Recently, our very own Mets expert journalist, John From Albany, listed 2019 4th rounder Jake Mangum as his #5 Mets prospect.
He had a decent debut season in Brooklyn in 2019.
Yet, Fangraphs, hypothetically projecting how he'd hit in the majors in 2020, were not kind....172 with a .212 OBP.
Of course, no player jumps straight from A ball to the majors, so he has time to develop.
But Mangum is a speedy sucker - 17 of 22 steals in 53 games is exceptional.
Which got me thinking of some past low power, high speed MLB stars - Brett Butler and Ichiro Suzuki.
One ingredient each had going for them was their ability to bunt for hits.
Butler had 188 career bunts.
Ichiro was 71 for 123 in bunts, for a .577 average on bunts.
So I searched the web a bit about bunt success rates. One writer I found, James Gentile for SB Nation in December 2012, included this amazing table of the most successful bunters of all time, percentage-wise - the numbers (assuming correctness) are astonishing:
Top 10 Bunters with Bases Empty, Career by Hit%
Name
|
#
|
_Att_
|
_Hits_
|
_Hit%_
|
_Reached%
|
|
1
|
40
|
35
|
87.5
|
87.5
|
||
2
|
77
|
66
|
85.7
|
88.3
|
||
3
|
56
|
46
|
82.1
|
82.1
|
||
4
|
43
|
35
|
81.4
|
81.4
|
||
5
|
60
|
44
|
73.3
|
73.3
|
||
6
|
123
|
90
|
73.2
|
74.0
|
||
7
|
126
|
91
|
72.2
|
72.2
|
||
8
|
44
|
31
|
70.5
|
75.0
|
||
9
|
57
|
40
|
70.2
|
71.9
|
||
10
|
93
|
65
|
69.9
|
69.9
|
Look at those success percentages!!
Those will do wonders for your OBP.
And if you are a fast dude, bunt your way on and then steal second and third.
Heck, don't stop there, steal home too!
So, if I were Jake Mangum, I would fall in love with the bunt. It could be a game-changer for his career going forward.
Do people today bunt much? No.
Should Mangum do so anyway? I'd say absolutely.
Just bunt with your shirt on, bro'.
My fave Mets bunter was Endy Chavez, who seemingly could bunt his way on at will. And he even used the lost art of using the drag bunt to 1B.
ReplyDeleteI see that the new mgr has been using small ball (bunt, steal, hit-run) so far. Endy will be coaching in the minors this year, and hopefully will teach the kids how to do it.
My favorite bunter was Frank Taveras who would drag bunts for hits regularly. He wasn't much of a traditional hitter, so bunts helped him parlay his speed into a weapon.
ReplyDeleteMost surprising name on that list is Steve Garvey imo.
ReplyDeleteAnd those guys accomplished those numbers with a fielder in the vicinity of 3B! It boggles the mind...
Hobie, I can only assume the stats are correct. But if I am a fast guy, especially a lefty hitter, and I lack power, I am Bunting Like Butler (good title for a movie).
ReplyDelete