Real men bunt ... and hit homers.

Individual power and speed on offense are often measured in home runs (HR) and stolen bases (SB).  In today's game a prime example is Mike Trout: after 1,655 plate appearances (PA), 69 HR, 90 SB (led in 2012 with 49).

After leading the National League in HR with 51 in 1955 Willie Mays led in SB each of the next four seasons; also in caught stealing in 1956 and 1957.  Mays later led in HR with 49, 47, 52; 660 career.

1901 to 2014, (requiring HR>=40 and SB>=30), sorted by greatest Stolen Bases:

Rk	Player	SB	HR	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Alex Rodriguez	46	42	1998	22	SEA	AL	161	748	686	123	213	35	5	124	45	0	121	10	3	4	12	13	.310	.360	.560	.919	*6/D
2	Alfonso Soriano	41	46	2006	30	WSN	NL	159	728	647	119	179	41	2	95	67	16	160	9	2	3	3	17	.277	.351	.560	.911	*7/H
3	Barry Bonds	40	42	1996	31	SFG	NL	158	675	517	122	159	27	3	129	151	30	76	1	0	6	11	7	.308	.461	.615	1.076	*7/H8
4	Jose Canseco	40	42	1988	23	OAK	AL	158	705	610	120	187	34	0	124	78	10	128	10	1	6	15	16	.307	.391	.569	.959	*9D/H
5	Barry Bonds	37	40	1997	32	SFG	NL	159	690	532	123	155	26	5	101	145	34	87	8	0	5	13	8	.291	.446	.585	1.031	*7
6	Larry Walker	33	49	1997	30	COL	NL	153	664	568	143	208	46	4	130	78	14	90	14	0	4	15	8	.366	.452	.720	1.172	*9/3H8D
7	Ellis Burks	32	40	1996	31	COL	NL	156	685	613	142	211	45	8	128	61	2	114	6	3	2	19	6	.344	.408	.639	1.047	*78/H
8	Jeff Bagwell	31	43	1997	29	HOU	NL	162	717	566	109	162	40	2	135	127	27	122	16	0	8	10	10	.286	.425	.592	1.017	*3/HD
9	Hank Aaron	31	44	1963	29	MLN	NL	161	714	631	121	201	29	4	130	78	18	94	0	0	5	11	5	.319	.391	.586	.977	*9
10	Ryan Braun	30	41	2012	28	MIL	NL	154	677	598	108	191	36	3	112	63	15	128	11	0	5	12	7	.319	.391	.595	.987	*7/DH
11	Jeff Bagwell	30	42	1999	31	HOU	NL	162	729	562	143	171	35	0	126	149	16	127	11	0	7	18	11	.304	.454	.591	1.045	*3/HD

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/12/2014.

However, these speedy home run hitters rarely bunted to reach base.

I've mentioned several times that Mickey Mantle achieved his triple crown in 1956 by bunting: 12 for 20, which raised his batting average (BA) from .343 to .353.  Ted Williams finished second with .345.  Mantle also hit 52 HR.

Shift on Mickey Mantle.  Saturday, May 10, 2014

Lou Boudreau deployed his shift on both Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle.  The shift on Williams is fairly well known but its use against Mantle was brief and so mostly forgotten.  Mantle was a switch hitter with great speed who often bunted in his early seasons...

Click this link to view a lot of details about Mantle's bunts, including bunt hits and homers in the same game.
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Mantle was generally bunting against the traditional defensive alignment, not the shift.

Would The Three Stooges bunt against the shift?  Monday, May 5, 2014

This question is meant to emphasize just how dumb batters are.  Last I heard batters in 2014 were 12 for 17 bunting against the shift.  That's 17 bunts for all batters ...
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Batters are dumber than usual this season, hitting into the shift most of the time.  Monday, April 7, 2014

For many years pitchers have said that batters are dumb.

The big innovation in 2014 is that just about every team is using the shift a lot.  The shift is placing fielders, usually infielders, where the batter tends to hit the ball...

So how have batters responded?  They haven't.  The few to address it have indicated that they do not want to change what they prefer doing.  I'd have thought that they prefer getting hits but apparently only their way...

But here's the thing.  These batters don't even need to change how they swing.  Don't swing at all.  Bunt.  Bunt for a hit.  Bunt for a double.  It's almost a sure hit and if the hit is for two bases the batter pads both his on base average and his slugging average and thus his OPS (on base plus slugging).
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Let's consider Mantle's 1956 season.  Bunting v. overall:
BA: .600  .353
On Base: .600  .464
SLG: .600  .705
OPS: 1.200  1.169
HR: 0  52

Even in his triple crown season The Mick could not match his bunting success by swinging away.

