Studies of which is faster, running to first base or sliding into first base?

Hey lindaa-ga,

I don't know of any studies, but in theory sliding head-first will be
faster if practiced correctly. The problem is, there's a fairly
substantial risk of injury, esp. to the hands and arms. The argument
is that by using your extended body, from your feet to your hands
raised over your head, you can cover the final couple of steps faster
by diving forward than if you simply ran.

Sliding feet-first will typically slow a runner. Since you can safely
overrun first base, runners as a rule don't slide into first. One
exception would be if the runner were attempting to avoid a "tag" from
a fielder handling an off-line throw.

Hope this answers your question. :-)

mmi-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by lindaa-ga on 26 Jun 2002 05:18 PDT

Why in theory is sliding head first faster?  I know, I know what a
pest!  What's the theory?

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Clarification of Answer by mmi-ga on 26 Jun 2002 08:23 PDT

Hey lindaa-ga,

I tried to answer that with "The argument is that by using your
extended body, from your feet to your hands raised over your head, you
can cover the final couple of steps faster by diving forward than if
you simply ran." Of course, it all comes down to technique. Just
because a baserunner like Rickey Henderson is convinced he gets to a
base sooner by sliding head-first, that doesn't mean a typical runner
will.

In response to analogkid-ga's comment, I didn't say "a chance of
injury is what keeps most people from sliding into first." I simply
said that was why head-first sliding was a problem in general. Almost
all runners should indeed run through first base.

Still, it's the first step or two that really count. Gotta get outa
the box! :-)

mmi-ga

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&threadm=8mevfb%246k6%241%40panix2.panix.com&rnum=6&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dbaseball%2Bslide%2Bfirst%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF8%26hl%3Den
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http://www.qcbaseball.com/skills/Baserunning_HometoFirst.cfm
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V112/N49/argue.49s.html
http://www.thecoachingcorner.com/baseball/offskills_sliding.html

I don't know of any studies, but it is wrong that "in theory sliding
head-first" is faster.  If you run through the base you keep your
speed up the entire way.  If you slide, you have to slow down to
actually make yourself slide, not to mention the fact that you are
slowing down as you are sliding.  I would say that this nullifies any
positive affects (like stretching out) that sliding has.  Also, think
about how many people run through first base as opposed to sliding. 
No one consistantly slides into first, they only do it in special
cases.  Professional baseball players (except pitchers) have no
problems sliding into any base -- they are trained to do it correctly
to avoid the chance of injury.  This leads me to believe that a chance
of injury is not what keeps most people from sliding into first.

If your only interest is the absolute quickest method for advancing
from home plate to first base consider a group of athletes whose only
goal is speed, short distance sprinters.  Although each individual may
use his or her own starting technique, every world-class sprinter uses
the same method for crossing the finish line - they stretch out their
chests.  Although baseball players would be more interested in
touching the base as soon as possible, and wouldn't try to stretch
their chest forwards as they cross the base, the fact that no
sprinters try to slide (head first or feet first) across the finish
line would seem to indicate that running through is quicker than
sliding.

What sometimes happens is that, as the runner nears first base, he
realizes that he's off stride to hit the base exactly. That means
either shortening his last two or three steps, which slows him down,
or taking a very long last stride to hit the bag, which can result in
injury. In that situation, a head-first slide may be the best option.

A recent ESPN segment covered just that subject. Players prone to
slide into first base more often than others were timed sliding (heads
and arms first, of course)and not sliding, from actual game clips. It
depends on the skill of the athlete, but, in most cases, sliding,
although dangerous to a million-dollar body, proved fastest more often
than not to those skilled in the "art."