Back to the basics. Way back in the day when I was playing ball in the park district league and even in high school and college the bunt was the most important play in the game whether you hit for average or for power. Depending on the situation in the game the bunt sign was always given to �help the team� win.
Now let�s turn our attention to the majors. When was the last time you saw Big Mac, Sammy Sosa or any other big time power hitter square for the bunt in a situation to advance the runner or even squeeze him in? If you can, God bless you because it is so rare I�d put my money on seeing hell freeze over before seeing such an act on the part of a power hitter. Now you have your exceptions. I have seen A-Rod do it a couple of times and even Jim Thome but think about the personalities of these guys. They are not playing the game for themselves they are playing it for the TEAM. Players of this calibur want to win no matter what the cost even if it means sacrificing a 400-foot bomb over getting their runners in scoring position. Heck, the times that I�ve seen them attempt it the bunt sign was probably not even on therefore a decision completely made by themselves�unselfishly. Which is the way it should be.
A few weeks ago I was watching a game between the Marlins and the Devil Rays. Deep into the game, the Marlins down by one with runners at first and second with no outs and Charles Johnson at the plate. In three pitches Johnson went down swinging without even a hint of trying to bunt (not to mention fanning on every offer). Result: Next batter grounds into a double play ending the threat and the Marlins eventually went on to lose the game by one run. Now imagine if C.J. would have been given the sign to bunt�.or even lay one down on his own as A-Rod or Thome might have done? With a good one, runners would have been at second and third with one out and great contact hitters to follow.
Now if guys in the park district, high school and college can do it despite their power ability then why not these players we call �professionals�? The obvious answer is probably that fans don�t pay good money to see the �big guys� lay down a bunt. However, what about the fans that go to see their teams win? How many countless games do they have to waste money just to see the power hitters on their teams choke in a bunting situation without an even an effort of bunting?
Baseball is more fun to watch with the long ball especially when guys are blasting them out into orbit. On the other hand, I�d rather see my team win and see no homers and read the paper in the morning and see that they gained a game in the standings.
Mark Zaboroski is a senior writer for fantasy fix...send emails to [email protected] |
