Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
June 04, 2007
Why Bunt?

With men on first and second and nobody out, Chase Utley sacrificed in the first inning against Barry Zito. Now, while I like the sacrifice more with men on first and second than just a man on first, Utley owns a .555 slugging percentage. The whole point of a slugger is to move runners a long way around the bases. Zito isn't exactly a lights out pitcher with an ERA over 4.00, so why was Utley bunting there? Seems like a big waste of an out.

Update: In the third inning, Utley faces the same situation, but this time strikes out.


Posted by David Pinto at 01:48 PM | Strategy | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Not only was it silly for Utley to bunt because he's a good hitter, but it also allowed Zito to intentionally walk Ryan Howard to get to Aaron Rowand.

Posted by: adambparker at June 4, 2007 04:45 PM

A better question than "why was Utley bunting?" is "why on earth would anyone use a sacrifice bunt in the first inning?"

Posted by: Andrew at June 4, 2007 05:44 PM

It was an odd play, but it doesn't look like it was a called bunt. I think Utley thought he could bunt for a hit based on how the infield was playing but didn't execute it well. He squared to bunt when the ball was practically at the plate. I think it is more accurately described as a botched drag bunt.

Posted by: Jordan at June 4, 2007 06:19 PM
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