[legend]

I do not know how they could prove or disprove it, but I would love to see the guys on that show "Mythbusters" do a segment on timing guys running through the bag and then guys diving in headfirst. It would be interesting to see how they would approach this situation.

[EmpireWF]

Isn't it a fact that sliding head first is yet the slower way to get to the base. It's physics...they tell you when you're running the track. Don't jump past the finish line, run through with your motion and you'll take less time to go through. That's why I never understood guys like Robby Alomar who use to slide headfirst into 1st...it's a better way to get injured then to be safe.

[ThePundit]

Empire has hit it on the head. When have you ever seen a sprinter in Track & Field dive through the tape? NEVER.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

Empire has hit it on the head. When have you ever seen a sprinter in Track & Field dive through the tape? NEVER.

errr...actually when they start to fall behind...press really hard...lean...lose their balance and tumble foward...example: 1972 Olympics 800 meters men...1983 World Champinoships women's 1500 meters...Hey you asked...

although many of you disagree that sliding head first into first base makes you faster, how many of you actually play baseball or just watch it and listen to other people...I am a college baseball player and I can definitely tell a difference when sliding into first...now I do agree that sliding into first is slower once you hit the ground due to friction, but if you dive instead of slide it for sure is faster...I frequently dive into first on close plays and often am safe....also, depending on the person, sliding can be slower, but for some it is faster....and for all of you wondering about the sprinter comment posted, there are 2 major reasons sprinters don't dive....(1.) the track is usually much harder than the ground on a baseball field and (2.) sprinters times stops when their chests cross the tape...their arms are not included when crossing the finish lines or every sprinter would be sticking their arms out at the finish....these r the reasons sprinters don't dive over the finish!

Since someone mentioned physics, the physics are basically that your center of gravity is moving at a steady rate (horizontally), so by laying out, you make yourself 'longer', getting your arms or legs to the bag before your CG gets there. Running through (upright), with your CG about in your middle, means you get there slightly later.

If you slide, actually hitting the dirt before you get to the bag, then your CG is no longer moving at a constant horizontal rate (you're slowing down from friction), so you would need to lay out in the air, hitting the dirt and the bag at the same time, with your finger tips.

The Mythbusters HAVE to test this myth, and preferably with real ballplayers. I am so tired of hearing baseball people rant about how stupid it is to dive into first base. The rants always go like this:

1. You can get injured!
2. It's actually slower to dive! If it weren't, track runners would dive across the finish line all the time!

Point #1 is completely valid. Diving or sliding into any base leads to increased finger, hand, and shoulder injuries.

Point #2 just needs to be tested empirically. But the argument about track runners is really weak. I mean, think about it. Track runners wear no protective clothing, and diving on the track itself could result in serious if not career-ending injury. In contrast, baseball fields use a loose dirt composite that is designed to allow baseball players to slide with little risk of injury. Plus, baseball uniforms cover the entire body from the neck down (and excluding the forearms) and are made from a durable material that is designed to slide across the dirt rather than stick to it. So the reason track runners don't dive may be simply self-preservation - even if it might be faster to dive, it would take practice to do it correctly, and few track stars are going to spend their training time doing something that is of questionable utility and that could seriously injure them. In contrast, sliding properly in on a baseball diamond often doesn't hurt at all.

I'm not saying that I think diving into first base is faster than running through it. And I'm *certainly* not saying it's a great idea, due to the risk of injury. But I definitely think it's not as clear-cut as most people seem to think. Mythbusters, please do your thing!

Another reason runners don't dive across the finish line is simply because they would run the risk of disqualification. At a home meet, a friend of mine tripped as he was crossing the line, and our coach flipped out on him because that could have cost a lot of points if they chose to DQ him (he was our number 4 man).

That could only be limited to certain age groups (this was High School) as we all know that as the level of competition goes up (e.g., Jr. High, High School, College, Semi-Pro, Pro) there are variances to rules at each level. For instance, High School baseball prohibits a base-runner from dropping their shoulder in order to "run over" any defensive player (especially the catcher) because of risk of injury and sportsmanship. You see that happen in Pro Baseball at least a few times a month.

Back to my point, I'm pretty sure it's illegal for a runner to dive across the finish line.

Lastly, I would definitely like to witness some test runs to validate that it is faster to run through the bag at first than to slide. It seems more like an "old saying" than a fact. MythBusters OR SportScience should put this into an episode and put some facts out there.

We were told in High School that diving across the line is illegal and can result in disqualification. Maybe THAT'S the reason no one implements diving into their training.