What’s up with the sliding mittens now? The hitters look like they are going into battle with all the garb they have on at the plate and now this.

Buncha sissies

Every time a hitter gets on they have to call time and undress and then the base coach has to take it away. Keep hearing about wanting the game sped up well do away with some of this. At the rate it’s going they’ll be wearing shoulder pads instead of turning and taking it

Ought to be a rule that if you wear it batting, you have to wear it while on base.

Maybe this is why a game takes 10 hrs. Should really be shortened to 3 innings. It is worse than watching grass grow

No, it shouldn’t.

I do agree the oven mitts are stupid.

They shouldn’t allow one foot in the box and one out. And no holding up your hand to the umpire. All stupid things done for no apparent reason. Some do it every pitch too.

Same as giving everyone a high five after a made free throw

Little kids are doing it now because they see college and NBA guys do it

Hitting is timing.Pitching is upsetting that timing. Stance is important and you have to landscape the box sometimes.

The reason they wear mittens is some people have a tendency to put their hand down when sliding. I did this and my right palm stayed skinned up and covered in New Skin. If they had mittens around when I played I would have gotten one. I tried wearing my batting glove but kept tearing them up from sliding. I didn't have a sponsor that gave me a new pair every game and the cost was rough on a kid. I tried holding my gloves in that hand, some still use this method, it is supposed to keep you from putting your hand down. I just ended up dropping the batting glove before I started my slide.

My problem with the mitten is it extends your hand a few inches. We have seen on the reviews that a few inches can make all the difference between out and safe.

I understand the reason. To combat that when I played, I took my batting gloves off and held them. That made me not put my hands down. It would also help if they didn't all want to slide head first.

Like I said, holding batting gloves doesn't work for everyone. Instinctively, I would drop mine before going into a slide and still put my hands down. Also, I liked to hook slide a lot and would slide past the bag and reach back and grab the bag. Having fingers helped with that. I guess others are like that too. The extra inches in a reach with a mitten would have been nice though.

One of the first rules I was told when learning to mountain bike is to make a fist when you fall to save your collarbone. Open fingers would reduce the change for your palm to slide on the ground. I wonder if that is another reason for the oven mitts?

That's why you should just "Pete Rose" slide.

Illegal in high school ball, or at least it used to be. When I called games that was an ejection. It is a good way to get a broken nose too.

I graduated in 93 and we could Pete Rose. If you don't know how to Pete Rose slide, yes, you can eat some dirt. But same goes with the traditional slide. If you don't know how, you can break an ankle. It's all about technique.

I called games in the late 80's and early 90's and head first slides were illegal.

Not to be a smart ass but what is the technique to keep a fielder from sticking his leg in font of your face on a "Pete Rose" slide? There isn't one which is why they were made illegal. This is one of the first rules I can recall that I consider a wussification of the game rule.

Have umpired for many years. Holding up your hand as a batter in the batters box means nothing at all unless the umpire calls time. When I umpire, I tell the coaches to let the batters know once they get in the box they better be ready to hit. Time limit is 1 hour and 15 minutes or 6 innings and the game moves pretty good.

In our league, you must have both feet in box. On the line is in the box but if you touch the plate you are out.

Same here. I was bad about jamming my hand and palm in the ground. Once I started holding the gloves after taking them off, that tendency stopped.

God Bless,
David B.

I cant say that I ever stuck my hand in the ground sliding. Why would you do that? I was trying to get my hand on the bag and hold on to it. The only thing I ever scratched up sliding headfirst was the inside of my elbows