BUNTING

1. Either square around or pivot method.

· Toes facing the pitcher.

· Weight over the balls of your feet and knees bent slightly.

· Feet should be wider than your shoulders.

· If the square around method, your right foot should be placed slightly ahead of your left foot. NOTE: This is for a right-handed batter.

2. Square around or pivot when the pitcher reaches his power position - his knee reaches its highest point in his delivery. Except on a Suicide – wait until the Pitcher reaches the ‘Point of no Return’ – when he reaches his release point.

3. Be 'up and in' in the batters box.

4. Bat position:

· In front of the plate.

· Top of the strike zone.

· Barrel of the bat above the hands - approximately a 45-degree angle.

· Bat head slightly towards the infield.

· Don't hold the bat too close to your body - you need room to ‘flex’ or give.

5. Positioning of your hands:

· Run your top hand up the bat to a comfortable position while at the same time moving your bottom hand up positioning it as if you are ‘choking up’.

· Don't grip the bat too hard with your top hand - ball will go off the bat too hard.

· If you are attempting a ‘push bunt’, then grip the bat hard with your top hand.

6. On a low pitch, do not drop your hands to lower the bat- hands must work as one unit - bend your knees and bring the bat down to the ball - imagine an elevator, up and down. The distance between your eyes and the head of the bat should always remain the same.

7. Let the ball come to you - catch it with the end of your bat - don't jab at the ball.

8. To bunt the ball in the direction you want, use your top hand as a ‘pointer’ and point your top hand to the area on the field you want to put the ball.

9. Just because the coach gives you the bunt sign, it does not mean you must bunt the next pitch. Bunt strikes only - if the pitch is high or out of the strike zone, pull the bat back. However, if the suicide is on, you must make contact.

10. When sacrificing a runner from first to second, bunt the ball toward first base. The first baseman has to hold the runner on and usually is not as good a fielder as the third baseman. The third baseman can charge sooner and has a better chance to make the force play at second.

11. When sacrificing a runner to third base or runners to second and third, make the third baseman fields the ball.

12. The condition of the field, hard or soft, grass or dirt, may also influence your decision on where to bunt the ball. While the safest place to bunt the ball may be towards first or third base, concentrate more on getting the ball down - in fair territory.