What’s this now?
Cubs-Astros, bottom 8, nobody on, two out. Carlos Zambrano pitching. Michael Bourn comes up to the plate, and on the first pitch he sees, he shows a bunt (doesn’t make contact).
Fuck the heck? Why would you bunt in that situation? I mean, okay, maybe if you’re a pitcher and you’re awful at the plate and it’s your only possible chance to get a hit. But Michael Bourn’s an okay hitter (currently at .292 / .364 / .392 — could use more power, but not bad). Why the hell would he bunt? Comedy value?
Only reason I can think of is that he saw the infield playing deep and thought he could lay down a bunt single.
Hey, I once saw a World Series end on a guy bunting for a hit with two out in the ninth. Weirdest thing I ever saw.
Comment by Dave | 11 June 2009
Just in case you didn’t believe me: Otis Nixon ending the 1992 World Series. It was the bottom of the 11th though, not the 9th.
The tying run was apparently on third, but still–with no outs to work with, a bunt hardly seems appropriate.
Comment by Dave | 11 June 2009
A bunt is almost always a bad idea — there are certain specific situations where it work out for you (such as when you’re a pitcher and you’re awful at hitting, or when it’s a tied game and you need exactly one run to win and the dude’s on third and you’re fairly confident you can bunt well enough to get him home), but generally it’s a low-percentage play.
That said, the suicide squeeze is one of my favourite things to watch in baseball.
Comment by Darien | 11 June 2009