It’s The Year Of The Bunt (So Far)

It’s no secret that I’m an obsessive chronicler of bunting within the large leagues. Excellent and really dangerous bunts steadily populate my 5 Issues column. I’ve written about the very best and worst bunts you’ll see in a season, the optimum technique for bunting in extras, and any variety of different fascinating bunting-related issues – or a minimum of, bunting-related issues which might be fascinating to me. And there’s one other nice bunting subject to jot down about proper this on the spot. See, bunts are making a comeback, and for as soon as, they’re doing it for the proper causes as a substitute of the mistaken ones. So let’s rejoice the return of the bunt – and likewise take into consideration why it’s again.

Up to now this 12 months, batters have bunted the ball into play (or struck out by bunting the ball foul) 640 instances. That’s 0.9% of all of the plate appearances within the majors in 2026, and whereas that may not sound like a lot, it’s a brand new excessive within the common DH period, 25% increased than the 2025 season, which was itself the bunt-heaviest 12 months in that stretch at 0.7%. There have been much more bunts within the days when pitchers batted in Nationwide League parks, in fact. However should you restrict the search to American League parks and attain into the previous, a transparent pattern emerges. Bunting declined as groups thought extra about how dangerous sacrificing an out is. However then it bottomed out, and now groups are beginning to bunt extra usually:

That is only a chart of what number of bunts there are, not how good these bunts have been. In actual fact, the explanation the bunt began to say no within the first place is that many bunts had been counterproductive. Sacrificing a runner from first to second at the price of an out is often a foul resolution on the run-scoring entrance. It could be a tremendous fail case – should you fail to bunt for successful and unintentionally sacrifice, that’s not so dangerous – however pure give up bunts solely make sense in very restricted circumstances.

This season’s bunts have been superb, maybe the very best in historical past. To point out you what I imply, take into account one other graph of bunting in AL stadiums. This one is the leveraged run worth per 100 bunts – in different phrases, it takes into consideration what number of outs there have been, what number of runners had been on base and the place, and what really occurred on the play to find out what number of runs a given bunt added or subtracted from a staff’s anticipated run scoring. It’s a very good time to be bunting:

That chart, which solely considers AL parks, exhibits that bunts in these parks have been value 5.2 runs above common per 100 bunts in 2026. In all parks mixed, they’ve been even higher, value 6.0 runs above common per 100 bunts. That sounds good, however how good? Properly, the common batted ball in 2026 has been value 4.7 runs above common per 100 balls in play (avoiding strikeouts, it seems, is sweet). That mark has bounced round between 4.5 and 6.0 over the previous decade. The common bunt is definitely higher than the common ball in play, and the common ball in play could be a house run. That’s fairly spectacular, truthfully.

What’s modified to make bunts so dang good? Two issues, primarily. First, roughly a 3rd of bunts within the majors this 12 months have resulted in base hits. That’s wonderful – and it’s not even all that new. Within the six years of the common DH, bunts have solely changed into base hits lower than 30% of the time as soon as. The 2026 season is smack on the common of these six years, in actual fact. However that’s nonetheless actually good, and it’s a key a part of what has began to show the bunt’s fame round. Should you’re simply giving your self up, it’s most likely a foul concept. However should you can bat .333 on bunts whereas additionally typically giving your self up when your bunt is worse than anticipated, that’s much more fascinating.

Second, even when bunters don’t attain base safely, they’re efficiently shifting runners over extra usually. This season, 41.9% of bunts have moved the runner over efficiently, both by way of a pure sacrifice or by way of a fielder’s selection that the protection couldn’t flip (assume making an attempt however failing to get the lead runner). Chuck in errors and hits, and 74.1% of bunts have produced one thing optimistic for the batting staff. That’s the best mark of the common DH period.

Okay, so bunters are reaching base safely extra usually, and efficiently shifting the baserunners up extra usually even once they fail. However it will get even higher! Bunters are additionally selecting higher conditions to put one down this 12 months. It isn’t nice to bunt if you solely have a runner on first base, as a result of ideally your bunt would both advance extra runners or advance a runner to 3rd with lower than two outs. Excellent news – the speed of bunt makes an attempt with a runner on first and no different baserunners is among the lowest in historical past this 12 months. Equally, it’s nice to bunt with a runner on third, as a result of even an out can rating that runner. Guess what? Greater than 10% of in-play bunts this 12 months have include a runner on third, the best mark in historical past by a mile.

Even these squeeze bunts are coming in higher spots than ever earlier than. With nobody out, I’m not a giant fan of the squeeze play. With two probabilities at driving the runner dwelling, surrendering an out is much less engaging; why not let a minimum of the primary batter swing away? Seems that groups agree! Squeeze bunts with nobody out haven’t budged this 12 months. Your complete enhance in bunts with a runner on third has are available one-out conditions.

Even higher from the offense’s perspective, the proper guys are doing the bunting. Hitters who’ve bunted this 12 months have produced a weighted 82 wRC+ of their non-bunt plate appearances. In different phrases, the common bunt is laid down by a below-average hitter, which implies the bunts are even a little bit higher than the uncooked run worth numbers. Apparently, that 82 wRC+ is a match for 2025, although there have been many extra bunts thus far this 12 months. It’s not as a result of nice hitters had been bunting and stopped; it’s as a result of the rise in bunts has come from the light-hitting contingent of the league, precisely because it ought to.

Who’s main this enhance in bunting? You’ve absolutely already heard of the Rays’ bunt-happy methods, and so they do certainly lead the league in bunt fee, at 2.1% of their plate appearances. Eight different groups have eclipsed 1% thus far: the Brewers, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Reds, Cardinals, Rockies, Purple Sox, and Royals. These groups are largely quick, and largely younger, however there’s no clear through-line past that.

The most effective bunting staff on a per-bunt foundation? That’d be the Braves. However that’s deceptive; they’ve solely dropped down 10 bunts this 12 months, one of many lowest marks in baseball. They succeed by choosing their spots. The most effective high-volume bunting staff is the Nationals, who’re just under the 1% cutoff that the 9 groups above hit. Led by frequent and wonderful bunter Nasim Nuñez, who has greater than half of Washington’s bunts, they’ve produced a ridiculous 10.5 runs above common per 100 bunts. Quite a lot of that comes from profitable squeeze bunts, however that’s true for each staff. The Nats have simply been very efficient at choosing their spots – and so they even have numerous staff pace, and numerous hitters who ought to most likely take into account bunting.

Will this pattern proceed for the remainder of the season? I certain hope so. It’s exhausting to foretell, as a result of this isn’t a static equilibrium. Defenses can change what they do. Summer season climate may change the incentives for a marginal hitter who’s deciding whether or not to bunt or swing away. However for the time being, that is the very best that bunting has ever been.