Punto & science: head-first slides better … or are they?
Posted on September 30th, 2008 – 3:02 PMBy Michael Rand
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.”
27 Responses to "Punto & science: head-first slides better … or are they?"
Tell that to my friend who just tore his PCL sliding into first base in a softball game. To his credit, he was safe on the play.
My dad played alot of ball…pre WWII …and got as far as triple A SS (for the White Sox, of all people) ..anyway, he always told my brothers and I that running through 1st was always best, since to dive head first meant I had to scrub off a little speed by planting a foot then diving forward whereas running through the bag meant the speed could be kept up throughout. He couldn’t hit, especially the curve he always said, but he knew his ball, and this made sense to me.
FYI: Nick Punto’s MLB VORP ranking 176th. Right behind Ramon Santiago.
I should add to that that going headfirst never “seems” all that dangerous…actually sort of natural
“he might be gaining an extra five inches”
It makes all the difference.
head-first = dirty uniform = all that matters
If sliding head first was quicker than running through the bag, world class sprinters would slide head first across the finish line.
Poor fruit cup and his PCL.
Any Randballers responsible for some of this content?
http://deadspin.com/5057020/twins-fans-somewhat-more-rabid-than-previously-thought
triple A SS (for the White Sox, of all people)
Given the letters used, I’m not surprised that it was the White Sox at all.
I thought P3 was comparing the White Sox to Schutzstaffel(SS), guess I should have read the entire comment.
Hey, I got quoted on Deadspin!
This article made me thin of an XBox MLB game my brother in law was playing a couple years ago. In the first game of his first season in franchise mode, he accidentally slid head first into first base with Shannon Stewart.
The ensuing injury kept Stewart out of the next two seasons.
Granted, that was a video game. And Shannon Stewart, but still.
Merx: That’s a fair enough assumption. When P3 brings up WWII and “SS” in the same paragraph, assuming that it has something to do with the Schutzstaffel(SS) is a logical progression.
Cuddyer batting fifth at DH, btw. Also, Gardenhire says Baker will be available out of the pen.
Gardenhire says Baker will be available out of the pen.
Hell, can’t we just start him?
Merx, world class sprinters don’t dive headfirst? No? I beg to differ.
If Baker is coming out of the pen tonight, who will start Thursday?
For you baseballers, you might like this story, and I’m sure it was quite common. My dad would always go on about how the War derailed his baseball career (World Wars make a habit of doing that). Anyway he would always say (especially to people who hadn’t heard this story a billion times) that he went into the Army, single and close to the “Bigs” and came out with 3 kids and needing a job that paid more than a minor league shortstop. The “Bigs” don’t wait around apparently. We kids would always fire back that he didn’t make it to the majors not because of us but because he couldn’t hit the curve. He laughed knowing that was true.
Merx, world class sprinters don’t dive headfirst? No? I beg to differ.
And the muxhut v. merx rivalry continues.
Also, those guys know nothing about racing. Bobby could have saved energy by drafting and slipping past him at the line.
I didn’t want to hate Merx, but then he slighted Punto.
And that will not stand.
“You guys are in direct competition with each other. Fight! Fight! Fight!”
/Homer Simpson instigating
newbie: this is baker’s day to throw on the side anyway, so it’s work he would already be getting in — hence it’s not putting him off-course. He is penciled in as the Game 2 starter Friday if the Twins make it. Liriano would start Game 1 (Baker pitched Sunday and would be on 3 days rest for Thursday).
Funny sliding story…actually not so funny. We were kids without any practice in sliding and it was a pickup summer game..the kind you’ll never have again !! Anyway, I was in left and my brother was sliding into second..What is that 50 yards from me ?, Whatever, his spikes, the first time he used metal spikes, just grabbed dirt, and I swore it sounded like a branch breaking. That sound hit me before his scream. He busted that ankle to pieces. I guess you have to start the slide low and early and come in on a flat trajectory. But Hell, what did we know. We weren’t flight engineers back then
Thank you again for correcting me Mr. Randball. I shall try to do better research than just jumping in with knee-jerk reactions.
I apologize for offending you muxhut, maybe sprinters don’t have as much grit as Punto and therefore do not slide head first across the line. Plus, I gotta think it would hurt a little more on a track.
AZGG - I do believe you’re up first?
Wonder how much of an edge LNP would gain if he went with the Fosbury Flop?
I love the guy. Really. I just can’t seem… to… make… myself… stop.
