Bunt Defense

For a complete defensive playbook, check out the Mental and Situational Guide.

Below are clips of MLB teams executing bunt defenses along with some other key points.

Prior to any pitch being thrown, the 3rd baseman and pitcher must remind each other that whoever does not field the bunt is responsible for retreating and covering 3rd base. First base stays home if he can but if he reads that the pitcher will have a tough play, he will come up, field the bunt, and throw to the 2nd baseman who will be covering 1st base. If there is any doubt, the 1st baseman should come up and make the play.

In this first example, you will notice that the when the 1st baseman fields the ball, he has anticipated that he will be making a play at 2nd base due to the aggressive bunt coverage that has been called. Having heard the direction from the catcher to make the play to 1st base, he resets his feet and gets the sure out at 1st base with plenty of time.

Here, the 1st baseman also anticipates a play to 2nd base. As a result, he was ready to nail the lead runner as soon as the catcher made the call to do so. The split second he saved by anticipating a play on the lead runner was the difference between safe and out on what was ultimately a bang-bang play in a crucial situation.

In this bunt coverage, it is the 3rd basemen's responsibility to cover 3rd base should there be a hard bunt back to the pitcher or a dribbler in front of the plate. While the pitcher is responsible for fielding bunts on the 3rd base side of the infield, the 3rd baseman should come in and make the play when it obvious that there will not be a play at 3rd base. When in doubt, help the pitcher out. In the clip above, knowing that his left handed pitcher will have a tough time fielding the bunt because he is left handed and will have to turn to make the throw across, the 3rd baseman leaves the bag to come up and make the play. Also, note how the 3rd baseman positions himself as the pitch is being thrown. He is playing up to defend against the bunt but has himself angled so that he can see the runner at 2nd base and can easily cover up in the event of a steal. This position is known as "cheat-read" and should be used in all obvious bunt situations that start with a runner on 2nd base.

Working off 1-Look, the pitcher waits until he sees daylight between the shortstop and the runner before delivering the pitch. This gives the shortstop enough time to beat runner to the bag. Again, as in all crash coverages, the ball is fielded with the anticipation of making a play on the lead runner. This is critical such that an opportunity to gun down the lead runner is not missed when the team needs it the most.