Baseball AcademicsTHE SACRIFICE BUNT
BY RICHARD PACE
The sacrifice bunt is made from the normal hitting stance, or with the body ultimately completely turned and facing the pitcher. The latter method allows the batter to control the bat much better, but the down side is that it signals the defense early a bunt is “on”. The first thing a hitter must be aware when he is in a sacrifice situation he has one job at the plate and one job only – to advance that runner. If your talent level is such, yes by all means try to squeeze a hit out of the situation. But if your ability in bunting is limited, only focus on getting the ball on the ground and advance the runner over!!
To be successful, remember that bunting is no different from any other form of situational hitting. The basics remain the same. You look for a pitch that you can handle. In a bunt situation, that means a pitch in the top half of the strike zone. One of the keys to being a good bunter is the angle of your bat upon contact with the ball.
To begin, place your bat into the upper half of the strike zone. Pivot your lower body while keeping your head and upper body still. Keep the barrel end of the bat higher than the handle. Grip the bat loosely and let the ball “come to” the bat. This is the proper way to execute the sacrifice bunt, refer to the photo illustration.
You have to keep the barrel end of the bat higher than the handle. The bat should be presented / positioned well out in front of the batter, right arm straight (if a right handed batter) as the bat is held approximately at a 45 degree angle. This angled bat position helps you keep the barrel end of the bat higher than the handle. If you drop the barrel, you have a tendency to pop the ball up. You’re better off laying off the knee high pitches and look for one from the waist up. The key is getting that bat presented out away from your body while knees are bent. You must limit bat movement up and down. Instead use your legs to raise or lower your body when attempting to make contact with the ball. This technique prevents you from dropping the barrel of the bat and popping the ball up.
Now, I’ve made my pivot and have my hands in position on the bat. As the ball is in flight I make a semi circular motion with the barrel end of the bat. I affix the bat out in front of me at a 45-degree angle. Remember, it was stressed how important it is to keep the barrel of the bat higher than the handle. In watching hitters, I’ve noticed that when they square around (not pivot), they immediately put their bats into the bunting position. What happens is that as they watch the pitch, the barrel end of the bat has a tendency to drop during the anticipatory time frame causing foul balls. The semi circular motion of the bat along with the 45-degree positioning of the bat is a discipline that prevents me from dropping the barrel of the bat as the pitch comes in. This has been key in my success as a bunter.
The other key to making good contact as a bunter is the exact opposite of what we teach for making a good contact hitter. In bunting, we initiate the head of the bat toward the ball. In bunting, we want to allow the ball to meet the bat. A big mistake bunters make is trying to jab the bat toward the ball. Once you have moved your bat into the bunting zone, the only time that bat, or any part of your body should move is when the ball actually makes contact with the bat. I like to call it catching the ball with your bat.
