[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by PeteBooth
The Japan runner ended up head first regardless if he started feet first or not.

But, Pete, there's no rule against which part of the body ends up at the base. The prohibition is against a particular slide. I just can't believe that you don't get the difference and why. The intent is clear, and you just keep going back to what part of the body ended up at the base first. Who cares?!? It is the type of slide which is prohibited, and not what part of the body a runner touched a base with.

I would venture to guess that if this play happened in your average everyday run of the mill LL game you would get a 50/50 split on the call or perhaps even higher.

To believe your numbers would be to believe that 50% of Little League umpires have no idea what a head-first slide is. I think that is a gross exaggeration. I think most Little League umpires know what a head-first slide is.

I still say, simply put the head first slide back into the game. To my knowledge, there are no known facts that substantiate injuries resulting from them.

Well, the Academy of Pediatrics and The Consumer Product Safety Commission both disagree with you. But just like other youth league organizations, you feel it's better to keep "real" baseball on the field than it is to listen to agencies who have the experts and the data. Amazing!

You say it's amazing well I think it's amazing that people do not want the head first slide but if's perfectly ok to use metal bats at such a short distance.

If the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Consumer Product Safety Commission released a report giving their opinions that conclusive data exists that proves those bats to be a danger at that age level, then Little League would be the first organization to ban them. But the data shows otherwise, Pete. And Little League posted that data on their web site. Injuries decreased since the onslaught of high-tech bats in Little League Baseball.

You see, data is far more conclusive than someone's opinion. That's why we have research - to tell us exactly what is injuring players, and exactly what is not.

We can go on and on about safety. My main point was not the call at the plate but strictly the safety issue and if you do not want head first slides, what about the metal bats, the distance from home plate to the mound when a kid is throwing in the upper 60's from only 46ft. away.

Shall I go on

Pete Booth

No, no need to go on. I can see that you find your own opinion far more valuable than any expert opinions, research, or hard data from emergency rooms all over the country.

It's Pete Booth in this corner, and the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as the Consumer Product Safety Commission in that corner. I know who the odds-on favorite is in that fight.

It's going to take seeing a neck get broken before you and those other youth baseball organizations finally wake up. And for that 10-year-old who ends up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, I hope you can explain to him that it's all just a part of "real" baseball.