Study: Head first slides are faster

[Chip R]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...tslidesarebest

In Baseball, Head-first Slides Are Best
Andrea Thompson
Senior Writer
LiveScience.com

A player's slide to beat the throw at home plate is one of baseball's big thrills, especially during the postseason, which begins today. But of the two sliding styles - head-first and feet-first - which is faster?

Head-first, says David A. Peters of Washington University in St. Louis, an engineer and avid baseball fan.

The reasons that it's faster to lead off with your noggin all have to do with physics, Peters said.

Specifically, it's a matter of the player's center of gravity (or center of mass) - essentially the point where gravity exerts its tug. For most people, their center of gravity is right around the stomach area, Peters said.

Whenever you leave the ground, no matter which end of your body you lead with, your center of gravity will move forward with the speed (and momentum) you left the ground with, Peters explained.

Two factors make you reach the base sooner if you dive head-first, Peters told LiveScience. One is that your arms are lighter than your legs, which means that as your body rotates, your arms are going to extend out farther than would your legs. Also, because your feet are still pushing off the ground as you dive, you can get a little extra acceleration.

If you slide feet-first, your feet will dig into the ground instead, slowing your motion, Peters said.

Some people prefer to slide feet-first though so that they can pop up when they reach the base and avoid sliding past it.

Head-first slides are also more dangerous, Peters said, because players could jam their hands into the base. Until the 1960s and '70s, in fact, players tended to avoid sliding head-first into a base to protect their hands and faces.

Players who do slide this way will often hold their batting gloves in their hands to keep themselves from extending their fingers as they slide, he explained. Just how many players favor each type of slide has never been calculated, but Peters estimates that it's about 50-50.

[Ltlabner]

Oh boy....time for 'Redszoniest thread ever' redux

Get me some popcorn.

[durl]

But it's not definitive:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2...e-stumped.html

Of three published studies to test the physicists' hypothesis, none found a significant headfirst advantage, and one a disadvantage.

"We found no statistically significant difference in speed between headfirst and feet-first sliding at all levels of play in this study," concluded University of Texas researchers in a 2002 American Journal of Sports Medicine analysis of base-stealing techniques.

But others, including all-time stolen base champion Rickey Henderson, side with Peters and Nathan. Headfirst just feels faster.

Another thing I remember reading is that a head-first slide forces your torso to slide along the ground, meaning there's a large surface area dragging along the ground, slowing down the slide.

[Team Clark]

I used to watch Vince Coleman and Jacob Brumfield steal bases (Including 3rd) standing up. NOW THAT is the way to go!

[15fan]

Rickey Henderson = All-Time SB champ.

#2 is Lou Brock, almost 500 SBs behind Rickey.

Rickey slid head first.

Ergo, head first is best.

[M2]

Didn't Pete Rose prove headfirst was faster? Run your tail off, launch yourself like Superman, land on the base. No drag, pure aerodynamics. The other advantage is it helps disrupt the fielder too.

[Roy Tucker]

It also said:

One study did find that headfirst sliders reached second base .02 seconds faster. Back-of-the-napkin calculations show that a runner traveling at 15 miles per hour would get an extra five inches from that .02 seconds -- and in the legendary words of Branch Rickey, baseball is a game of inches.

I'm sure a ballplayer will take an extra 5 inches.

What drives me nuts is when guys head-first slide into first base. Running through the base is faster than sliding, head- or feet-first.

[Chip R]

I'm sure a ballplayer will take an extra 5 inches.

[Johnny Footstool]

It also said:



I'm sure a ballplayer will take an extra 5 inches.

What drives me nuts is when guys head-first slide into first base. Running through the base is faster than sliding, head- or feet-first.

A slide might help convince the ump that you beat the throw.

[vaticanplum]

Specifically, it's a matter of the player's center of gravity (or center of mass) - essentially the point where gravity exerts its tug. For most people, their center of gravity is right around the stomach area, Peters said.

Whenever you leave the ground, no matter which end of your body you lead with, your center of gravity will move forward with the speed (and momentum) you left the ground with, Peters explained.

Two factors make you reach the base sooner if you dive head-first, Peters told LiveScience. One is that your arms are lighter than your legs, which means that as your body rotates, your arms are going to extend out farther than would your legs. Also, because your feet are still pushing off the ground as you dive, you can get a little extra acceleration.

If you slide feet-first, your feet will dig into the ground instead, slowing your motion, Peters said.

This is also precisely why the backward outside death spiral is more difficult and slower-moving than the other death spirals in figure skating. Baseball could pick up a few tricks from that sport.

Pull THAT out of your bag of party tricks at the office shindig this weekend, why don't you.

[*BaseClogger*]

Head-first slides are also more dangerous, Peters said, because players could jam their hands into the base. Until the 1960s and '70s, in fact, players tended to avoid sliding head-first into a base to protect their hands and faces.

Wussies. See--the true tough guys ARE the modern ball players...

[kaldaniels]

Is it possible to say that there are some players who slide headfirst faster, and others who slide feetfirst faster...can we have some gray area on this issue.

[MrCinatit]

I know MythBusters covered the slide - I could have sworn they also went over the head first slide.
In other words...been there, done that.

[Highlifeman21]

I know MythBusters covered the slide - I could have sworn they also went over the head first slide.
In other words...been there, done that.

IIRC, their experiment was going from 1B to 2B, and getting there in the least amount of time.

They looked at head first slide, feet first slide and running full speed and trying to stop and stay on the bag (which resulted in Grant twisting his ankle something fierce, IIARC).

IIRC, running was the fastest, then head first, then feet first.

[MrCinatit]

IIRC, their experiment was going from 1B to 2B, and getting there in the least amount of time.
They looked at head first slide, feet first slide and running full speed and trying to stop and stay on the bag (which resulted in Grant twisting his ankle something fierce, IIARC).
IIRC, running was the fastest, then head first, then feet first.

I believe you're right (I really should have saved that episode). But, they did not take into account someone trying to apply a tag.