How The Tampa Bay Rays Are Bunting Their Way To Victory

The Art of the Bunt

The Tampa Bay Rays are doing things differently this season. While most teams focus entirely on hitting home runs, the Rays have found success by bringing back the bunt.

On Sept. 22, during a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, the Rays showed everyone exactly how they play. Leading 1-0 in the seventh inning with runners on first and third, shortstop Taylor Walls pushed a perfect bunt. The runner scored, no Yankee covered second base, and the Rays went on to win 6-1.

Rays manager Kevin Cash noted that they have done this a lot this year, adding that it is very hard to defend. The stats back him up. The Rays bunted 129 times this season, which is 40 times more than the second-place Milwaukee Brewers.

Practice Makes Perfect

The team did not plan to bunt this much when the season started. However, they realized during spring training that they had a lot of speed on the roster. Third base coach Brady Williams, whose father taught the Atlanta Braves how to bunt in the 1990s, became the architect of this strategy.

The Rays now hold bunting practice every single day at home. What started with three players grew to eight or ten players showing up early to practice.

This practice has paid off. Speedy left fielder Chandler Simpson had 14 bunt hits in 26 attempts this year. Center fielder Cedric Mullins had 12 in 14 attempts, while Walls had 11 in 19 tries.

It is not just about bunting, though. The Rays also have elite pitching, excellent defense, and power hitters like Junior Caminero. Their hitters struck out the fewest times in the major leagues, while their pitchers walked the fewest batters.