# MLB Bunts and Types Thereof **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [August 4, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066 "2023-08-04T18:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/1 "2023-08-04T18:35:45Z")
Are all bunts called sacrifice bunts regardless of the outcome, and has this been the case for quite some time? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/2 "2023-08-04T19:03:40Z")
No. You can bunt for a base hit, even if no one is on base. That wouldn’t be a sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/3 "2023-08-04T19:13:10Z")
It is only called a sacrifice when the batter advances a baserunner. Also, if in the opinion of the official scorer, the batter was trying to reach base for a hit rather than merely advancing a baserunner, the scorer may not credit the batter with a sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/4 "2023-08-05T03:56:47Z")
Also, it’s not regardless of outcome. The batter must be forced or tagged out or it’s not a sacrifice, it’s just a bunt. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/5 "2023-08-06T04:12:47Z")
I was just at a Cleveland Guardians game and saw one batter try to bunt several times. He got thrown out, though. According to Larry Tye’s excellent bio _Satchel,_ about legendary Negro (and later Major) League pitcher Satchel Paige, the coach of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, I think it was, liked bunting so much that he trained his players so that they could reliably bunt into a baseball cap placed anywhere in the infield. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/6 "2023-08-06T21:21:16Z")
Also adding that unlike full swings where a foul ball to ground after two strikes is not considered a strike out, if you bunt foul to ground after two strikes, it is marked down as a strikeout. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/7 "2023-08-09T04:59:34Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > if you bunt foul to ground after two strikes, it is marked down as a strikeout. That’s what I came in here to say. Which is why you’ll often see people give up on attempting to bunt when they have two strikes already. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/8 "2023-08-15T23:41:30Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Also, it’s not regardless of outcome. > > The batter must be forced or tagged out or it’s not a sacrifice, it’s just a bunt. If an error is made in attempting to retire the batter, it’s still counted as a sacrifice bunt, even though he’s not out. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-bunts-and-types-thereof/988066/9 "2023-08-17T15:01:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > If an error is made in attempting to retire the batter, it’s still counted as a sacrifice bunt, even though he’s not out. Ditto if the defense tries to get the advancing runner, who is safe though the batter could have been retired. It’s a sacrifice. It would only be scored as a hit if, in the scorer’s opinion, they wouldn’t have retired the batter.