In eight games in 1956 Mantle bunted for a hit and also homered.

Maris and Mantle
Baseball Digest October 1961
via Wikimedia Commons

In 1961 Mantle and Roger Maris chased the season home run record of 60 hit by Babe Ruth in 1927.  Mantle bunted five times: 4 for 4 plus a sacrifice.  Home runs in 1961: Maris 61, Mantle 54.

Saturday, September 2, 1961, , Yankee Stadium I
Attendance: 50,261, Time of Game: 2:02

Yankee killer Frank Lary had a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.  Maris led off with a double to center and advanced to third on a passed ball with Mantle batting.  Mantle then bunted against Lary and made the first out (4-3) but Maris scored to tie the game 2-2.  Mantle got a sacrifice and RBI.

Maris homered off Larry in the 6th and again in the 8th with one on off lefty Hank Aguirre; that gave Maris 53 HR.  Yanks won 7-2 to take a three game lead over second place Detroit.

Saturday, May 5, 1956, Yankee Stadium I
Attendance: 12,773, Time of Game: 2:20
Yankees 5, Athletics 2
Mantle's PA by inning:
1 - against Lou Kretlow, Yanks up 1-0: fly out to left
3 - against Kretlow, Yanks up 1-0: HR, Billy Martin scores
5 - against Kretlow, Yanks up 3-0, one out: bunt single
7 - against Moe Burtschy, Yanks up 3-2, one out: HR; Yogi Berra up next also homered
Bunt single, two homers in one game, number 8 & 9 for the season after 16 games.

Monday, June 22, 1959, Municipal Stadium, Kansas City
Attendance: 21,451, Time of Game: 2:49
Yankees 11, Athletics 6 (Maris hit 2 doubles playing for KC)
Mantle's PA by inning:
1 - against Ray Herbert, 2 out: HR (LF-CF)
4 - against Herbert, leading off, Yanks up 1-0: Bunt Groundout: P unassisted
5 - against Herbert, one out Yanks up 4-2: triple to CF; Tony Kubek and Hector Lopez score; Herbert removed; Mantle scores on SF by Norm Siebern
7- against Bob Grim, Yanks up 7-6: HR Kubek and Lopez score
8 - against Murry Dickson, one out, Kubek on second, Yanks up 11-6: Lineout: RF
Unsuccessful bunt attempt, two homers and a triple; 6 RBI, 3 runs scored.

Finally, the original tape measure home run game, the ultimate in homering and bunting in the same game:
Friday, April 17, 1953, Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
Attendance: 4,206, Time of Game: 2:27
Yankees 7, Senators 3
Mantle's PA by inning:
2 - against lefty Chuck Stobbs, leading off batting cleanup, 0-0: walk
3 - against Stobbs, 2 out, Berra on first Yanks up 1-0 on Martin's homer off Stobbs: Groundout: 3B-1B
5 - against Stobbs, 2 out, Berra on first Yanks up 2-1: HR "measured" at 565 feet, which is probably exaggerated but helped establish the Mantle legend
8 - against Julio Moreno, leading off, Yanks up 4-2: walk
9 - against Moreno, one out, Yanks up 7-3: bunt single to second

Washington fans must have thought this guy came from another planet.

career bunting for Mantle: 87 for 165:
BA: .527
On Base: .527
SLG: .527
OPS: .1.054

Rank	Player (yrs, age)	On-Base Plus Slugging	Bats
1.	Babe Ruth+ (22)	1.1636	L
2.	Ted Williams+ (19)	1.1155	L
3.	Lou Gehrig+ (17)	1.0798	L
4.	Barry Bonds (22)	1.0512	L
5.	Jimmie Foxx+ (20)	1.0376	R
6.	Hank Greenberg+ (13)	1.0169	R
7.	Rogers Hornsby+ (23)	1.0103	R
8.	Albert Pujols (14, 34)	1.0062	R
9.	Manny Ramirez (19)	.9960	R
10.	Mark McGwire (16)	.9823	R
11.	Mickey Mantle+ (18)	.9773	B

And Mantle's bunts were almost exclusively against non-shift defenses.  When he retired after the 1968 season Mickey Mantle was number three in career home runs, behind only Ruth and Mays.  That despite 179 PA, including sacrifices, which ended with bunts.

Today players will not try to bunt for hits against the shift.