When Sliding on a House Plate, Step With Your Feet First.
On the heels of last week’s study of the alarming prevalence of traumatic brain injury in football – and similar dangers to players on the football field – new research has emerged that investigates another danger of the playing field: head-sliding in baseball. However, the danger here is not for the brains of the players, but mainly for the fragile bones and tendons of their hands, as reported this week by the New York Times.
The study, published in May in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (and funded in part by Major League Baseball), cataloged all major and minor league slides from 2011 to 2015, and tracked injuries and subsequent missed days, among other things. The takeaways are clear: Players are about twice as likely to get injured when they slide headfirst rather than with their feet.
While the danger is not as serious or life threatening as head injuries in football, it is still significant. Sliding injuries resulted in 4263 missed days per season, and eight percent of injuries required surgery.
Once again, science confirms what athletes and coaches have long feared. In this case: While gliding head first is safer in terms of avoiding the mark, it is more dangerous for the bodies of the players. But we often need hard data to motivate change, and while the study did not include college or high school players, the implications are clear. Players and coaches must weigh the risks – one against possible DL weeks. When in doubt, lead with your feet.