I had two straight hitters bunt, a pair of suicide squeeze plays one after another on back-to-back fastballs. And both worked! We won the game, 2-1, beating a pitcher who was almost unhittable with speed and execution. I remember it well because Wilson and his teammates couldn't believe what we had done. We actually made it look easy. Believe me, as a manager, you love to win games like that. It's better than the walk-off home run. By a country mile.
Who cares in what manner you as a manager enjoy winning? Kennedy stops just short of saying "I will bunt and sacrifice and steal bases because I personally like those things, not because I have any evidence that they're helpful to winning."
Of course, Kennedy does believe they do help teams win -- that's the whole point of his article. His evidence? Two anecdotes.
Kevin, in my fairly limited (certainly compared to you) experience watching baseball, I have seen home runs win over 100 games.
Labels: kevin kennedy
