Cardinals manager is no fan of the head-first slide
Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant learned a valuable lesson after taking a shot to the head that left him dizzy and knocked him out of a recent game following a head-first slide into second base.
After going through concussion tests, Bryant vowed never to slide head-first again.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny probably thinks that's a smart call.
In last Thursday's game at Cincinnati, Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward hustled around third and made an attempt to score from second. Heyward dove head-first and had to reach his hand around the catcher to touch home plate safely and avoid a potentially scary collision.
Afterward, Matheny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he doesn't want Heyward sliding head-first into home any more.
“I just don’t see the purpose, and I never have,” Matheny said. “Those collisions, for me, if somebody got me (on a head-first slide) as a catcher I could do whatever I wanted. It’s a bad play in my opinion. I explained to him right away that’s a bad spot to be in. He goes feet-first into all the other bases. He does work on his steals, and he obviously has to do what he feels is most comfortable. You’re still risking a lot. Whatever we can do to keep our players on the field as long as we’re not sacrificing opportunities for safe over out, why wouldn’t we take advantage of that?”
Matheny was an advocate for baseball's home-plate collision rule.
But as the Cubs' Bryant showed, head injuries caused by head-first slides aren't relegated to home plate.
(h/t St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
