Quote:
Originally Posted by refz
One thing i havent seen yet in this thread is or was mantle had some tremendous speed and could lay down a helluva bunt. I dont think to many players in mlb can bunt properly today.
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Great point - he was the king of the drag bunt. Someone else mentioned Trout striking out a lot. It seems like with all the emphasis on the long ball there are more strikeouts and fewer bunt-for-hits. Fans don't want to pay for 'small ball'.
I also remember hearing that Walter Johnson pretty much only threw a fastball, and obviously got away with it. Perhaps all the 'new' pitches and larger rosters (meaning fresher pitchers in the same game, fewer looks at the same guy) is partly why even a guy like Trout strikes out a lot. Mantle might have done the same.