Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9507030134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: FORT LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL
DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Phil Rizzuto, the Yankees' Hall of Fame shortstop and television announcer, remembers several years ago when the squeeze play was on and Graig Nettles was the hitter.
``Nettles almost fainted,'' said Rizzuto, who was an excellent bunter when he played, ``and the runner was out by 30 feet.''
Consistent failure to execute sacrifices and squeezes point to how bunting has become one of baseball's lost arts and perhaps its most taken-for-granted skill.
When a bunt isn't executed, managers say, ``it's something everyone at the major-league level should be able to do.'' Yet, it isn't given top priority. Fans yell, ``the guy is making $1 million a year, and he can't even bunt.'' Yet, no one rushes from the stands to square around in front of a 90 mph fastball.
``It's so easy that it's difficult,'' said Pirates shortstop Jay Bell, one of the best sacrifice bunters in the major leagues.
Fans, media and managers can't understand why players are so inept at bunting, but Rizzuto understands.
``Players don't practice bunting,'' said Rizzuto, who worked with Yankee hitters on bunting for several spring trainings. ``Nobody tells them they have to practice it. Players are better bunters in little league than in the major league.''
Rizzuto remembers when players were not only required to practice bunting but encouraged to perfect the skill.
``When I played for Joe McCarthy [1941-42 and 1946], we always worked on it,'' Rizzuto said. ``He would draw circles down the first and third-base lines, and players had to put the ball in the circle. It wasn't two bunts like batting practice today. You did it until you got the ball in the circle. Players didn't want to be embarrassed, so they concentrated and did it.''
Pirates' manager Jim Leyland believes once a player learns how to bunt, he must continue to practice it to maintain the skill.
``It's not easy, not nearly as as easy as people think,'' Leyland said. ``There is little margin for error. After spring training, working on bunting is a formality. Players come out for extra hitting, but not for extra bunting. One of the big reasons is bunting and sacrifices are not recognized by the arbitrator.
``Bunting is a great offensive weapon. When we won three divisional titles with [Andy] Van Slyke, [Bobby] Bonilla and [Barry] Bonds in the middle of our lineup, I bunted runners over in the first inning to get an early lead, and people said I was crazy.''
While Leyland was an advocate of the bunt, not all managers believe in it. Former Baltimore manager Earl Weaver hated it.
``There are statistics,'' said Marlins' manager Rene Lachemann, ``that show hitting to the right side or the hit-and-run are just as effective to move runners. Still, the bunting is necessary and effective.''
Yet, it isn't considered as important for position players as it is for pitchers.
``In 1994 with Boston [and Butch Hobson as the manager], players left behind during spring training games worked on bunting,'' Marlins' veteran Andre Dawson said. ``Today, run producers are damned if they do bunt, and run scorers are damned if they don't.''
Former major-league catcher and Marlins' television analyst Gary Carter said bunting is ``a macho thing'' with players.
``If you bunt, you're considered a wuss,'' Carter said. ``When I was in the minors, Mel Didier [of Montreal] was adamant about bunting. In 1975, I had about 10 bunt hits. For a power guy, the bunt is his the change-up. It keeps a defense off balance.''
Rizzuto said Yankee Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle earned 10 to 15 hits a season bunting with two strikes from the left side because of his great speed. Lachemann said during his three years with Oakland, Jose Canseco probably bunted 10 times to score runners from third base. Johnny Bench and Dave Kingman are among other power hitters who bunted occasionally.
Marlin Gary Sheffield, who has the speed to bunt, recalls doing it when he came up with Milwaukee. He admits as his reputation as a power hitter has evolved that he doesn't think about bunting.
``It depends on a guy's ego,'' Sheffield said. ``If I bunted, I would be wondering if it was a pitch I could have hit out of the park.
``If I was thinking of my batting average, I probably could raise it 30 points by bunting occasionally, but my job is to hit home runs and drive in runs. If I'm asked to bunt, I believe I can. I wouldn't be going through the motions.''
Position players Rod Carew, Brett Butler, Quilvio Veras or Bell have proven what a weapon bunting can be. Butler, a lifetime .290 hitter, uses the bunt to create gaps in an infield where he can to slash or bounce the ball for hits the same way Carew, a lifetime .328 Hall of Fame hitter, did. It's an offensive weapon that would help a player like Marlin outfielder Chuck Carr, who has greater speed than Butler but a similar slashing stroke.
by CNB