Bunting with 2 strikes/emotional dad killing his daughters chances

[default]

SoCal_Dad/Joe: I meant no disrespect, I appreciate you sharing the formula...your right many of our decisions are based on these calculations with the other teams strengths, weaknesses that they have shown throughout the game. I appreciate you and Joe's posts and respect both of your opinions and knowledge of the game.

 

[default]

Execute...Execute....Execute

Stop your whining and get the bunt down.

You score in softball through execution.

You are always being judged whether you like it or not. If I'm recruiting and see a kid blow an opportunity to help her team for any reason, especially because they ignored the sign from a coach, you can take that individual to the tennis courts and let her and her "Know everything Dad" start working on her backhand.

The game is bigger than Dad or the daughter that are so sure they know more about it than the acting coach. It doesn't matter if the coach forgot the count or they were convinced at the moment it was there only hope to rally and win. It's still the coach in charge, not Dad.

FYI, for any of the dads out there that think my attitude is arrogant or smug on the subject, promise me you'll never bring your daughter to me to work with. My job as a coach has been to invest years of my life into the study and teaching of the game to those wanting to learn. I make decisions within seconds between pitches and in even less time during live ball action. You don't have to agree with my decision but don't undermine my position of authority.

 

[default]

Great post, daboss! Coaches do make mistakes sometimes, but they're almost always trying to do what's best for the team and the training of the individual players. Now, I have had a few times when I signalled something to a girl, and she called time out to make sure she saw the signal right and/or to ensure that's what I really wanted (e.g., do you really still want me to bunt with 2 strikes?), and I am OK with it because at least she is thinking (though on a couple of times that's ruined my strategy of surprising the other team!). But such situations are great life lessons for the girls ... it's not going to be any different when they go off to work ... we all know we get asked to do things or take approaches that we don't always agree with in our jobs ... and while it's usually OK to ask the boss the reason and/or if they are sure, we have to align ourselves with the organization's goals, or go find another something else to do.

 

[default]

Great post, daboss! Coaches do make mistakes sometimes, but they're almost always trying to do what's best for the team and the training of the individual players. Now, I have had a few times when I signalled something to a girl, and she called time out to make sure she saw the signal right and/or to ensure that's what I really wanted (e.g., do you really still want me to bunt with 2 strikes?), and I am OK with it because at least she is thinking (though on a couple of times that's ruined my strategy of surprising the other team!). But such situations are great life lessons for the girls ... it's not going to be any different when they go off to work ... we all know we get asked to do things or take approaches that we don't always agree with in our jobs ... and while it's usually OK to ask the boss the reason and/or if they are sure, we have to align ourselves with the organization's goals, or go find another something else to do.

yeah, calling for the bunt with 2 strikes, 2 outs... big time Pepto moment... talk about a surprise! Gulp, did it once on purpose. That's my once in a life time.

Love this discussion.

Daboss... you da' man!

 

[default]

SoCal_Dad/Joe: I meant no disrespect, I appreciate you sharing the formula...your right many of our decisions are based on these calculations with the other teams strengths, weaknesses that they have shown throughout the game. I appreciate you and Joe's posts and respect both of your opinions and knowledge of the game.

Jjen, no problem, I didn't even know what you were talking about when you said you meant no disrespect. I had to go back up and look. My players think I'm somewhat insane.

 

[default]

You are always being judged whether you like it or not. If I'm recruiting and see a kid blow an opportunity to help her team for any reason, especially because they ignored the sign from a coach, you can take that individual to the tennis courts and let her and her "Know everything Dad" start working on her backhand.

The game is bigger than Dad or the daughter that are so sure they know more about it than the acting coach. It doesn't matter if the coach forgot the count or they were convinced at the moment it was there only hope to rally and win. It's still the coach in charge, not Dad.

FYI, for any of the dads out there that think my attitude is arrogant or smug on the subject, promise me you'll never bring your daughter to me to work with. My job as a coach has been to invest years of my life into the study and teaching of the game to those wanting to learn. I make decisions within seconds between pitches and in even less time during live ball action. You don't have to agree with my decision but don't undermine my position of authority.

I checked with our tennis coach and she doesn't want that girl, either.

daboss is right. That's why I have always advised parents and girls to do as much research as possible when choosing a team, whether travel or college. A common complaint is that the coach doesn't know what he/she is doing regarding the game, but very few people check this out in the process of making a choice of a team. Once you have agreed to play for that coach, then you have an obligation to obey the coach's instructions and give 100% effort. You can question the coach, certainly, at the appropriate time, but otherwise, if the coach says bunt and you give a half-hearted effort because you want to hit away or you disagree with the strategy, you are a major problem and someone that no coach wants to deal with.

