Yesterday, Marc Carig this little tidbit from , which inspired an interesting discussion about bunting:
Girardi also believes should make bunting more a part of his game…
While some derided this as a ridiculous attempt by the manager to tell his high-OBP player to make more outs, I interpreted it as Joe suggesting that Gardner needs to incorporate bunting for hits into his arsenal. Gardner is not a great bunter, and he does not attempt to bunt for hits quite as frequently as his speed would suggest he should. He finished last season with 7 bunt hits (T-15th in MLB), and had a success rate of 36.8%. Of the 23 batters with 7 or more bunt hits, 14 of them were better at it than Gardner, with 6 over 50%. And as anyone who watches the Yankees regularly can tell you, whether he is bunting for a hit or to sacrifice, he is not as good at it as you would expect him to be, given his skill set.
So what benefits would working on his bunting have for Gardner? Firstly, working on his bunting to get his success rate over 40% would make bunting for a hit a legitimate weapon in Gardner’s arsenal. If his rate hovers around his OBP, it may not make sense to attempt to bunt for a hit too often, as he would be sacrificing any chance at extra bases without increasing his ability to reach first base. But if he could push his hit rate closer to that of , , and , bunting would become a way for Gardner to increase his likelihood of reaching base. As this work by Lucas Apostoleris shows, hitters like Ichiro, Pagan, , and have actually increased their value through bunting, and there is no reason that a player with Gardner’s speed shouldn’t be able to approach a similar rate of success.
Even if Gardner is not able to increase his success rate, it may make sense to bunt more often in order to keep fielders off balance. Attempting to bunt for a hit more often will force the defense to alter their positioning accordingly. Being that Gardner is a bit of a slap hitter, pulling the defense in at the corners even just a bit makes it more likely that he squeezes some hard hit liners and groundballs through the infield. Furthermore, with a player of Gardner’s speed, you’d like to keep the defense as confused as possible, as forcing defenders to be in-motion before the play begins and having a burner like Gardner going up the line can cause mistakes by fielders. Considering all of this, while Gardner may give up an extra 5 or so outs over the course of the season due to the greater frequency of bunting, it seems likely that he will earn at least that many extra bases due to the impact this strategy will have on opposing defenses.
In the sabermetric community, bunting is considered taboo in most cases, particularly when it involves sacrificing outs for bases and is done by hitters with any semblance of power. But for a player like Gardner, bunting can be an important weapon that actually serves as a net positive for him at the plate. is right to say that Gardner needs to incorporate bunting into his game to a greater degree, particularly if Brett can improve his success rate when squaring up. If he does, many fans may find themselves embracing the bunt after many years of dismissing it as a legitimate run producing tool.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Agree with every word of this post.
[Reply]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by moshetya, moshetya. moshetya said: New post: Should Ga https://yankeeanalysts.com/2011/02/should-gardner-bunt-more-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bunt-25979 [...]
I don’t think there is any controversy here at all. I doubt Girardi means Gardner should sacrifice more. As you noted, what he needs to do is learn how to put down a drag bunt. Doing so will help him make less, not more outs. It’s pretty amazing he has gotten this far without learning the skill, so I really hope the Yankees will make a concerted effort to teach him the finer points. Where’s the Scooter when you need him?
[Reply]
I feel like other teams are pretty aware of Gardner’s speed and they play him in on the corners, no? Either way, I totally agree with Moshe, if he can use it as another tool to get on base I’m all for it.
[Reply]
All for more drag bunting from Gardner with his speed it could add countless base hits and errors to his getting on base, with a guy of his speed you’ll have 3rd baseman and Short Stops rushing throws right over the first baseman’s head.
If anyone knows the benefit of drag bunting with speed it’s Lou Brock, drag bunting for hits changed his whole game and may have out him over the top on that hall of fame ballots. Read Bob Gibson’s autobiography he talks about not being able to beat Sandy Koufax as a team until Brock learned to drop the drag bunt on him.
[Reply]
Any reference to Dr Strangelove in a baseball blog is a o k with me.
[Reply]
Gardner has a high OBP, but his OBP varies during the course of the season, of course. When he is ice cold and in a deep slump, bunting to get on base makes sense. Bunting is another tool, and it can’t hurt to have another tool in the kit.
[Reply]
Moshe Mandel Reply:
February 25th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Excellent point, I hadn’t thought of that. Bunting can help him contribute a bit during slumps.
[Reply]
[...] Moshe Mandel covered in detail yesterday afternoon, Brett Gardner has made improving his bunting skills a priority [...]
[...] Moshe Mandel covered in detail yesterday afternoon, Brett Gardner has made improving his bunting skills a priority [...]
[...] “almost all bunts are bad” position that many fans seem to espouse is wrong-headed, and applauded when Joe Girardi suggested that Brett needs to become a better bunter: So what benefits would [...]
[...] I don’t like the idea of sacrificing an out for the sake of just one run. However, Moshe has recently had some common-sense discussions on bunting and I’m swaying towards his side more and [...]