The art of the bunt: From sac to drag

Baseball is a game of fundamentals. Some of the things that make baseball an interesting sport are the intricacies and wide variety of skills that one needs to develop while learning the game. One of the most overlooked fundamentals is the bunt.

The Sac Bunt

The sacrifice bunt is used in order to advance a runner into scoring position — i.e. on second or third — in an effort to make it easier to score than run.

Sacrifice bunts have a lot to do with form. A textbook bunt involves the batter "squaring up" with the pitcher — turning 90 degrees in order to face the pitcher — as the pitcher starts his windup. Next, the batter lets go of the bat with his upper hand and in turn rests the bat between his thumb and index finger of that hand. He then slides his hand about halfway up the bat to the point where the barrel starts to increase in diameter. Finally, the batter chokes his lower hand up on the grip a few inches for control.

When the pitch gets delivered, the batter must first judge whether he will be able to place the bunt where he wants it.

Once the batter decides that he is going to bunt the given pitch, he has to angle the bat away from the side of the field that he is interested in placing the ball. This is typically the third-base side. As the ball contacts the bat, the batter must move the bat backward so that the ball does not bounce as far as it normally would. His objective is to place the ball roughly halfway between the catcher and either the first baseman or the third baseman and as close to the line as possible so that the pitcher cannot field it. The batter must also focus on contacting the top half of the ball so that the bunt does not get caught before it hits the ground.

The Drag Bunt

In contrast to the sac bunt, the objective of a drag bunt is to get on base. It will typically be used by a very speedy player such as a leadoff hitter when he feels that the corner fielders are playing too deep. It is also executed more often by left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters due to the side of the plate on which the hitter is standing.

Hitters do not square up to execute a drag bunt. Instead, they actually start moving toward first base before the bat comes into contact with the ball. Left-handed batters will tend to take their first step toward first right as they anticipate contact. Right-handed batters will move their right foot backward and lean into the ball so that they are ready to take off as soon as the bat makes contact.

These bunts are infinitely more difficult to execute because of the footwork, but distance is not always as important because the third baseman is playing that much farther back. The batter also has a little jumpstart giving the fielder less time.

The Slug Bunt

This type of bunt is rarely used anymore. The last player most can remember successfully executing this bunt is Tony Fernandez, a switch-hitting shortstop who played in the '80s and '90s.

Like the drag bunt, the objective of this bunt is to get on base, but the technique is essentially the opposite. Rather than resting the bat between the thumb and forefinger of the upper hand, with this bunt, the batter grabs the bat in the same spot with that upper hand. He will often square his feet to the pitcher during the windup. As the ball is coming, instead of using a soft touch of the bat to keep the ball close, the batter attempts to chop the ball downward to the left in order to one hop the ball over the third baseman's head, or at least hit the ball up high enough so that the third baseman does not have enough time to execute the force at first by the time the ball comes back down.