Rinker: The art and skill of laying down a bunt
From SABR member Lance Rinker at Beyond the Box Score on May 21, 2013:
There are many reasons to detest a player laying down a bunt and it’s certainly easier to think of the many different reasons why we, collectively, dislike bunting overall than the reasons why we like it. It’s been suggested that when you only play for one run, by laying down a sacrifice bunt, then that’s all you are going to get. It’s also suggested that the success rates of bunting are so low that you are simply giving away an out to your opponent and we all know how precious those are. Then of course there’s the perception that slow players should never bunt because they are too slow to succeed at it and fast players should bunt more often because they stand a better chance of success.
I’m going to guide you through the different research available to test those ideas of who should or should not bunt, whether faster players are more successful at it then slower players, and how teams/players could become more successful at it overall.
Read the full article here: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2013/5/21/4349530/bunting-skill-juan-pierre-speed-stolen-base
Originally published: May 21, 2013. Last Updated: May 21, 2013.