Why Do They Slide?

Baseball seems to get more discussion at this site. Got a question.

I see guys slide into home all the time when there seems to be no need. Reaching first base, nobody slides; you cannot be tagged out unless you head towards second base, right? Sliding would just slow you down. The same thing applies to home plate though, as far as being tagged. Right?

Now I can see under the old rules, maybe it was best, if there was a play at the plate, to slide. There's a new rule now, though, that the plate can't be blocked. So why do they slide?

And I see them slide all the time when there is no play at the plate. What's up with that?

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Quote: odiousgambit

Baseball seems to get more discussion at this site. Got a question.

I see guys slide into home all the time when there seems to be no need. Reaching first base, nobody slides; you cannot be tagged out unless you head towards second base, right? Sliding would just slow you down. The same thing applies to home plate though, as far as being tagged. Right?

Now I can see under the old rules, maybe it was best, if there was a play at the plate, to slide. There's a new rule now, though, that the plate can't be blocked. So why do they slide?

And I see them slide all the time when there is no play at the plate. What's up with that?

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When there isn't a close play at the plate, I also don't understand why they slide. Maybe it's habit from youth baseball where sliding is often required on any plays at the plate, close or not so close, to reduce the chance of injury. With the new rules the catcher can't block the plate in these situations.

As I understand the new rule, the catcher can still block the plate as long as he is in possession of the ball. In these situations, a slide can still make some sense to either knock the ball away of a low tag, or to widen the lane to the plate by sliding to the either side of the plate (usually the right) and swiping the plate with a hand (usually the left).

Dramatic effect.

Quote: MidwestAP

the catcher can still block the plate as long as he is in possession of the ball

gotta be some kind of circumstance that will allow that, if you are correct.

It's often harder to tag a sliding player than one who is upright.

Players aren't tagged at first base normally either because they are forced to go there, so tagging the base makes more sense (you occasionally see a tag on a slow runner whose pretty much given up on getting on base, but otherwise getting to the base itself is better).

Otherwise, I dunno.

It's to avoid a tag. The play at first is a force play, in which the first baseman just has to have the ball with his foot on the bag before the runner arrives. No tag required. At home, a tag must be applied (unless the bases are loaded, creating a force play at all bases).

It also more often than not allows the runner to touch the plate a fraction of a second sooner than he would if he was running. Unless his final stride before the plate was exactly the length of the remaining distance to the plate, he would have to shorten that last step to avoid overrunning it without touching it.

You do, in fact, see some instances of sliding into first, when the throw pulls the first baseman off the bag (to his left) and his only option is to try a swipe tag on the runner. An alert runner will be ready for this possibility as he approaches the bag and thus be prepared to slide if that happens.

My high school baseball coach taught us to slide even when not "necessary" because he didn't want us making a judgment call that a slide wasn't needed and then get tagged out as a result. A sliding runner always presents a smaller target for a fielder to tag, so as my coach put it, why NOT slide? (After all, someone else will be doing the laundry :) )

Yeah when sliding an extra step is required to tag since they must reach down to get them. If they threw down directly, they would often hit the runner causing an error. Maybe even a free base, I can't remember but do know the runner would be out if intentionally stepping into a thrown ball while base running.

when the runner can't be forced out at the plate, maybe that all makes sense. But I wonder if the new rule, once it sinks in better, won't mean less sliding as time goes on.

Quote: odiousgambit

Baseball seems to get more discussion at this site. Got a question.

I see guys slide into home all the time when there seems to be no need. Reaching first base, nobody slides; you cannot be tagged out unless you head towards second base, right? Sliding would just slow you down. The same thing applies to home plate though, as far as being tagged. Right?

I was notorious for diving into 1st. I figured if I didn't slide, i.e. hit the ground before the bag, rather reaching out and meeting the bag and the ground at the same time, that would be the fastest way to get there. I noticed it caused a great cloud of dust as well. For my final 2-3 years, I was diving with one arm kept low to swoop up and scoop a bunch of dust and dirt toward the 1st baseman. The ump could not hear or see the play. And with my speed, hustle, and his uncertainty, I was never once called out.

Quote: OG

Now I can see under the old rules, maybe it was best, if there was a play at the plate, to slide. There's a new rule now, though, that the plate can't be blocked. So why do they slide?

And I see them slide all the time when there is no play at the plate. What's up with that?

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As far as sliding when there is no play, it's likely "safe than sorry". Occasionally the man on deck will be aware enough to signal you in, but often times you're belting for home unaware of exactly where the ball is. They might have hit the cut off and went to second to keep it to a single, or the cutoff might have a cannon and is trying to pick you. If no one's there to signal you, you assume they're coming for you. So you slide, even though the cutoff held it and ran it in.