Prince Fielder Legged Out a Bunt for a Base Hit

Prince Fielder dropped down a bunt during a Cactus League against the Angels on Tuesday to beat the over-shifted infield. Smart move, right? It remains to be seen whether or not the Rangers first baseman — or other pull-happy hitters — will try to bunt with regularity during the actual season to beat the shift. For now, the sight of Fielder chugging up the first base line to leg out a bunt single is about as entertaining as late-March Spring Training gets.

This quick opinion doesn’t have anything to do with Fielder, obviously the Rangers want their $20+ million first baseman to swing away, however this is why all the talk of Rob Manfred banning shifts was mostly inane. Strategies and counter-strategies tend to evolve on their own in sports. It only makes sense for sluggers like Fielder to work on bunting in games that don’t matter in Spring Training, if only to keep the defense honest against them.

[HBT]