I constantly hear about how the Reds would be so much better scoring runs if they would just bunt more. If they would just do the LITTLE thiings. Bah humbug. I saw this article at the Hardball Times today, after Mike Howes from the Reds Listserv pointed it out. Here is my favorite excerpt
But if you play for one run, you will only score one run.
Two runs are still worth more than one run. And, as Earl Weaver famously said, if you play for one run, you will only score one run. If you sacrifice a runner to second base, you are still giving up an out. I don’t think any of the “things” in this article suggest that there should be a much greater use of one-run strategies.
But I’m not totally against sacrifice bunts either, for many of the reasons outlined in this article. And maybe our list of one-run things can help you better identify situations in which one-run strategies are appropriate.