Sac Bunt Problems

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

The problem here is the continued conflation of drag bunting with sacrifice bunting. There would be no way to "cheese" sacrifice bunting because you're giving the opponent an out in the process. Do it three times in a row and the inning is over.

Drag bunting, whole 'nother story.

But MLB success rates on sacrifice attempts - once the bunt is laid down - is well beyond 70%, and that's a very conservative estimate, as last year the figure for ALL attempts was 64% (https://www.baseball-reference.com/l...-batting.shtml), which includes failures due to strikeouts (which actually accounts for most failures).

The question, to me, is not whether it's possible to lay down a sac bunt (it is), or even whether you can get better (you can) - but how far away from the target percentage we are. Sac bunting is futile with these percentages, and if this was any reflection of actual MLB, then you'd NEVER see a sac bunt attempt in the majors, ever.

I don’t disagree with that. Sac bunts should not be that difficult for most Major league hitters. Pitchers....well that is another story. Most can’t handle a bat properly. Some can and do. But most on todays game look awful at it and do not execute well.

But I hear the cry about sac bunts. It should not be too hard with players who can handle a bat.

I don’t disagree they over did it when they nerfed bunting due to online cheese. We need them to tune it better moving forward for offline players.

[JTommy67]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I don’t disagree with that. Sac bunts should not be that difficult for most Major league hitters. Pitchers....well that is another story.

Statistics don't support this, at least for the modern game. The vast majority of sac attempts in today's game are made by pitchers, so the percentages that we see reflect primarily what they're doing in those circumstances.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

Statistics don't support this, at least for the modern game. The vast majority of sac attempts in today's game are made by pitchers, so the percentages that we see reflect primarily what they're doing in those circumstances.

Ok so SDS should be taking a good look at this. I play and watch AL 90% of my time.


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[reyes the roof]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I don’t disagree with that. Sac bunts should not be that difficult for most Major league hitters. Pitchers....well that is another story. Most can’t handle a bat properly. Some can and do. But most on todays game look awful at it and do not execute well.

But I hear the cry about sac bunts. It should not be too hard with players who can handle a bat.

I don’t disagree they over did it when they nerfed bunting due to online cheese. We need them to tune it better moving forward for offline players.

I can’t speak for much that happens outside of Mets games, but pitchers seem to be far more skilled at sac bunting in real life. Even guys that were good bunters like Jose Reyes in his prime struggled to lay down a sacrifice

[kaptainkarl76]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

Bunting? In the show? Unheard of!

[JHodges57]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

Statistics don't support this, at least for the modern game. The vast majority of sac attempts in today's game are made by pitchers, so the percentages that we see reflect primarily what they're doing in those circumstances.

In the game high rated bunters should be able to lay down a sacrifice. However, there is no difference between a 95 bunter and a 35 bunter. The results are always the same. This is with the AI controlling both pitcher and batter. Apparently the ratings mean nothing.

[Hapshoops32]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

Ok, so it's just 1 attempt - the first time I have tried this since I posted this thread last night - but what some of you suggested in letting go of the triangle button just before contact worked PERFECTLY. Deadened the ball just in front of the pitcher's mound - so that the only play was to first base - and the runner at first easily advanced to 2nd base. Perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by the pitcher (Aaron Nola) - who's bunt rating was a 70. The pitch was a cutter that was basically middle/middle. So - just about perfect all around situation - good pitch in a good spot to handle, good bunting rating, etc....

But - it was nice to see play out.

Will it happen again? Probably never lol. But - thank you for everyone who has been pitching ideas - and a lot of cool stat based discussion. :

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

Ok, so it's just 1 attempt - the first time I have tried this since I posted this thread last night - but what some of you suggested in letting go of the triangle button just before contact worked PERFECTLY. Deadened the ball just in front of the pitcher's mound - so that the only play was to first base - and the runner at first easily advanced to 2nd base. Perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by the pitcher (Aaron Nola) - who's bunt rating was a 70. The pitch was a cutter that was basically middle/middle. So - just about perfect all around situation - good pitch in a good spot to handle, good bunting rating, etc....

But - it was nice to see play out.

Will it happen again? Probably never lol. But - thank you for everyone who has been pitching ideas - and a lot of cool stat based discussion. :

Glad we can help and it will happen again as you get used to this technique.

[Bremser_Rules]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I personally think 50% of the problem is the hyper aggressive CPU trying to throw out the lead runner. If they can tone down that I thinking bunting would be "ok"

[KnightTemplar]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I personally think 50% of the problem is the hyper aggressive CPU trying to throw out the lead runner. If they can tone down that I thinking bunting would be "ok"

Yes. It's sort of a legacy issue with the game. Same with some of the double plays. Needs to be toned down a tad. Talk about quick accurate releases, whoa.

[monk31]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I’ve also experienced issues with bunting. It makes NL franchise play very frustrating. The changes they made show SDS was more concerned with the online play issues since the player base is moving more and more towards DD. I remember bunting being much better offline before the “fix”. The funny part is they explicitly said in streams that the changes would be to online modes only.

Like others have said , half the problem is from the defensive side. The type of plays we see on bunt double plays (and many others) would typically be considered too risky in real life to attempt in most situations. There’s currently no penalty (observable) for these high difficulty plays. Players make twirling throws with their momentum going away or perpendicular to the 2B bag yet deliver strikes to the SS’s chest with superhuman reliability. I still find it odd that these high difficulty plays are made with better throwing accuracy than routine plays. It’s the routine plays that seem to be one-hopped to the first baseman.

I personally disagree with the sac bunt ratings not mattering. I’ve personally noticed differences player to player. I generally don’t want to attempt a sac bunt without a sac bunt rating around 50 or better. Perhaps the ratings are just too low? Imagine if everyone’s contact rating a swapped with their bunt rating ( lol!).

I’m a little surprised by the “deaden the ball” technique suggested. I feel like if this was a thing that SDS would have discussed this new mechanic. No offense to my fellow gamers but could this be confirmation bias? I guess it could be tested in the batting practice with sufficient attempts.


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[JHodges57]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I personally disagree with the sac bunt ratings not mattering. I’ve personally noticed differences player to player. I generally don’t want to attempt a sac bunt without a sac bunt rating around 50 or better. Perhaps the ratings are just too low? Imagine if everyone’s contact rating a swapped with their bunt rating ( lol!).



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Are you talking about MoM? The ratings don't matter in my game. No one can pull off a successful bunt regardless of ratings. I no longer tell anyone to bunt. The opposing team can't even pull off a successful sacrifice.

[reyes the roof]

Re: Sac Bunt Problems

I tried the letting go of triangle technique last night, granted it was only one at bat but I bunted the ball about a mile high to the first basemen for an easy pop out. It was the worst bunt I’ve ever seen. If my 8 hole hitter wasn’t so bad I’d be able to get a better sample size