The Art of Bunting

Law1ing- it's always great to hear from you. And Buddy is still involved with HS baseball.

 

Yep Buddy is about a mile through the woods behind my house at the new Porter Ridge HS in Union county. Had a tough season last year as the school opened with no seniors but do should do better this year. My son lives in the district but chose to finish at Piedmont. Yoiu could really tell Buddy was frustrated at times last year with so many very young players but like I said they should do much better this go around.

 

not to hijack the thread, but he was in a similar situation when he took over at Harding. He had to teach us how to win and build the program from the ground up. If the players believe in his philosophy, they will become better players AND men. and most of all, they will have a lot of fun!

The last time i saw him was several years ago at an Independence football game. He, Knotts, and Geiler continue to be good friends. If anyone bumps into him, tell him a former player says hello.

ok boys...back to the topic.

I believe that the bunt becomes less of a factor as the level of play goes up. Personally, i struggled with the fact that the bunt was less a part of the college game when i got to ASU. and as you progress to the professional level, i think you see a good bit of the Money Ball ideal in the game...especially in the American League. never give up an out unless it is totally necessary because the free out takes you out of the big inning.

but I will continue to believe that at the High School level and below, every hitter in the lineup should be able to execute a bunt in any possible situation. Many games can be won or lost playing BuddyBall.

oh...merry christmas guys...and happy new year.

 

I've heard Coach Rhodes at Olympic speak of playing this team in 1988, he said you guys drove him nuts trying to defend the bunt. I'd consider that high praise coming from a respected coach.

 

I do consider that high praise. I remember Coach Rhodes...and definitely respected him. He was right. We did drive teams crazy with what we would do. To a degree, the brand of baseball that was played in Charlotte changed because of the things we were able to accomplish. As they say...immitation is the finest form of flattery.

 

going back to bunting, i think bunt defenses are becoming pretty poor as well. i have seen some very good teams look like the bad news bears when teams bunt on them.

my favorite play in baseball is the bunt and run.