A head-first slide is worth an extra .02 seconds to a runner vs. a feet-first slide, according to some projections. On the other hand, one risks broken fingers and other maladies. And there is no word on whether a dive to first base is quicker than just running through the bag. So, despite a well-timed press release picked up on by Wired, there appears to be no conclusive evidence that a head-first slide is appreciably better than a feet-first slide. So go ahead and keep yelling at Nick Punto … just beware that in some instances he might be gaining an extra five inches of distance by diving — and maybe that’s the difference between winning and losing (um, go ahead and interpret that as you will).

Science DID say, however, that one’s moxie goes up 37 percent upon diving head first, and the AGF (adjusted grit factor) for players who dive head first is 16 percent higher than those who slide feet first. “In purely scientific terms,” one scientist said, “it just seems like those players want it more.”

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