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Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Does Mark Teixeira need to learn from Carlos Peña?
Baseball strategy is not a puzzle with a single solution. Instead, it is a dynamic system, in which a tactic that works against one approach can be neutralised by another. And when it comes to shifts, the response is as clear as the sea of empty infield dirt abandoned by the defenders congregating on one side of the diamond…
Sluggers who can bunt are the new market inefficiency, and the first team that has its power hitters practising this wimpy technique will enjoy a crucial edge.
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1. hardrain Posted: May 23, 2012 at 09:49 PM (#4139069)That's what he wants them to think...
OTOH if you were to do this successfully enough, and more to the point convince the other guys that it is successful, you might eventually get them to stop shifting on you. Given that managers still occasionally think it's a good idea to intentionally walk hot hitters with the bases loaded, I think this might be a tough sell, and in the meantime you as a slugger are hitting an empty .330 and getting knocked by the fans and your teammates (maybe not your manager) for your lack of DINGERS and ribbies.
Historical note: Mickey Mantle was perhaps the finest drag bunter of his day. And in game 7 of the 1952 World Series, you can see Jackie Robinson and "roly poly" Roy Campanella beating out successive bunts down the third base line. There's little question that a slugger who knows how to bunt for a hit can give the defenses another thing to worry about.
You'd have to be successful on 40 percent of the bunts that were put in play, which probably isn't that difficult at all for a decent bunter against the shift. But if you drop one foul, you still have a chance for the other outcomes that led to your .800 OPS (though, obviously, at somewhat reduced odds).
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