Nick Hasn't Bunted Since 2007?

[Tx Oriole]

I have some trolls in mind, if you want to practice!

I bet you do. Haha

[Tx Oriole]

I honestly don't know why there are so many people on here defending the fact that Nick may not practice a basic skill of baseball simply because he doesn't use it that much. This is his job that he gets paid very well to do. Having limited batting practice time is an non-issue. They have batting cages under the stadium that he is welcome to come in at any time and use. He has an entire offseason that he can practice this skill along with others. I'm not saying he needs to be a master at bunting, but he should have the skills necessary to lay one down in situations like yesterday.

Oh geez. The O's won the game. Why isn't that enough for you?

[Redskins Rick]

Oh geez. The O's won the game. Why isn't that enough for you?

Unfortunately, nope.

[Tx Oriole]

Yes. Every single lineup ever fielded (ok I exaggerate, but only by a little) has players in it who are not proficient in one or more basic baseball skills. There have been any number of players who were terrible at one or more skills who were among the most valuable players in the league. Miguel Cabrera has certainly cost his teams more runs with his fielding adventures than Nick has by not bunting. Adam Dunn is a fielder and a baserunner about on par with guys in a church softball league, but has other skills that (mostly) make up for that. As far as I know, almost the entire All Star pitching staff has no idea how to bunt, play shortstop, steal a base, frame a pitch. There are LOOGYs and submarine relievers who may not have made it out of the Appy League if removed from their very specific roles. Adam Jones is a marginal MVP candidate despite having plate discipline that Nate Spears would laugh at.

It has zero connection to salary, which is based on overall ability to contribute to a team. Cliff Lee is making $25M a year, and he can't play the outfield at all.

And I wouldn't even go to a doctor making $1500 a month, not unless he's performing ridiculously simple work or I'm in a third world country.

Would you ask a brain surgeon to reconstruct your ACL? If he's making a lot of money shouldn't he be able to? Would you ask your well-compensated dentist to give you Tommy John surgery? Can you podiatrist diagnose that red patch on your neck?

I think common sense tells you that if someone is never asked to do something there could be a wide variety of reasons. Most likely in this case is that you don't ask productive hitters to do unproductive things. Nick is in the lineup to hit and field and get on base and throw people out on the bases, not to give the other team outs. He has been selected for those skills, and not for nearly useless ones, much like pitchers may or may not be able to hit - no one cares, and most of the time no one even bothers to check.

Wow perfect post.

[Hallas]

I think common sense tells you that if someone is never asked to do something there could be a wide variety of reasons. Most likely in this case is that you don't ask productive hitters to do unproductive things. Nick is in the lineup to hit and field and get on base and throw people out on the bases, not to give the other team outs. He has been selected for those skills, and not for nearly useless ones, much like pitchers may or may not be able to hit - no one cares, and most of the time no one even bothers to check.

I don't know about you, but I think it's hilarious that Zack Greinke has a 1.0 batting WAR in his 24 starts.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I don't know about you, but I think it's hilarious that Zack Greinke has a 1.0 batting WAR in his 24 starts.

I've watched him. He can really hit.

[jjnono]

What do mean he doesn't practice it? The OP's premise; "Nick Hasn't Bunted Since 2007" is patently false as evidenced by three different instances cited since 2007 where he attempted a bunt. Either Gary and Jim don't know what they are talking about, or the OP misunderstood them. People who wanted Nick to bunt yesterday should be careful what they wish for.

http://wnst.net/baltimore-orioles/markakis-ill-advised-bunt-opens-door-for-red-sox-comeback/

I dunno, Nick's not gonna hit many home runs with that approach... Wait, what are we talking about?

[Can_of_corn]

I've watched him. He can really hit.

1.00 K/BB rate.

Pair of stolen bases as well.

[Frobby]

I know it's just a back-of-napkin calculation with regard to the chance for those outcomes, but Manny Machado has bunted 18 times and has 6 hits, 9 sacrifices, and 3 outcomes that are undetermined. (I imagine it's 2 popup/force out, 1 ROE.)

So he's reached 38% of the times he's tried to bunt. That's pretty damn good. I don't think the 5% number is accurate, unless you consider Nick to be a terrible bunter.

Machado isn't even that fast.

The AL success rate on sac bunts this year is 67%. The Orioles have been slightly better than that, 73% I think.

[Frobby]

By the way, I count 53 of the 97 major leaguers with 400+ PA this year who haven't had a sac bunt.

[DrungoHazewood]

By the way, I count 53 of the 97 major leaguers with 400+ PA this year who haven't had a sac bunt.

Just shows how much better fundamentals were back in the good ol' days! Land o' Goshen, Ty Cobb had a year where he won the triple crown and sacrificed 24 times (seriously)!

Actually, it's all about incentives. If you deadened the ball, made the strike zone knees to shoulders, widened the plate 6", maybe brought back the fair-foul bunt rule... that would mean one-run strategies came to the forefront. You'd find dozens of players who were absolute magicians bunting the ball. There'd be resurgence of lost arts and highlights on SportsCenter. But when run expectancy charts are never more than a few clicks away there aren't too many teams willing to lower the number of runs they score by bunting a lot. And at 4 runs/team/game 98% of the time a sac bunt lowers the expected number of runs.

[NewMarketSean]

Are you kidding? Nick bunts to the pitcher, 2B and bunts pop-ups to the entire infield all the time.

[Hallas]

The AL success rate on sac bunts this year is 67%. The Orioles have been slightly better than that, 73% I think.

Does that include bunts with runners on that resulted in a hit or ROE? I have about that percentage for only successful sacrifices. It's another 15% or so if you include hits and ROE.

[Frobby]

Does that include bunts with runners on that resulted in a hit or ROE? I have about that percentage for only successful sacrifices. It's another 15% or so if you include hits and ROE.

Bunting for purposes of getting a hit and sacrifice bunting are two different animals, and it's the job of the official scorer to know the difference. So far as I know, a sac bunt where the hitter reaches on an error still counts as a sacrifice bunt.

[Hallas]

Bunting for purposes of getting a hit and sacrifice bunting are two different animals, and it's the job of the official scorer to know the difference. So far as I know, a sac bunt where the hitter reaches on an error still counts as a sacrifice bunt.

The last time I saw a drag bunt with runners on not counted as a sacrifice was in the early 90s. It almost never happens, and it's a completely subjective test to measure intent. That said, I also had never seen a player be credited with a CS when they were safe, until Danny Valencia's iron leg knocked the ball out of Gordon Beckham's glove, so I guess it's not impossible.