what to do on squeeze??

[Mannyortiz06]

i was pitching the other night , 6th inning , runner on 3rd 1 our offense down 1 run , i have a feeling they are goin to squeeze , and throw over to thrird to try to get a read on the batter , when i do deliver to the mound he squares to bunt and i plunk him in the thigh , the other team thought i did it on purpose... i did , i threw it at his thigh and not really hard...bad sportsmenship?

[BatSpinner]

Your job is to throw the pitch so they can't bunt it, which happened. It was their failure on execution (they gave it away - runner leaving too early possibly), so why should they be upset with you over their poor execution of the play?

[WonderMonkey]

i was pitching the other night , 6th inning , runner on 3rd 1 our offense down 1 run , i have a feeling they are goin to squeeze , and throw over to thrird to try to get a read on the batter , when i do deliver to the mound he squares to bunt and i plunk him in the thigh , the other team thought i did it on purpose... i did , i threw it at his thigh and not really hard...bad sportsmenship?

Pitchout. If you work on it then it is automatic with the catcher and pitcher. Tough to do on a suicide squeeze because there is no time but on a basic bunt a run the catcher should shift over and the pitcher delivers.

[dw8man]

I have two suggestion:

1. A high and slightly outside pitch can cause the batter to pop up the bunt which if caught could lead to a double play. This is would ideal. but if the runner gets a great jump and the batter misses the ball, it makes it hard on the catcher to tag the runner out.

2. A very low and very inside pitch (on a right handed batter) can be a good pitch because it is hard to bunt and if missed, the ball is in a position to give the catcher a chance to make the tag. Just got to keep it out of the dirt so the catcher can field it clean.

[BallCoach06]

i was pitching the other night , 6th inning , runner on 3rd 1 our offense down 1 run , i have a feeling they are goin to squeeze , and throw over to thrird to try to get a read on the batter , when i do deliver to the mound he squares to bunt and i plunk him in the thigh , the other team thought i did it on purpose... i did , i threw it at his thigh and not really hard...bad sportsmenship?


Go "High and Tight". It is tough to bunt a high pitch. When you throw high and tight, more times than not, the batter will bail out being afraid of getting hit. With the batter now out of the way, the catcher is already in a position to block the plate if need be (beings he will be catching the ball to his left side) or he is in position to make a throw or run down the runner, again because the batter more than likely has vacated the box.

I like the high and outside pitch as a second option, but the only issue with that is, if the runner is speedy and gets a good jump (especially if pitcher throws from windup), the catcher has to reach or move to get the outside pitch and then try to bring the ball and his body back to the left to make a tag or block the plate if the runner is already there.

[WonderMonkey]

Go "High and Tight". It is tough to bunt a high pitch. When you throw high and tight, more times than not, the batter will bail out being afraid of getting hit. With the batter now out of the way, the catcher is already in a position to block the plate if need be (beings he will be catching the ball to his left side) or he is in position to make a throw or run down the runner, again because the batter more than likely has vacated the box.

I like the high and outside pitch as a second option, but the only issue with that is, if the runner is speedy and gets a good jump (especially if pitcher throws from windup), the catcher has to reach or move to get the outside pitch and then try to bring the ball and his body back to the left to make a tag or block the plate if the runner is already there.

Agreed. My pitchout suggestion would not work on a suicide or a runner that had a large lead. I agree with the inside pitch, high or low.

[dw8man]

Right handed pitcher in set position, runner on third.

Pitcher starts leg kick.

Batter squares to bunt and runner start to break for home.

Pitcher disengages rubber by steping of mound towards third.

Pitcher turns and throws to home so catcher can tag runner.

Batter while in the box hits the ball with bat......

What is the call?

[onbaseball]

Right handed pitcher in set position, runner on third.

Pitcher starts leg kick.

Batter squares to bunt and runner start to break for home.

Pitcher disengages rubber by steping of mound towards third.

Pitcher turns and throws to home so catcher can tag runner.

Batter while in the box hits the ball with bat......

What is the call?

Assuming that the pitcher properly steps toward third and no balk is called, the batter is called out for interference, the ball is dead, and the runner returns to third base; based on MLB Rule 6.06(c):

"The batter is out for illegal action when --- He interferes with the catcher’s fielding or throwing by stepping out of the batter’s box or making any other movement that hinders the catcher’s play at home base."

I would imagine that swinging at the thrown ball would be interpreted by the umpire to be "making any other movement that hinders the catcher's play".

[Sultan_1895-1948]

A properly executed suicide squeeze is meant to prevent any type of pitchout or beanball.

The key to the suicide squeeze is two things. The runner on third gets his normal lead and takes a normal secondary as if its just another pitch. The runner is not supposed to break toward the plate until the front leg is on its way down, but more on the side of the pitchers front foot hitting the ground, because at that point, he is committed to his location. At the same time, the batter is not supposed to square around until his front foot hits the ground.

That's the whole point of it. To avoid any premature suspicion.

A safety squeeze would be getting a good lead, taking a normal secodary, and not breaking for home until the batter bunts the ball.