I played some softball tonight. I know that it is verboten to slide into first as a rule of thumb. For some reason, though, it seems that it would be faster to slide into a base than to run head on into it.
Thoughts? Opinions? Provided it’s a force out and the tag issue is moot, is it always faster to run than to slide?
The way I learned it:
Sliding keeps the maximum amount of speed along with the maximum amount of stopping ability. If you remain standing, you are at a huge disadvantage trying to stop. You actually have to start slowing down well before the end point to effectively stop at that point. Sliding gives so much drag that you can maintain your speed until a few steps from the end point. Only for running to first base, runners are allowed to run “through” the bag without needing to stop on it, therefore sliding is not recommended for runs to first base.
Running to home plate is a different matter entirely. Runners can run through home plate as well as first, but in the majority of cases, running to home is not a force-out and a tag is required, so a slide is recommended to avoid the tag.
I also learned that this was a safety issue. It is far more dangerous to run to a bag standing. Trying to come to a complete stop from a dead sprint can hurt your legs and knees. You can also crash into the basemen. Also, the ball may be thrown at you so sliding allows you to duck.
Sliding is also generally considered safer than the head-first slide as well. In my experience, my hands were the most delicate part of my skin and most prone to being scrapped and least likely to be protected by baseball equipment. A properly done slide protects your hands.
I’ve always heard that it’s faster to run than slide (since in the act of sliding, you’re ceasing to add additional forward energy, as well as slowing down from friction). The reason you slide, I would imagine, is to keep from over-shooting the base, as well as to get lower (and possibly avoid a tag).
And, at first, the only reason to slide is if the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and he needs to tag you to get the out. Not that this dissuades players from sliding into 1st when it isn’t necessary…
I think the head first hail-mary whatever-it-takes dive into first might beat a full run, but only if you actually do a mid-air leap and touch the bag right as you hit the ground or shortly thereafter.
The reason is that when you’re moving forward, it’s your center of gravity that’s going at speed X. The center of gravity when you’re running is obviously in line with most of your body, but when you’re diving, you get to put half of your body horizontally in front of your center of gravity (and half behind), which may get you to the bag sooner, since baseball only cares about ANY part of your body touching the base, and not the center of your body. However, if you’re doing a normal head first slide, a lot (or even all) of the gain is negated by the friction due to sliding. That’s why you have to do a kamikaze aerial assault dive version of the headfirst into the bag.
It’ll probably damage you and not be worth it, but if it’s game 7 of the World Series…
Basically, you slide for two reasons- to avoid getting tagged by the baseman, and to slow yourself quickly and not overrun the base.
If you dove into a base, not touching the ground before sliding, it might be a fraction of a second faster. This almost never matters, though, so no one does it because you can hurt yourself this way. Sliding feet-first allows you to try to beat the tag if it’s not a force out and allows you to run full-speed until right before the base and still not overrun the base.
Since it’s always a force at first, there’s no need to beat a tag. Since you can overrun first, there’s no need to slide to stop. Since sliding increases your chance of injury slightly, there’s no reason to slide into first.
My first thought was that it just seems intuitively obvious that sliding would be slower, since you’re discontinuing forward propulsion and relying only on momentum, which is inevitably lost.
However, upon further pondering, the center-of-gravity argument does seem to have some merit. But I would still contend that it’s generally a bad idea:
Add to all this the increased risk of injury, and I’d conclude that “never slide into first” should be a mantra drilled into every player’s head starting at the T-ball level.
After a little Googling, though, I was surprised at how much contention there is over this topic.
I’m not sure “very very” is warranted here. It’s by no means rare to see a replay of a close play at first base where the ball is a few inches out of the first baseman’s glove when the runner touches the base. My rough calculations say that 6 inches corresponds to something like .005 seconds.
I guess it depends: Do you have cocaine in your pocket?
I played baseball in college, so my perspective comes from approx. 15 years of baseball playing. Sliding into first should never be considered, UNLESS you can benefit from getting under a tag from a wild throw to first from an infielder that takes the first baseman down the line toward the catcher. Sliding under the throw, and getting under the tagging glove of the first baseman will give you a chance to be safe, since the first baseman will not be on the bag. The only way he can get you out is by tagging you, the runner. So, if you have the ability to see the play unfold in front of you, and can see that sliding may give you an advantage to get by the tag of the first baseman, then sliding is an option.
That’s the ONLY time it’s an option. Running to first on the dead run is always the quickest way to get to the base. And since you can over-run first base without being tagged out after passing the base, then sprinting down the line is the quickest way to go. And since 99% of the plays at first are of the variety where an infielder throws to the first baseman and the first baseman is on the base, running as hard as you can ***through ***the base is your best option.
If you want to discuss other bases, that’s fine. I got the impression from the OP that your question was regarding first base only.
I was always taught that you only slide into first if the baseman is forced off the base and needs to tag you to get you out. I’m not sure if you’d ever be in a position to notice this, personally. I guess the first base coach might tell you to get down, but I think that if the play is going to be close enough so that sliding is helpful you will never realize you need to in time.
A quick rules question from someone whose country doesn’t play the game - the reason that cricketers dive into a their crease to beat a run-out situation is because in addition to the extra length gained by going head first, they’re able to use the length of the bat as a grounding device.
When I’ve seen baseball - and, frankly, we’re talking about video games here - the batsman drops the bat before he runs to first base.
Is this a requirement? Is the batsman required to drop the bat before he reaches first base? If he were to hang onto it while trying for a double, would he be able to use the bat to tag the base, or would he have to touch it with his body?
Here’s an engineer who agrees a head-first slide into first is pointless:
I can’t see how sliding head first is faster than running through the base. As soon as you leave your feet, you lose a couple of steps, plus also have to cover the distance for your hands to travel from hip/chest level to base/ground level. My intuition says even a perfectly executed head-first slide would be slower than a perfectly executed run through first base.
Yes.
Actually, i was just scanning the rule book and I was surprised not to find it in there, but I didn’t read the whole thing. When we played as kids, failing to drop the bat on the run to first was an automatic out. My guess is the same applies in the professional leagues, but as I say, I didn’t see it in a quick perusal of the rules. It never happens.
–Cliffy
There is no rule against carrying the bat when running the bases, but the runner must touch the base with his body to be safe. There’s no advantage to carrying the bat, and there is a disadvantage - it slows the runner down. That’s why the batter drops the bat when he takes off for first base.