Sacrifice bunts fell out of favour long ago among many MLB decision-makers.  

After seldom using the tactic in recent seasons, shifts in personnel and approach have made small ball a notable part of the Blue Jays’ offensive repertoire. They have been among the most frequent and effective sac bunting teams in baseball, passing last year’s total already less than halfway through this season.  

Toronto recently dropped down three sac bunts over the course of two games, with an unorthodox walk-off by Ernie Clement against the Los Angles Angels on Friday tying the team for first in the majors at 20.  

Let’s examine some numbers behind this trend and how it has factored into Toronto’s success:

8: Clement, Will Wagner, Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes, Jonatan Clase, Andrés Giménez, Tyler Heineman and Leo Jimenez have all dropped down sac bunts. With sluggers Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho missing significant time due to injury, the Blue Jays lineup has replaced its power with singles hitters and willing bunters at the bottom of the order. Straw leads the team and is second in the AL with six sac bunts, while Clement and Lukes are tied for fourth in the AL with four apiece. 

7: Toronto has seven wins in which the game-tying or game-winning run has been scored by a player advanced by a sac bunt. It started April 1 with back-to-back sac bunt attempts by Wagner and Clement. Wagner reached by error before Clement moved him and George Springer to second and third. After a Davis Schneider strikeout, Bo Bichette shot an 0-2 sinker just inside the first baseline to give the Blue Jays a 5-3 eighth-inning lead over the Washington Nationals that held as the final score. Bichette also singled home a tying run and sac-flied in a winning run after sac bunts in wins against the Baltimore Orioles (April 13) and St. Louis Cardinals (June 11), respectively.

6: Of Bichette’s 50 RBIs, six have come following a sacrifice bunt. Bichette led the Blue Jays in RBIs while hitting out of the leadoff spot for most of the season until Springer surged ahead with his remarkable recent hot streak. Despite the No. 1 spot in the lineup traditionally being known for table setting, the bottom of the order has often managed to get on base for its star shortstop. Sac bunting has helped put runners in position for the capable contact hitter to knock them in.  

68.9: The Blue Jays have scored 68.9 per cent of the runners they have moved into scoring position via sac bunt. That represents an extraordinary 20 of the 29 runners they have bunted forward. 

66: It took Toronto 66 games to equal the 14 total sac bunts it recorded last season. Giménez successfully advanced runners in a 5-4 win over the Cardinals on June 9 to match that number. The Blue Jays finished 15th in sac bunts last season and their four sac bunts in 2023 tied for 28th. They are on pace for 36 this season.  

64: The Blue Jays’ sac bunt usage has decreased by 64 per cent from the 2010s to the 2020s. Toronto averaged 25 sac bunts per season between 2010 and 2019 and only nine per season between 2021 and 2024 (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). Across the AL, sac bunting has decreased by almost 50 per cent from the previous decade from a yearly average of 402.5 to 201.5.  

80.9: The Blue Jays lead the major leagues with an 80.9 per cent contact rate. They also have MLB’s lowest strikeout rate at 17.6 per cent and whiff rate at 21.2 per cent. Toronto’s propensity for putting the ball in play makes advancing runners into scoring position more desirable. Not swinging and missing often makes sacrificing an out to advance runners add up strategically as the Jays are more likely to score via a base hit, ground ball or sacrifice fly. Even though sac bunting can be unfavourable analytically, the Blue Jays have had success with it partially because they are MLB’s best contact-hitting team.