A Comparison of Base Running Techniques and Times to 1st Base

Szymanski, David J.; Miletello, Wendy M.; Billiot, Heather M.

doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000273787.61548.ba

Cited by 1 publication

(9 citation statements)

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“…Szymanski et al. 12 found no significant differences in time between running through and sliding head-first into first base in high school baseball players, while Ficklin et al. 13 found running through the base was faster than sliding feet-first, but not head-first, in collegiate baseball players.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In a study of 13 male high school baseball players, Szymanski et al. 12 examined the time needed to reach first base by either running through or diving head-first after batting a ball off a tee from home plate. After a 15 min warm-up, participants performed two trials of each condition with 3 min of rest between each trial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They concluded high school players should use the most appropriate slide for a particular situation, and argued the decision for coaches to allow players to slide into first base was primarily an issue of safety rather than speed. 12…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While sliding or diving head-first does not get a runner to first base quicker than running, 12,13 players that are desperate to get a hit or reach base in a particular situation may elect to slide even though it is commonly believed that sliding head-first into first base is more dangerous. 12 Dick et al. 2 claimed increased intensity during competition may lead players to perform more risky behaviors than they would during practice, and it could be argued that sliding into first base to beat out a close play would likely place the runner at higher risk for injury.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Getting to first base: Running is faster than sliding in collegiate baseball and softball players

Haag

2020

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

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Previous research has shown no significant differences in time required to reach a base when sliding head-first or feet-first, but few studies have compared running through and sliding into first base in baseball players, and none have included softball players. The purpose of the present study was to examine differences in time required to reach first base when running, sliding head-first, and sliding feet-first. Twelve female collegiate softball players (20.0 ± 1.3 years old) and 14 male collegiate baseball players (20.6 ± 1.6 years old) performed three trials each of running, sliding head-first, and sliding feet-first in a randomized, counterbalanced order with 1–2 min of rest between each trial. Testing was conducted in an indoor practice facility and trials were timed using a dual-beam wireless infrared timing system. Significant differences between the three approaches were found for both softball ( p < .001) and baseball players ( p < .001), and follow-up pairwise comparisons showed running through the base was significantly faster than sliding head-first ( p = .001 for softball, p = .009 for baseball) and feet-first ( p < .001 for softball, p = .002 for baseball). Differences between sliding head-first and feet-first were not significant in either group. Running through first base is significantly faster than sliding in collegiate baseball and softball players. Sliding into first base should only be attempted when avoiding a tag from or a collision with a fielder.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%