An odd thing happened in the bottom of the 10th inning during Sunday’s Giants-Padres game. With the game tied at one run apiece, Joe Panik opened the frame with a lead-off double. Needing just a run to win the game with the speedy Alen Hanson stepping up to the plate, it seemed like an obvious bunting situation.
Yet manager Bruce Bochy elected to let Hanson swing away. The decision didn’t pay off, with Hanson striking out swinging, followed by an Austin Slater ground out, and another strikeout via Gorkys Hernandez. When all was said and done, the Giants turned the lead-off double into nothing, and then squandered the lead in the top half of the 11th. Luckily for the Giants and Bochy, Hunter Pence’s walk-off heroics made the questionable decision moot.
Bochy was still asked about the decision after the game, and said that Hanson’s success against right-handed pitchers was the determining factor. Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow agreed with Bochy’s decision to let Hanson swing away but for a different reason, he explained to Murph & Mac Monday morning.
“That’s a great strategic play, provided you have a guy that can bunt,” Krukow explained. “Now what goes into that decision for a manager is the player’s ability to bunt and how hot the guy is if he’s swinging the bat, because he can go ahead and swing the bat and hit a long fly ball to the warning track, or hit the ball into the gap and score (Panik), game over.
“I think the reason he didn’t bunt had all that to do with it. He’s not a great bunter, especially from the left side, and number two he’s been a good hitter. He’s got a little pop in his bat. So Bochy’s thinking at the worst, if he hits a ground ball right side, hitting from the left side, Panik walks over to third base, or he hits a fly ball deep enough into the outfield that even gets caught, he’s going to waltz into third base as well.
“What Bochy was not figuring was that he was going to strikeout, and that’s what happened. If you have a good bunter up there, it’s an easy call to make, but he’s not, so I don’t think that was even a real strong consideration for Bochy.”
Krukow went on to say that decades ago, the decision would’ve been a no-brainer.
“Earlier generations were better bat control guys. They were better bunters because they were asked to do it more. If you showed some of these defenses that you see on a nightly basis where the whole side of the infield is open to some of the previous generations of the game, that’s a layup, that’s a base hit, because guys have better bat control, but the game has changed in that regard.
“There’s a bunch of guys that are in that starting lineup that are not good bunters. So for a lot of those guys that’s not really an option, although it is a smart play.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Krukow on Hanson, start from 8:30.