 

[default]

A long time ago I watched Tallmadge High School win a State Championship on a suicide squeeze with 2 stikes on the batter and 2 outs. Since then I have not had too much trouble using a 2 strike bunt. [They were successful because they had their best bunter up and the defense backed off from bunt coverage when the batter got two strikes.]

 

[default]

Looove it!

 

[default]

There are only a few outcomes with a two strike bunt.
1. The batter gets the bunt down and she makes it to first.
2. The batter gets the bunt down and the defense boots the ball and the batter makes it to first.
3. The batter shows bunts and misses, striking out.
4. The batter shows bunt and fouls the pitch off, striking out.

The batter still gets her chance to hit the ball and two of the options are pretty good and both are enhanced by the the surprise factor. The two poor outcomes are really no worse that then when the the batter swings away. The bunt with two strikes tells your team to be serious about bunting and they will get that that message very load and clear.

What's the worse that will happen? Your batter makes an out. Heck that happens 75% of the time when you let them take their cuts. This outcome is the same if your batter swung away. The only difference is that she can't foul off 7 in a row...

....with as much as we work on bunting, and as good as our players are; we should see the 2 strike bunts much more often.

 

[default]

There are only a few outcomes with a two strike bunt.
1. The batter gets the bunt down and she makes it to first.
2. The batter gets the bunt down and the defense boots the ball and the batter makes it to first.
3. The batter shows bunts and misses, striking out.
4. The batter shows bunt and fouls the pitch off, striking out.

The batter still gets her chance to hit the ball and two of the options are pretty good and both are enhanced by the the surprise factor. The two poor outcomes are really no worse that then when the the batter swings away. The bunt with two strikes tells your team to be serious about bunting and they will get that that message very load and clear.

What's the worse that will happen? Your batter makes an out. Heck that happens 75% of the time when you let them take their cuts. This outcome is the same if your batter swung away. The only difference is that she can't foul off 7 in a row...

....with as much as we work on bunting, and as good as our players are; we should see the 2 strike bunts much more often.

If this is all true, then girls should bunt pretty much all the time. Certainly if a two-strike bunt is a great play, then a bunt with no chance of striking out on that pitch is an even better play.

If the bunt is a sac bunt, then one thing is pretty certain, which is there is going to be an out. If teams would like to trade one of their three outs for 60 feet, I'm usually happy to oblige them. If it is a tie game in the 7th inning and exactly one run makes sense - or if two stud pitchers are going and the score is likely to be 1-0 or 2-1 - then playing for exactly one run make sense. Otherwise, any time a sac bunt is successful, a team's odds of scoring exactly one run have slightly increased, while the odds of scoring two or more runs have dramatically decreased.

 

[default]

A ton depends on the ability (or probability) of the batter to lay down a fair bunt vs. her ability to hit away, as well as the ability of the defense to successfully field the bunt and the speed of the batter. At 12-U (and even occasionally at the 16-U level), I have seen a lot of big innings started when both the second and third batters bunted and got on while trying to move up the previous hitter(s). With that being said, I still think the 2 strike bunt is generally speaking a low percentage play, though I would acknowledge it shouldn't automatically be eliminated as a surprise move, no different than a run up the middle on 3rd and long.

 

[default]

What happens when this involves a slapper who consistently gets bat on ball? Tell her to slap (soft or hard) or bunt?

 

[default]

Blue Ice ... with 2 strikes, that's a no-brainer, isn't it??

 

[default]

Blue Ice ... with 2 strikes, that's a no-brainer, isn't it??

I would think so...not always the case. Even with a girl with decent speed.

 

[default]

A low percentage play maybe, but at those ages, you'd better get it down period! If you are asked to do something a certain way, you do what that coach you are playing for at that time says. You go back to school ball, you do what that coach says period. There is also a thing called respect for the coach as well by player and parent. But not being able to bunt at HS age is not good. start them young bunting and they learn it and know they can by that age. Sure parents hate it because its not glorious, but seeing a kid lay it down and cause a rushed throw, they did their job.

 

[default]

My point is that both swinging and bunting a low percentage plays while bunting with two strikes is only slightly lower. That penalty is more than offset by the surprise factor and the increased concentration by the batter. I do not automatically take the two-strike bunt off of the table. If a bunt was called for by the situation, it is probably still a valid call, even with two strikes.

Nothing is guaranteed in this game and there is risk in either call, the penalty is still just an out, not the end of the world.