Tigers catcher Gerald Laird caught some flak (and later was plunked) for bunting to lead off the sixth inning against Boston's Josh Beckett, who at the time was tossing a no-no, during a game earlier this week. Detroit was losing 4-0. Laird's attempt was foul.
So is it a no-no to bunt at that point in a no-hitter? I'd say not. Laird was trying to get something started for his team, which was struggling to get anything going.
Tonight, I was paging through the Bill James Gold Mine and came across this entry regarding Laird: "Gerald Laird 'bunted' .545 last year (six hits in 11 at-bats). He's bunted 49 times over the last three years, going 23-for-39 (.590) with 10 sacrifice."
Given those numbers, Laird was playing his game. It wasn't as though he was doing something out of the norm simply to break up Beckett's no-hitter. If this game was say 6-0 or 7-0 in the eighth or ninth inning and Laird bunted, perhaps that could be labeled bad form. But Laird's job is to help the Tigs, not aid Beckett's no-hit bid. Especially when the score still was such that Detroit could put itself in position to tie the game with one swing.
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