Fake Bunts - Giving up Strikes

[uncdrew]

Yup, the fake bunt/steal seems to be something novice coaches do because they think it makes them look fancy or something. I don't really think decent pitchers/catchers are affected by it at all. In fact, they love that you just took a strike.

And bad pitcher/catchers well... you probably would have gotten the steal with the same likelihood as if she wasn't taking (and didn't swing).

So yes, I find that particular call stupid.


As far as her hitting, they all go through slumps. We had a 4-5 game one last year that was super annoying. Pop outs left and right. Ugh. You, as the parent, can do this:

1. Tell them it's common
2. Tell them all players have slumps
3. Tell them the best players have slumps
4. Get them to lessons
5. Throw to them in the cage very often
6. Don't get on them for hitting badly. They know they're hitting badly.
7. They won't probably get it, and don't want to hear it, but let them know the slump will be over soon.


... and like magic, one Saturday soon you'll be driving from the field to the ice cream store talking about how she went 5-8 that day.

 

[CoachJD]

Yup, the fake bunt/steal seems to be something novice coaches do because they think it makes them look fancy or something. I don't really think decent pitchers/catchers are affected by it at all. In fact, they love that you just took a strike.

I think fake bunt/steal is more effective when stealing third. A very good team will defend it. A lesser team (not even a terrible one) could be caught off guard with the 3B charging and the SS slow to cover (or 3B slow to get back). I'm guessing a lot of teams don't practice this defense too often.

 

[uncdrew]

I think fake bunt/steal is more effective when stealing third. A very good team will defend it. A lesser team (not even a terrible one) could be caught off guard with the 3B charging and the SS slow to cover (or 3B slow to get back). I'm guessing a lot of teams don't practice this defense too often.

Fine point, that makes sense. I was only thinking of second.

 

[Towny9]

Hitting lessons are great, but I can’t tell you how many Monday texts I get from hitters I work with who have a bad weekend and then want to get the kid with me to “fix it”. I try hard to not make them reliant on me as the instructor.

 

[_MIA_]

Hitting lessons are great, but I can’t tell you how many Monday texts I get from hitters I work with who have a bad weekend and then want to get the kid with me to “fix it”. I try hard to not make them reliant on me as the instructor.

How many do you have whose Dads aren’t reliant enough on you? Asking for a friend…

 

[Towny9]

How many do you have whose Dads aren’t reliant enough on you? Asking for a friend…

Haha. There’s a reason most of the kids moms bring them to me and not their dad’s. The positive to me not working with a ton of kids as I can pick and choose who I want to work with because it is not my main source of income.

 

[_MIA_]

Haha. There’s a reason most of the kids moms bring them to me and not their dad’s. The positive to me not working with a ton of kids as I can pick and choose who I want to work with because it is not my main source of income.

Lol..I don’t sit in on the lessons. I’ll talk to him for a few min afterwards. If he is doing his job at 13 she should be able to explain to me what they worked on, and why. My issue is in between lessons

 

[sluggers]

I can’t stand it when coaches do that stuff. It puts hitters in a bind! Hitting is hard enough when you have at least 3 pitches to hit. All that stuff might be helpful to win games in 12U but it goes out the window as pitching/teams gets better.

Softball is a team sport. This means that the player has to do things for the benefit of the team rather than the benefit of the player.

It's common in the MLB for a batter to take a pitch or two if the runner is a base stealer. Generally, the #2 batter on a team is an excellent contact hitter who doesn't strike out.

Does it make hitting harder? if the kid is taking a pitch, I don't see how it makes hitting harder. The pitcher may not throw a strike in the first place, and even if it is a strike, the batter may not be able to hit it. For a kid who knows how to handle a bat, it's not that big of a deal to hit with one strike.

And, of course, exactly how many times a game is there a runner at 1B?

On the other hand, a runner creates a lot more confusion and expands the hitting lanes. And, of course, it is much easier for a runner to score from 2B than from 1B.

A fake bunt plus a steal OF SECOND (not third) doesn't make any sense. All you do with a fake bunt is cause the SS to move toward the bag.

 

[Cornbread]

Softball is a team sport. This means that the player has to do things for the benefit of the team rather than the benefit of the player.

It's common in the MLB for a batter to take a pitch or two if the runner is a base stealer. Generally, the #2 batter on a team is an excellent contact hitter who doesn't strike out.

Does it make hitting harder? if the kid is taking a pitch, I don't see how it makes hitting harder. The pitcher may not throw a strike in the first place, and even if it is a strike, the batter may not be able to hit it. For a kid who knows how to handle a bat, it's not that big of a deal to hit with one strike.

And, of course, exactly how many times a game is there a runner at 1B?

On the other hand, a runner creates a lot more confusion and expands the hitting lanes. And, of course, it is much easier for a runner to score from 2B than from 1B.

A fake bunt plus a steal OF SECOND (not third) doesn't make any sense. All you do with a fake bunt is cause the SS to move toward the bag.

IMO 12U should be more developmental. If your goal is to win the game as a coach it certainly can help. Many times all that stuff is more about the coach and not the players.

In higher level ball, hitters typically get one pitch that they needed to hit. After that, the pitcher has the advantage.

Fake bunt and steal 2B, hitters are taught to show bunt and hang out over the plate in an attempt to mess the catcher up.

 

[_MIA_]

-- but wanted some practical advice on how to handle situations where coaches are playing smart ball to rattle pitchers and get runners over a base -- but in the process it's giving up nice strikes and then often has 2 (or 1) good pitches to swing on.

You can:
1) Grin and bear it while continuing to work with your DD on improving her swing
2) Bring it up with the coach that you don't like his/her strategic moves and hope that he/she finds the error in his/her ways.
3) Find another team (that hopefully doesn't do it)