Squaring around tells the defense the bunt is coming. The pivot bunt hides the move until the last second. Feet stay in batting stance. Only the upper body and bat turn. Harder for kids to learn but more useful in real games.
What you need: A bat, 10 baseballs, a tee or coach to pitch.
Setup: Tee at chest height or coach pitching at half speed from 30 feet.
How to run it:
- Cue: Square, Show, Soft, Drop. The Square is upper body only.
- Set in normal batting stance.
- As the pitch comes, pivot the upper body toward the pitcher. Bat slides flat. Feet do NOT move.
- Soft hands let the ball drop in front of the plate.
- Do 10 reps.
What to watch: Are the feet moving? On a pivot bunt, the feet stay where they were in batting stance. If the feet shift, the defense knows and the surprise is gone.
If they’re struggling: Drop the pivot. Use the square-around bunt for now. Add the pivot in a few weeks.
If they’ve got it: Add a fake swing. Set, Load, then pivot to bunt at the last moment. Now the defense really doesn’t know.