Quick Tips To Improve Bunting Skills

by John Tschida Head Coach, University of St. Thomas
Originally published in Fastpitch Delivery Magazine

Bunting is one of the simplest, but most often under-taught aspects of our game. Here are some quick tips to help you.

First, you want to either be in the front or back of the box. Being in the front increases the chance of the bunt going fair, but the back increases the chance of the bunt rolling down the foul line.

Once you decide where your batter will stand, next you must decide where to place the bunt. You can bunt to first base, and this will be advantageous due to the fact that the throwing lane won't be clear because of the runner running. The second baseman will have to sprint over, slow down and she won't be able to get a good stretch because of the need to create a better throwing lane. To create a better throwing lane, she will put her left foot on the base, which will not allow her to stretch as far, giving the batter a small but distinct advantage. Bunts are normally very close plays, and this slight edge is typically all the advantage the batter will need. Defenses may play a "one-back," which again leaves that part of the field as an area of maximum vulnerability.

Another popular place to put your bunt is in the area of the "four-headed monster." This is the area right in front of the pitcher where the pitcher, catcher, first baseman and third baseman will all have to come in and make a decision on which one will pick up the ball. Lack of communication, lack of a priority system or just the simple act of one player getting in the way will generally cause some hesitation and allow the runner to reach base safely.

As for the actual technique of the bunt, there are a few different methods used in regards to the lower body. The first is called the "pivot method." The bunter can choose to simply pivot on the back foot, and open up the front foot. The advantage is the ability to turn and get out of the way of inside pitches easier and to execute a powerful fake bunt and hit.

The disadvantage is the hitter tends to have more problems getting squared all the way around and in leaning a little forward with the head when compared to the "square around" method.

The "square around" method is when the batter opens up so that front foot steps away from home plate and back to a point to where what was once the front foot actually becomes the back foot, but just slightly behind. You can also get to that point and add a jab step with your back foot moving forwards and towards the plate. This allows the batter to get further up in the box and get better plate coverage. Either way, at the time of the bunt, the bunter will have both feet, hips and shoulders facing the pitcher.

Plate coverage without reaching or leaning is important, so the bunter will want to be right next to the inside chalk line at the time of the pitch and possibly be on the line when actually bunting, making sure not to step completely outside the chalk line on contact.

When bunting, everything should be done short and efficiently so the defense has less time to read bunt. This goes for footwork as well. The bat head should immediately get out into bunting position by the time the bunter's body rotation is complete, instead of casting out and taking a long approach like many hitters do. Casting out or being slow in getting squared around allows the defense to read the bunt sooner and close the distance under control.

Once the bunter has her base set, it is time to "climb the ladder." You want the knees to be bent, the waist bent and you want her to get in the "middle of the strike zone" with her body. This ensures high pitches aren't too high and that low pitches aren't too low. What this means is that the head is now at the top of the hitting strike zone.

The next step is hand placement. Some prefer to keep hands together and some prefer to split the hands.

Of those that choose to split their hands, some prefer to split the bat into thirds. One-third is above the top hand, one-third is between the hands and one-third is below the bottom hand.

Either way, the top hand should be at the balance point of the bat. To find the balance point, lay the bat on the index finger of the top hand and see if you can balance the bat. Typically, this is where the bat head begins to get to its maximum girth or just below where the bat logo exists.

For those who don't like to split the bat into thirds, you keep the top hand at the balance point of the bat and the bottom hand near the knob.

When it comes to hand placement, there is no right or wrong answer. It should be up to the batters to decide which is more comfortable for them and where they have maximal bat control.

The top hand may grab the bat by pinching the bat with the thumb on top and the rest of the fingers below. The fingers do not wrap all the way around the bat, but instead the bat is held in the finger pads, leaving very little to be exposed to the ball.

As for upper body mechanics, you want to "shoot the pitcher." Imagine holding a water pistol and aiming right at the pitcher. Your top hand and arm should be near full extension (but not locked) and should be at a height directly below the inside eye. Many bunters make the mistake of letting the top arm drift around, making it appear as if they are aiming at the ground, first base or third baseman and not at the pitcher. When the hands "shoot" anything other than the pitcher, or at the very least middle infielders, the bunts are typically fouled off or missed due to the angle of the bat. I like to put a sticker that looks like a person's eyes on the bathead and tell them the that the "eyes of the bat" need to be looking at the intended direction you are hoping to bunt the ball. If a player bends too much at the waist and not enough at the knees, the player will end up shooting the ground instead of the pitcher.

Regardless of the methods used for bunting, both hips, shoulders and arms should be facing towards the pitcher.

As the ball comes towards the batter, she may make a slight turn towards the plate in order to cover the zone, but this turn needs to be very subtle in order to keep the bat head out in front of the hips to keep the ball fair.

It is always important that the bunter keep the hands out front, stay in an athletic posture and take advantage of seeing the ball out front.

A few final notes...
It is important that when your top hand is shooting the pitcher that the bottom hand "steers the boat," meaning using your bottom hand to guide where the ball goes.

A lot of bunters will make the mistake of steering with the top hand or steering with the angle of the body. However, when they do that, they will typically bunt it foul.

You also want to be soft with your bunts. The batter can do that by absorbing the impact with the ball with both elbows. By being soft in the joints and bending the elbows, the batter absorbs a lot of the impact. A second way to deaden the ball is to bunt with the last three inches of the bat.

A third way to deaden the ball is to hold the bat more loosely with both hands, as if holding a pet dove. If you squeeze too tight, you risk smothering your "dove" and the ball will roll too far. If you hold the "dove" or bat too loose, it will "fly away" or the batter will lose control of the bat, causing a pop up.

Bunting is simple in theory, but can be a difficult science to master. However, these simple steps are easy to integrate into the way a bunter executes and can help improve bunters at all levels of play.