Squeeze Bunt

Purpose

Use the squeeze bunt in a close game to score a tying, go ahead, or insurance run. The squeeze bunt places more pressure on the hitter than any other play in baseball. There are two types of squeeze bunts: the safety squeeze and the suicide squeeze.

Safety Squeeze

With the safety squeeze, the runner on third does not break for home unless he sees the bunt successfully laid down. While this takes the pressure off the batter to successfully bunt a ball, it puts more pressure on you to make a good bunt that the pitcher cannot field. Either pivot or take a small jab step in order to quickly get into position to bunt. Do not show your intentions to bunt until the pitcher's arm comes forward and he cannot change the direction he is throwing. Since the runner is waiting for a successful bunt, don't be afraid to take the pitch. Bunt the pitch either down the first or third base line. You may find that you want to go with the pitch or whatever side you are most confident bunting. Make sure you don't try to get a good jump out of the box. Your job is to lay down a good bunt to score the man from third, not to get a base hit.

Suicide Squeeze

For the hitter, the suicide squeeze is much like the safety squeeze in that you must wait until the pitcher cannot change the direction of the pitch before you pivot to bunt. It's much more difficult in that the runner is not waiting to see if you have bunted the ball successfully before breaking from third. The assumption is you will bunt the ball no matter where it is pitched. The runner from third must wait until the pitchers arm is coming forward before making his break for home. Unlike the safety squeeze where the location of the bunt is of primary concern, in a suicide squeeze, you want to make sure you bunt the ball fairly. It's very difficult for this play to be defensed if the ball is bunted.