By Cal Ripken, Jr.
Bill and I love hearing from readers of the Clipboard. It reminds us that we have a community here that genuinely wants to have a positive impact on the kids who are playing ball today.
So it was great hearing from so many of you in response to what I wrote about Josh Hamilton and the ultra-aggressive style of play that landed him on the DL for 6-8 weeks. A lot of you just wanted to express how much you agreed with my assessment that aggressive players should stay aggressive - there is no on and off switch. But there were quite a few of you who questioned Hamilton's choice to slide headfirst, and showed some concern that I might be condoning a more dangerous style of play.
Feet-first is always the first choice.
A feet-first slide is always the safest option when the circumstances call for a runner to slide in order to avoid a tag. It is the safest and easiest way to slide into a base while lowering the chance of an easy tag by the man covering the bag.
At the youth level, the feet-first slide should be used exclusively. Even up to more advanced levels of youth baseball, players should rely on the headfirst slide only when diving back to the bag on a pick-off attempt. Other than that, the feet-first slide is safest and generally gives you a great chance at being safe.
In fact, many youth leagues have rules against sliding headfirst. In those cases, players that use the headfirst slide are called out on the spot. It's a rule designed to protect young players from the increased risk of injury that comes with sliding headfirst.
When players transition from the formative years of youth baseball into the more competitive realms of baseball as adults, the style of slide becomes an individual choice based on the player's ability, his comfort-level with the headfirst slide, and of course the unique situation of the play that demands a slide.
Why would you ever slide headfirst?
Sliding headfirst is faster. Not by a lot, but in a game of inches, the slight difference can be all that a runner needs.
How is a headfirst slide faster than a feet-first slide? Consider momentum.
A feet-first slide is basically a controlled "fall" as the runner approaches the base. The runner leans back and "sits" as he goes into the standard bent-leg slide. So, while this is the safest way to slide, the runner is actually taking some of his momentum away as he leans backwards - away from his target base.
On a headfirst slide, the runner throws all of his momentum forward, toward his target base. It's similar to an outfielder diving to catch a ball. In fact, on a headfirst slide, you don't want to be "sliding" much at all. You're really almost diving to "catch" the bag and hold onto it before the defense can catch the ball and place a tag on you.
The difference in speed isn't a big one, but it's there. Players that are comfortable sliding headfirst just have that as an added weapon. In close-play situations, where a fraction of a second might make the difference, they can use the headfirst slide to gain that split-second advantage.
At the youth level, that tiny advantage is not worth the risk.
We always talk about emphasizing good player development and safety over winning at the youth level. And that's why young players should stick to the feet-first slide - it's safe and fundamentally sound. When dealing with kids, we're not worried about gaining a tiny advantage for the sake of winning. We're not worried at all about winning. Our only job as coaches in youth baseball is to make sure the kids develop good fundamental skills in a fun and safe environment.
For professional ballplayers, it's a different story. Winning does matter. And as professionals, they frequently weigh risk against reward in the name of winning.
That's why I can't criticize Hamilton's decision to slide headfirst. He's comfortable sliding headfirst, he's used it effectively in the past, and he's a professional who knows the risk.
Would a feet-first slide have saved him from the injury? Probably.
Could Hamilton have injured himself just as badly sliding feet-first into home plate? Of course - there's a possibility for injury whenever someone slides.
The biggest danger in sliding is indecision.
Sliding is an inherently dangerous part of baseball.
But what we hate seeing is when players hurt themselves on the base paths because of indecision. They're approaching a base, and they want to slide, but they hear their coach yelling "UP!" because there's no throw. In that split second, the runner tries to change his mind and ends up somewhere between a slide and staying in stride to the base.
That's a dangerous place to be, and it's how a lot of leg strains and other injuries occur.
That's why we've always taught, "When in doubt, slide."
If a player is stealing a base, or if a play has the slightest chance of being contested, the runner's safest bet is always to slide.
For the pros, that means sliding whichever way gives them the best chance of beating the defense.
For young players, that means sliding feet-first, always.
This is a really good article on sliding head first and sliding feet first. It tells why , and addresses concerns for sliding in youth baseball.
