What's up guys?
We're going to talk a little bit about bunting today.
Some of the misconceptions and how to bunt like a professional player.
Ok?
Um, the first thing that we want to do on any bunt.
Whether it be a squeeze or a sacrifice, um we always want to make sure that when we square,
we're going to be in front of the plate.
OK?
So, I don't want to say move up in the box.
For younger players, definitely go ahead and move up in the box.
For older players, see where you're at.
A lot of guys can set their foot at the back of the plate and still be in a good spot for
when they square around if they bunt the ball straight down it's going to be in fair territory.
That's the reason why we want to make sure we are in front of the plate.
Is that if it goes straight down we're still going to be in fair territory.
Ok?
The next thing is, we're not going to obviously square around like some guys have been taught
when they were younger.
Professional players when they go to bunt they just take the bat like as if they were
swinging it and then they're just going to pivot that back foot and kind of get into
a nice athletic position.
Good chest over your toes, body angle, on the balls of your feet and then you're going
to get this bat out.
Now, one of the big misconceptions that I hear is a lot of coaches will say make sure
you keep that barrel straight up.
Ok?
Like this.
And realistically, that's not going to happen when you're bunting, you're not going to be
bunting a ball with this big of an angle on your bat.
Ok?
Realistically, you can start here, I like starting here, because it keeps you above
the ball if you do miss, but when you go to bunt it, you're going to level out a little
bit.
Ok?
You can see I've still got a little bit of an angle, barrel above the handle, but I'm
not very drastic here.
Obviously, if it's a lower pitch, we're going to use our legs to go down and get it, but
we're still going to be level when we're getting to that bunt.
Ok?
Another thing is where you grip the bat at.
Ok?
You want to be able to have it in a good balance point.
So if you're here and you feel it here and that bat's rolling around, then you might
need to go a little lower or a little higher.
But you want to find that good balance point to where you can hold it with one hand and
move it around.
This is just your guide hand to where you want to go.
Ok?
To help you get to where you want to go.
If you're trying to bunt that ball to first base, you're just going to take the knob of
your bat and angle it toward third, slightly.
Ok?
If you're trying to bunt the ball to third, you're going to take the barrel of your bat
and angle it towards first a little bit.
Again, in a good athletic position, chest over toes, starting here with the angle on
the bat, but then getting to a more level position when you bunt that ball.
Obviously, you're trying to bunt that ball down, not too hard.
You're not stabbing at the ball.
Ok?
You're going to let it get here and have a nice little soft tap to it.
Ok?
Another thing you want to think about when you're bunting is when you want to square.
Ok?
If it's a sacrifice, I don't care who knows that you're bunting, right?
You don't care if the pitcher knows, you don't care if the other coach knows, you don't care
if the pitcher's mother knows that you're about to sacrifice bunt, right?
Go ahead, square early, get that bat out, get into a good position, ok?
One thing I forgot to mention was you want to get your eyes behind that bat, ok?
Now, this is for experienced players only because if you foul that ball back, you could
get yourself right in the nose.
Ok?
So you've got to be precise, you've got to be good, you've got to do a lot of practice
to make this work.
Ok?
You want to stay right behind that barrel when that ball is coming in.
Alright?
Now, if it's a squeeze you don't want to show the bunt too early.
So when's a good time to show the bunt when it's a squeeze?
I say after the pitcher starts coming home because if you've got a runner on second,
he can always do the inside move.
So you don't want to go when he's coming up, because that's a good way for coaches or pitchers
to find out if the guy is bunting.
They can come up and go, inside move, agh, he squared to bunt, now we know what's coming.
Or the team's got to switch it up now.
Ok?
So, wait for the pitcher to start coming home before you, you want to act like you're hitting
obviously, make wa make wait til that pitcher starts coming home, boom, square it around,
get to a good position, now you're ready to go.
Ok?
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