Why Twins Should Have Laid Down a Bunt in 10th Inning Sunday

[AKTwinsFan]

You're asking a question that doesn't apply to Baldelli. Most major league clubs have players practice and regularly bunt, but not him. That and no one really steals bases. We've been one of the worst base running teams for years now under Baldelli. 

[AKTwinsFan]

The real question should have been why we didn't just intentionally walk Altuve after the first base was open. That would have been two fly ball outs vs the next two hitters (less a threat than Altuve). Instead he flings his bat out to get an infield hit. Which advances Peña to 3rd, and a sac fly ties the game. 

[tony&rodney]

1 minute ago, AKTwinsFan said:

The real question should have been why we didn't just intentionally walk Altuve after the first base was open. That would have been two fly ball outs vs the next two hitters (less a threat than Altuve). Instead he flings his bat out to get an infield hit. Which advances Peña to 3rd, and a sac fly ties the game. 

This is another maddening playing style decision. Apparently there are specific metrics which declare pitching to Altuve as opposed to the IBB. I'm putting up 4 fingers every time to keep the DP in order, but this is not what the Twins choose to do. We have seen the Twins pitch to a guy with the tying and/or winning run on third base instead of IBB to create more opportunities for outs. The analytics cannot be that persuasive because a considerable number of teams utilize the IBB to their benefit. So it goes.

[BillyBallLives]

Many good comments in the thread...let me summarize with four words.

Baldelli Ball = Boring Baseball

[BillyBallLives]

This tracks only Sacrifice Hits....but an indication none the less. 

Rocco is locked in.....no doubt about that.

https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/sacrifice-hits-per-game

[Doctor Gast]

9 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

You hit the nail on the head Matthew.  This has been one of my biggest disappointments with Rocco since 2020.

In 2019, when the Bomba Squad was setting a Major League single season record with over 300 HR's bunting was the furthest thing from any Twins fan's mind.  But I've said many times on TD I think that season ruined Rocco.  Somewhere in his minor league managing past he had to play "small ball" with a team or two.  Not every team Rocco has managed has had HR hitters top to bottom.

Because of Rocco's philosophy, I don't think the Twins spend ANY time working on bunting, and it shows. In the game of baseball, a bunt can be a HUGE weapon if the circumstances call for it.  Rocco's Twins teams have always been weak in regard to situational hitting.  It's one of the reasons a change needs to made for 2026.

If Vasquez successfully bunts the runner to 3rd, the Astros most likely play the infield in.  That raises Jeffers batting average by 100 points.  When the visiting team fails to tally that go-ahead run, it makes it much, much easier for the home team to scratch that run out.  

I'm not sure how other Twins fans feel, but I'm ready for change.  This is a culmination of 7 years of frustration.  New Owner.  New Manager.  New Front Office.  New Philosophy.  

I've been with you since the beginning. I'm all for analytics but analytics with faulty philosophy, biased stats & no feel for the game is a losing recipe. I had a blog about the need for bunts. This is one.

[Mike Sixel]

I would have bunted there

[Mike Sixel]

48 minutes ago, AKTwinsFan said:

You're asking a question that doesn't apply to Baldelli. Most major league clubs have players practice and regularly bunt, but not him. That and no one really steals bases. We've been one of the worst base running teams for years now under Baldelli. 

Which of France, Correa, Lee, Wallner, Larnach, Lewis, and the two catchers do you want to steal more?

[Galen]

Stupid baseball not to bunting in that situation 

[KirbyDome89]

2 hours ago, Matthew Taylor said:

His approach at the plate would’ve been vastly different if a ball in play gives you a run IMO

I very much doubt that. If this club wasn't going to sacrifice an out to advance the runner to 3B and play for a run I don't know why we'd assume Jeffers would've shifted his approach and tried to hit a ground ball to the right side or a deep enough fly ball. 

[Western SD Fan]

A correction to the author of the article.  Bride started the game yesterday at 3B and would have been unable to bunt in the 9th.  Yesterday's bench consisted of Larnach, Ckemens, Keirsey Jr (who came in defensively for Wallner), and Buxton, who must not have been available to even pinch hit or field as I would have liked to see him PH in the 8th instead of letting Wallner flail into a double play OR PH for Vasquez in the 10th if you're not worried about the DH as stated in the article.

