Bunt question

[swarmee]

I'm confused by this phrase: "reveals that each team used bunting frequently in order to overcome strictly power hitting teams."
Offenses don't battle other offenses in baseball. So using a hitting strategy against a different hitting strategy makes no sense. A hitting strategy like bunting would be used to combat a pitching strategy from the opposing team, independent of the team's hitters.

[BruceinGa]

I remember a tv announcer (many year ago) stating that if a batter squares to perform a sacrifice bunt and the result is that both he and the advanced runner are safe (without an error) then he shall still be credited with a sacrifice bunt, not a hit.
Does anyone else remember that?
I believe that same announcer also stated that an uncontested stolen base would not be scored as a stolen base.
Did I not understand these two instances and have I been mistaken for 40 or 50 years?
If I am correct could modern rule changes make up the difference in pre-war averages and modern?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by BruceinGa

I believe that same announcer also stated that an uncontested stolen base would not be scored as a stolen base.

Depends on the situation and the scorekeeper. Scorer can award a stolen base if they choose, but can also withhold calling it a stolen base. Normally this will happen if a team is already leading by a very large number of runs, so one advanced runner has no effect on the game's eventual winning team. This would be called defensive indifference.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by BruceinGa

I remember a tv announcer (many year ago) stating that if a batter squares to perform a sacrifice bunt and the result is that both he and the advanced runner are safe (without an error) then he shall still be credited with a sacrifice bunt, not a hit.
Does anyone else remember that?
I believe that same announcer also stated that an uncontested stolen base would not be scored as a stolen base.
Did I not understand these two instances and have I been mistaken for 40 or 50 years?
If I am correct could modern rule changes make up the difference in pre-war averages and modern?

Both are correct. However...

The first one - giving a guy a sacrifice instead of a hit is extremely rare. Scorekeepers almost always give the hitter a hit even though sacrifice is the correct call.

The second one is relatively common and is usually referred to as "defensive indifference". You'll see it in games where a team is trailing by a bunch of runs and a guy on first steals without the defense holding him on.