Bunt coverage

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Baseball drill · Age 9 and up

A bunt is the play that exposes a youth infield that has never practised it. Three fielders charge the same ball, nobody covers first, and a sacrifice turns into runners on first and second with nobody out. Bunt coverage is a rotation, and like every rotation it only works when each player knows their job before the pitch. This drill teaches the most common one, with a runner on first.

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Time
15 minutes
Players
7 or more: a full infield, a bunter and a runner
Equipment
  • 1 bucket of balls
  • Bases at your league's distance
  • A batting helmet for the bunter and the runner
  • A pitching machine or a coach to throw soft pitches

Setup

  1. Put a full infield in their normal positions, a runner on first base and a bunter in the box.
  2. The coach pitches and the batter squares to bunt. The moment they square, the first and third basemen charge towards the plate and the pitcher comes off the mound.
  3. The second baseman runs to cover first and the shortstop runs to cover second.
  4. Whoever fields the bunt listens to the catcher, who calls 'One!' or 'Two!', and throws to that base.
  5. Start by rolling the bunt by hand down either line, so you can choose who fields it, before letting the batter bunt live.

Coaching points

  • Charge on the square, not on contact. A corner who waits for the bunt is too late.
  • Field it with two hands, set the feet, and throw from where you picked it up. Do not run with it.
  • Catcher: you are the only one facing the whole play, so call the base, loudly, every time.
  • Second baseman: get to first and set up facing the throw before the ball is fielded.
  • Unless the catcher calls two, take the sure out at first.

On the run sheet: Corners charge when the batter squares, pitcher breaks to the middle, 2B to first, SS to second; the catcher calls the base; take the sure out at first

Progressions

  1. Roll the bunt to the first-base side, so the first baseman or the pitcher fields it and throws to the second baseman covering.
  2. Put runners on first and second, so the third baseman has to decide whether to charge or stay home to cover third.
  3. Let the batter choose to bunt or pull back and swing, so the corners learn to stop their charge.

How it runs

The batter (B) squares to bunt with a runner on first (R1). The third baseman (3B) and first baseman (1B) charge, the pitcher (P) breaks off the mound towards the plate, the second baseman (2B) runs to cover first and the shortstop (SS) runs to cover second. The runner goes as the pitch reaches the plate. The bunt is down the third-base line, the third baseman fields it, the catcher (C) calls "One!", and the throw goes to the second baseman on first base ahead of the batter-runner. The runner reaches second: that was the sacrifice the other team wanted, and your team took the out it was offered.

The throw from where the bunt is fielded to first is about 95 ft on the drawn 90 ft diamond, and about 65 ft on a 60 ft Little League field.

The rule it is practising

The force play at first, and the running lane. The batter-runner is forced to first, so the out there only needs the second baseman's foot on the bag. A throw from near home plate to first is exactly where running-lane interference happens: in the last half of the way to first the batter-runner has to run in the lane in foul ground, and a runner on the grass who is hit by the throw can be called out. Teach your runners to use the lane, and your fielders to throw to the inside of the bag.

Bunting rules differ more than most. Many t-ball and coach-pitch leagues do not allow bunting at all, and some divisions do not allow a batter to show bunt and then swing. A bunt that goes foul with two strikes is a strikeout. Check your league's rules for your age group before you build bunting into practice, and teach the coverage anyway once your league allows it: the other team will bunt.

The mistakes to watch for

The pitcher and both corners all arriving at the same ball. A second baseman who watches the bunt instead of running to first, so there is nobody to throw to. A corner who charges and then tries to get the lead runner at second when the catcher called one. And the catcher who stays silent, so everyone guesses.

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