What I Would Say If I Could Talk to BIg Papi, Barry Bonds, Carlos Delgado... Bunt on the Shift!

If I was the manager of a power hitter who everyone knew was going to pull the ball, or even if I were to just run into him on the street somewhere, this is what I would say to him: Bunt the ball. For the love of God, Ted Williams and massive shoe deals, bunt the frickin' ball!

Now that my throat is cleared, I have your attention and I have worked myself into the lather required for truly great blogging let me tell you why.

When I say bunt the ball, I don't mean that David Ortiz should give himself up to advance the runner from first. That's just ridiculous, I won't even go into that debate since it would require a whole other kind of lather that I just don't have in me right now. What I mean is that, from the first day of spring training, when your beloved power hitting superstar comes up with nobody on, opposing teams will shift their defenses over to the right side of the field to reflect the fact that he always hits it there. Now, what I would suggest is this: from the first day of spring training, bunt the ball down the third base line.

This accomplishes two things. One, David is now standing on first base with an infield single. That means a slugging percentage of 1.000, an on base percentage of 1.000 and for all you out there who lack basic arithmetic skills, an OPS of 2.000. Name one other player in the league who has that high of an OPS. Now Now, I realize the limits of this particular example. David Ortiz can't just bunt himself into the hall of fame for being the only player in the history of baseball to finish a season with 600 hits and a perfect batting average. You know why? Because eventually the third baseman will move back from shortstop to where he is supposed to be playing, thus preventing Papi from reaching on a bunt single every time he gets up to the plate.

This little insight brings me to my next point. Now, the shift is off. This may not seem like a big deal but remember, just because the shift is off doesn't mean that Papi or Junior doesn't pull the ball anymore because they still do. What it means is that they can pull the ball and no one will be there to scoop up screaming one hoppers in short right field. Thus, the perennial pullers end up with better batting averages, better shoe deals and appearances (a la Payton manning) on SNL.

If the opposing defenses ever wise up to the trick and put the shift back on, then bunt the ball again and inch yourself closer to the hall of fame.