This is about 4 or 5th on the list of calls that Rocco made yesterday that I would have an issue with, even if at all.  First, SWR with 5 innings and only 53 pitches?  Let's make sure the bullpen is burned out by the end of the month.  A counter argument can be made they have the day off today, but I still say there's only so many bullets in these relievers arms no matter how many days off they get during the season.  Again, Buxton must have been straight up unavailable yesterday, although I don't remember anyone saying that on the broadcast, just that he had been scratched, so I can be wrong here.  If I remember correctly, the ball Altuve hit was way out of the zone so that's just bad luck unless you're saying that you just walk him.  Finally, the 10th inning Vasquez AB.  The only player other than Vasquez that may adjust his situational hitting at the plate is Ty France.  I haven't seen Jeffers do it as often and certainly not double play Correa.  As it turned out, Jeffers struck out and Correa feebly popped out.

[mnfireman]

Vazquez led the team with 5 SH in 2024 (half the teams total) and Clemens has the only SH in 2025. Meaningless stats? Probably, but it goes to show the teams (Baldelli's?) general approach with RISP, their .706 OPS ranks 22/30 in MLB, even worse their .635 OPS with runners on 2B ranks 24/30. 

[Road trip]

As a long time fastpitch softball player who played many (dozens? hundreds?) of extra innings with the Manfred rule (we called it "international rule"), the refusal of MLB teams to bunt in extra innings confounds me.  MLB has entered a low batting average era, much like fastpitch softball played at a high level.  

Home or visitor, you absolutely have to score a run.  Multiple runs are better, sure, but failing to score a run in the top of the 10th usually means you are going to lose.  

Unless we had a truly elite hitter leading off, we almost always bunted in this situation.  Most good teams did this, because scoring runs in high caliber Men's fastpitch was pretty hard... probably comparable to scoring off a Josh Hader-type pitcher in MLB.

Vazquez is an objectively terrible hitter... full-stop.  His odds of doing anything positive by swinging were very low.  His odds of getting the runner to 3rd by bunting were decent, plus there was a chance the defense would botch the throw to 1b.  A successful bunt would have at least put some extra pressure on the Houston defense (defenders forced to make decisions, infield playing in).  Houston very possibly would have intentionally walked Jeffers to set up the double play as well... which could also have led to the multiple runs scenario so many analysts are obsessed with.

As Hawk said on the broadcast, you can't win if you don't score.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, Coach Wheels said:

There is no managers less original than Rocco. 15 outs from starting pitching, never bunt when it seems obvious (road game vs Hader) are just 2 examples of this practice. Ryan and SWR did exactly what was required this weekend and we have L's to show for it. Twins vs good teams is a struggle this year.

The offense scored 2 runs and 1 run respectively in last two losses. On Friday, if someone told you the TWINS were going to score 1 & 2 runs over the weekend games, would you have bet any money on the Team winning either game?

Every loss can’t be on the Manager.

Wallner’s average has dropped 50 points in 10 days………he has 5 HR in 31 games & 102 AB’s. Royce Lewis has been terrible & is hurt a second time. Correa has been better but nothing special. Miranda & Julien have contributed zero.

Duran can’t get a hold & loses a tie game Saturday & enters Sunday’s game and walks the lead-off hitter on 4 pitches with a one run lead.

Players have to play well or the Team will lose!!

[dogman]

Ive been a Rocco supporter in the past but think if we dont make the playoffs He needs to go.

[dogman]

2 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

The offense scored 2 runs and 1 run respectively in last two losses. On Friday, if someone told you the TWINS were going to score 1 & 2 runs over the weekend games, would you have bet any money on the Team winning either game?

Every loss can’t be on the Manager.

Wallner’s average has dropped 50 points in 10 days………he has 5 HR in 31 games & 102 AB’s. Royce Lewis has been terrible & is hurt a second time. Correa has been better but nothing special. Miranda & Julien have contributed zero.

Duran can’t get a hold & loses a tie game Saturday & enters Sunday’s game and walks the lead-off hitter on 4 pitches with a one run lead.

Players have to play well or the Team will lose!!

Wallner is not major league material and most of the rest are less than average.

[dogman]

Just now, dogman said:

Wallner is not major league material and most of the rest are less than average.

Time to trade Corria at mid season.  $33  million for defense ?

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, dogman said:

Wallner is not major league material and most of the rest are less than average.

Wallner was a great hitter last year. Is this a real opinion?

[S Bart]

I find that the saddest part of this whole thing is that the Twins do nothing to improve their status. Many teams are making productive trades at the moment which is not something that is the Twins' modus operandi. This ho hum approach to the game plan is discouraging and will hit their ticket sales. Until the owners sell the team and the management as well as the focus changes, I sincerely question if the direction will change. If a team performs well and the tickets sales are strong, it improves the value price for selling purposes in my view. Rocco is one of the longest tenured managers in the AL but some of his current path decisions could lead to his demise.  

[dogman]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

Wallner was a great hitter last year. Is this a real opinion?

