Details, Details

The other night I heard one of the manager’s of one of the teams in the Little League World Series say, "we are down by one so strategy says to bunt here". Or did it? Yes, he was down by one, yes, he had a runner on first that he needed to get into scoring position, but, he left out one minor detail, his team was the visiting team.

Conventional Wisdom

Why wouldn’t the visiting team want to tie you ask? Because conventional baseball wisdom dictates that the home team plays to tie, and the visitors play to win. Why? You might ask.

It is fairly simple. The visitors only get one chance to win the game. The home team gets a chance to tie or to win the game. They essentially get two at-bats for every one the visitor gets. Huh? You ask? How can that be? They both bat the same amount of times.

Well, this is true, but, in reality the home team has a huge advantage in a tie or one-run game. Think about it. The visitors get a chance to win the game in the top of the sixth. If they score, the home team gets a chance to win or come back. The visitors are not afforded the same opportunity. If they score, they have to defend their lead. If the home team scores then they win, game over.

Two for One

Therefore, the home team gets to bat twice for every one time the visitors get to bat. Once to catch up, once to win. It is a very advantagous position from which to play. And also the reason you should always pick home when you win the coin flip.

The Proper Strategy

So what is the strategy when down by one? If you are the visitiors, you must play for 2 runs. If you are tied, you must play for 1 run. Play to go into the bottom of the sixth with a lead.

If you are the home team, play for the tie. You will be guaranteed another at-bat no matter what the visitors do. They don’t have that luxury. So down by 1, play to get one, all tied up, play to win.

What are your favorite strategies to employ in this situation? Bunt? Hit and Run? Steal? The list is endless.

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