bad bunting so the coach won't call it ... that's a whole "nother" story ... a bigger rant of mine than two strike bunting ...

 

[CSA]

Learning to bunt is something that every single fastpitch player MUST learn to do well. And I could care less if the parents get PO'd for not letting their precious DD hit away. It still astounds me to see so many poor bunt attempts at the high school and college age levels. WITH THAT BEING SAID, I personally don't think that "forcing the issue" is the right way to do it. I'm not a fan of bunting on two strikes except on very rare occasions, and I especially think it could do more damage than good for a young player who is still learning the skill. Because they are inevitably going to miss or foul off these pitches, they are going to strike out a lot of the time and end up going back to the dugout feeling like a failure. There is a time and a place for everything and making players who are learning to bunt attempt it with strikes is not the right time and place in my mind. Nor is bunting with two outs if the batter doesn't have the speed to beat it out. And yes, we have all seen the players who purposely look bad bunting so the coach won't call it ... that's a whole "nother" story ... a bigger rant of mine than two strike bunting ...

I guess I should clarify. It was NOT my daughter and it is never the SAME girl, that's why I said no rhyme or reason. Also I agree if the odds are good and the hitter gets on a lot because she lays down a good bunt and has speed by all means go for it, but statistically in our situation the average is very low of the hitter making contact or putting the ball in play or even getting on base. To me in this situation you are taking the bat out of the girls hands. If she fouls it off she's out, unlike if she was swinging and fouled it off. If the catcher drops the 3rd strike you can't run your out because you was squared up to bunt. Don't know if you guys remember Norris Hopper that played for the reds but everyone knew he was bunting when he came up to the plate no matter what the count. I may be exaggerating here but it seemed like if he attempted a bunt 9 out of 10 times 7 out of 10 he would be successful. That's not our situation at all.

 

[coachjwb]

CSA ... I think we're more on the same page than you think. I started off my post saying how important it is to learn to bunt, but I agreed that doing it with 2 strikes and/or sometimes with 2 outs doesn't make sense to me. I have seen some coaches who try bunting with 2 strikes a lot, and they seem to only remember the couple of times it worked and the fact that the majority of the times it failed. I think unless you have an outstanding bunter with speed or the defense hasn't shown the ability to field a bunt, it's just a lower percentage play most of the time vs. hitting away. And as far as using the situation to teach and/or give a player more confidence to bunt, I think that's a low percentage move too. If they strike out, the likelihood is that it's only going to decrease their confidence. I don't care about the parents' reaction when I ask players to do something in a game the parents might not agree with, but yeah you're going to get that too.

 

[CSA]

CSA ... I think we're more on the same page than you think. I started off my post saying how important it is to learn to bunt, but I agreed that doing it with 2 strikes and/or sometimes with 2 outs doesn't make sense to me. I have seen some coaches who try bunting with 2 strikes a lot, and they seem to only remember the couple of times it worked and the fact that the majority of the times it failed. I think unless you have an outstanding bunter with speed or the defense hasn't shown the ability to field a bunt, it's just a lower percentage play most of the time vs. hitting away. And as far as using the situation to teach and/or give a player more confidence to bunt, I think that's a low percentage move too. If they strike out, the likelihood is that it's only going to decrease their confidence. I don't care about the parents' reaction when I ask players to do something in a game the parents might not agree with, but yeah you're going to get that too.

Couldn't agree with you more coachjwb. The confidence level is a serious crusher if it doesn't work out. I also understand every girl should know how to bunt but shouldn't that be practiced during practice not in an actual game? That was my point to the coach when she said we will do it till we get it right. This isn't the place to "practice" your bunting. In the situation that we was in when odds are not in our favor it would be like telling a kid to swing at a 3-0 pitch. The coaches gotta remember these are 11-12 year old girls. They are still learning. Give them a reason for everything they do on the field so they know why they are doing it and not just going through the motions.

 

[coachjwb]

CSA ... yes, it definitely should be worked on practice, but then it should definitely be used in games as well ... though we both would agree not with a 2 strike count if they don't have it down pretty well yet. I won't address the 3-0 count comparison since I have a different opinion on that. I do want to clarify though that when you're coaching younger girls, the primary emphasis should be on their development, and that should be the #1 priority over winning games ... so that might mean you do have a player attempt a bunt in a game even though she's not very good at it yet. Too may parents (and some coaches, including myself in past years) get caught up in what's the best strategy to win a game, while a good coach of younger players should be balancing that with their players' development.

 

[Chad Strahler]

My girl that does it rarely hits otherwise and she is awesome at placing a bunt on a line and fast out of the box. I coach 16u not younger girl here so it's a skill she has learned and I would rather have this particular girl bunt than swing any day. That's where her confidence is. For whatever reason we struggle getting her to stay short to the zone which any speed pitching she struggles hitting. I admit we struggle getting this one to adapt to a good solid short to long thru swing. She gets long and stays long no matter what we have tried.

 

[ApogeeDemon]

here is an article in favor of bunting with 2 strikes. http://girls-softball.com/2009/05/2-strikes-time-to-bunt.html