He hits pitches down the middle and with good pitchers he does nothing.

[twinstalker]

Bunting (sacrificing) is almost always bad.  But it's especially bad in the top half of an extra inning.  If the reasoning's not laid in the article or comments, shame on everybody.

This is the perfect example of hindsight.  It's so clear when you know what the outcome of the alternative is.

[nicksaviking]

Feels like this whole season could be described as laying down a bunt.

[USAFChief]

28 minutes ago, twinstalker said:

Bunting (sacrificing) is almost always bad.  But it's especially bad in the top half of an extra inning.  If the reasoning's not laid in the article or comments, shame on everybody.

This is the perfect example of hindsight.  It's so clear when you know what the outcome of the alternative is.

Sac bunting is bad EXCEPT in situations where 1 run has a great chance of influencing the outcome, where advancing a runner 1 base is meaningful. And possibly where your hitter is unlikely to succeed.

 

"Sac bunting is bad" is just more mindless analytics. There should always be thought and nuance, because not every similar situation is actually all that similar. 

Cumulatively, this complete lack of thought and nuance collects into massive weaknesses for our Twins.

"HRs are good" becomes sell out at all costs for HRs in every and all situations. 

"Stolen bases dont matter much" is official stathead orthodoxy and means we dont worry about us, or them, running. We dont pitch out, we ignore baserunners, and our catchers have their ass in the dirt no matter the situation. We have one of baseball's fastest players but he never runs.

"Third time through the order" is death, no matter how the guy is performing. We made that decision looooong before game time. 

Defense? Cool, wink wink, but "anybody can play anywhere." 

 

I could go on and on. This team is tied to its decisions, which are often made over the winter, and very often made before a pitch is thrown during the season, to an extreme level.

Blame who you will, but its clear as day Rocco believes in all of this.

 

 

[DJL44]

27 minutes ago, twinstalker said:

Bunting (sacrificing) is almost always bad.  But it's especially bad in the top half of an extra inning.  If the reasoning's not laid in the article or comments, shame on everybody.

This is the perfect example of hindsight.  It's so clear when you know what the outcome of the alternative is.

Almost always, but not when the #9 hitter with a batting average of less than .200 is up to the plate and the top of the lineup is coming up behind him. That's the sometimes, rarely counterexample.

[Pat]

Doing what you have aways done will get you what you always have got.  If you want different results, you need to do something different. At least try.

[JD-TWINS]

42 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Wallner was a great hitter last year. Is this a real opinion?

He got sent down for 2 plus months to get his act together before having a pretty good 2nd half……he came back from injury HOT & has been declining steadily after his first week back. “Great hitter” is embellishing a bit …..his recent steep decline is an issue!

[JD-TWINS]

45 minutes ago, S Bart said:

I find that the saddest part of this whole thing is that the Twins do nothing to improve their status. Many teams are making productive trades at the moment which is not something that is the Twins' modus operandi. This ho hum approach to the game plan is discouraging and will hit their ticket sales. Until the owners sell the team and the management as well as the focus changes, I sincerely question if the direction will change. If a team performs well and the tickets sales are strong, it improves the value price for selling purposes in my view. Rocco is one of the longest tenured managers in the AL but some of his current path decisions could lead to his demise.  

“Many teams are making productive trades at the moment……” ……other than Devers to Giants????? It’s June 16th. I can’t think of any other trades in ‘25 season that have happened, of note?

[jorgenswest]

Bunting off of Hader is not easy for a good bunter. With all of the movement and velocity bunting is not easy. There aren’t very many good bunters like Isbel from the Royals in today’s game

Vazquez has a pretty low strike out rate. He pulls the ball less than average. I think the chance of Vazquez putting the ball in play and moving the runner is probably close if not equal to a successful bunt from any of the three. They may even get lucky and Vazquez gets on base. 

[DJL44]

33 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Bunting off of Hader is not easy for a good bunter. With all of the movement and velocity bunting is not easy. There aren’t very many good bunters like Isbel from the Royals in today’s game

Vazquez has a pretty low strike out rate. He pulls the ball less than average. I think the chance of Vazquez putting the ball in play and moving the runner is probably close if not equal to a successful bunt from any of the three. They may even get lucky and Vazquez gets on base. 

If you think Vazquez only has a 15% chance of getting the bunt down, then it's probably the right move. I'm betting he gets a hit less than 15% of the time against Hader.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

He got sent down for 2 plus months to get his act together before having a pretty good 2nd half……he came back from injury HOT & has been declining steadily after his first week back. “Great hitter” is embellishing a bit …..his recent steep decline is an issue!

Pretty good? You may want to sort hitters and see where he was offensively last year. Or even this year.