The WGOM

They definitely did, but the point is that the Twins' announcers (Bremer, Blyleven, etc.) refuse to really criticize Punto to the degree that this stupidity warrants. Sliding head-first into first is almost as stupid as hitting cross-handed or something, and certainly no one would stand for that.

We clearly fall for it, though. Look at how much time we sit here discussing the adventures of Captain Dreamboat and Lightning-Rod. Four paragraphs on the Yankees today from the Worldwide Leader in Half-Baked Crap and nothing on the ALCS.

Probably, but part of the reason for that is that all of Tony La Russa's pitching changes would prevent the games from finishing before Sportscenter starts.

Of course, Detroit and St. Louis would get way more coverage than Oakland and St. Louis. Personally, I'm hoping for Oakland vs. New York. Without looking really closely at the Mets and the Cards, the Mets were way better in the regular season, so I think that matchup would provide the best opportunity for good baseball in the World Series. As a viewer, I just want to see good baseball. (Plus, Joe Buck is partial to the Cards in addition to being partial to Derek Jeter. Perhaps this is because he owes his career to his father's broadcasting for that team.)

What if what he's doing is NOT giving his team the best chance to win? It's pretty much straight science - a runner will reach first base most quickly by running through the bag, not diving for it. People whose job is to run quickly from point A to point B (track athletes) don't often pull a Punto at the finish line.

Also, he is much less able to take second on an errant throw than if he runs through the base. Those two factors alone make it a bad idea in my book. Just because a player thinks it's a good idea doesn't necessarily mean it is. Either Punto is the smartest player in the major leagues - since he's the only one I know of who does this so frequently - or he's doing something wrong that's hurting his team.

Plus it makes me feel like I'm watching a slow-pitch softball game with some townie as a lead-off hitter.

Even if it does decrease a player’s chance of reaching the base safely (which is debatable), the difference is not very large.

Not debatable. It's physics. Sliding/diving is slower than running through.

Injury risk? Sure, but Punto never got hurt doing it this year, even though he did it seemingly a couple times a week.

If I walk across the street without looking, that increases my chance of death. Just because I might get away with it a couple of times doesn't make it a good idea for me to continue walking across the street without looking.

Whether or not Punto gets hurt is beside the point. It's the added risk that matters.

And are you telling me there’s no injury risk in running hard through first base? On many occasions I have seen players pull a hamstring by stretching their leg on that last step, or jam their knee hitting the bag.

Running through the base doesn't mean that you should lunge at the end, increasing your risk for injury. It's nice if a player can eke out a couple of extra hits during the course of the year by hustling hard to first base. Those hits aren't worth added injury risk, though.

Calling for a player to be fined for playing the game hard and doing what he thinks gives him the best chance to reach base safely is ludacrous.

It doesn't give him the best chance. So, you explain to him that he's wrong. Then, if he doesn't listen to you, he's being insubordinate. Hence, the fine.

I didn't pay attention to ubelmann's response before writing mine. so I guess we were largely redundant.

Nick, the physics really is NOT debatable. You are now offering a different argument, hinging on an unsubstantiated claim that umpires are biased in favor of runners when the call is close AND the runner is separated from the path of the ball in the umpire's visual field. I assert that the proper "null hypothesis" here is that close play calls are a coin flip, NOT biased. Umpire performance is pretty closely monitored by the league, is it not? I have a hard time believing that umps who show systematic bias would survive very long in the big leagues.

arguing that because Punto didn't get hurt, "the perceived added risk means absolutely nothing" is, well, specious. OF COURSE past good luck means nothing for future outcomes. So the added risk remains.

there is absolutely no evidence that diving/sliding into first provides an advantage. there is very good reason to believe that headfirst slides are more likely to lead to injury than not sliding (or feet-first slides). Put two and two together, and you should be getting four here: don't dive on the routine, bang-bang play at first.

the only instance I can think of in which a dive/slide might make sense is in trying to avoid a tag.

Yeah, how many baserunners do you see decelerating on their last 2 steps to first? Pretty much all of them? I'm impressed with Punto's desire to get to first, but I'd be more impressed with him being one of the few who is running through the bag.

I consider myself a better than average softball player, but one thing I always do is sprint through 1B on a groundball. It's the least I can do. And I'm not paid to do that.

btw, what would it take to satisfy the non-scientific community that sliding is in no way faster, an analysis by Bill Nye, the Science Guy? The only uses I can see for sliding are A) for getting below a tag, or B) to quickly halt your forward motion. B is immaterial at first, as you are allowed to pass the bag without being tagged out.

Ha! I don't think the booth could deal with that amount of leadership.

I've read that drivel. King once informed the world that his daughter was born in the same hospital as Derek Jeter. What the point of that disclosure was, I don't know.

Nowhere did I say that sliding into first base is faster than running through it. On the contrary, I specifically stated that I would rather see a player run through the base than slide in.

I think that's the entire point of everyone's displeasure. Since he is slower, he is reducing the likelihood of actually being safe. If he slides into an out in a situation (say in a playoff game) where he would otherwise be safe, then he'd be costing his team an out in a potentially crucial time.

If you like hustle then you would have loved watching Kirby bust his ass down the line on every ball. That was hustle, even if the jersey didn't get dirty.

By your logic, Nick, you'd have nothing to say about Hunter's play in game 2. After all, he ran and dove after a ball. What is more hustle than that? The problem is that it was a foolhardy play that cost his team two runs. A mental mistake, if you will, just like the decision to slide into first.

I don't see it as an either/or thing. Punto can hustle his ever-loving heart out on every part of the ballfield except for one step around first base, where he ought to exercise caution not to injure himself and also run through the base because it's faster. From where I sit, the gains are minimal (a couple extra IF singles) and the risks are large (sitting out a month or two at a time.)

There's a line between hustle and poor decision-making, and I think head-first slides into first base cross that line.

He's been sensible as long as I can remember. He's pretty partial to the Twins, if anything.

It's like Top Jimmy without the schilling and really old pop-culture/current events references.