Whose slide was better: Josh Donaldson versus Justin Turner

Sliding is one of the first things a baseball player learns how to do in Little League. Anyone who has played the game at a young age can remember going home with raspberries on their legs. We’d be lying if we said we sometimes slid during unnecessary situations just to get our uniforms dirty. 

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We appreciate the art of the slide, is what we’re saying, and we think maybe you do too. So when Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson and Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner pulled off two of the coolest slides we’ve seen this season on the same day, we couldn’t help but have a debate.

Both slides are impressive, yet different. Both display intelligence, quick-thinking and acute awareness of a situation. They are both works of art in their own right.

With that said, we’re here to decide which one is better.

Let’s start with Donaldson’s slide (featured above). Donaldson tagged up on a relatively shallow pop up to second base. Trying to advance on this type of play took guts, but he went for it. The throw from Jason Kipnis was pretty close, causing Donaldson to jump away from catcher Yan Gomes. He narrowly avoided the tag, just grazing home plate with his left hand. The play obviously scored a run for Toronto, though the Blue Jays were already up by four at that point in the contest.

Now, let’s take a look at Turner’s slide.

All right, so this is just a straight steal attempt. Under normal circumstances, Turner would have been thrown out by a couple feet. This, however, was not a normal circumstance. 

As Ehire Adrianza attempts to apply the tag to Turner’s left hand, Turner somehow manages to shift his momentum mid-slide. The left hand comes off the ground, his helmet flies off and Turner is able to sneak his right arm around Adrianza’s glove. It’s sneaky. It’s masterful. And Turner knew immediately he had gotten away with it. It didn’t start out as a great slide, but he made it one. Turner’s steal didn’t lead to a run, though he did pull it off in a one-run game.

While we aren’t considering these slides in our debate, we’ll note that it’s been a strange week for this type of thing. Charlie Blackmon was in a similar situation to Turner just a few days ago, while Brandon Barnes showed us how not to slide into second. These slides can be honorable mentions for now.

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So, between Donaldson and Turner, which slide is better? Though we love both, we’re going to give it to Turner here. Maybe that’s just because we love seeing a potentially disastrous situation turn into something beautiful.

Donaldson’s slide was more traditional. Coaches aren’t going to show their players video of Turner’s slide and say, “do that.” They might use Donaldson’s slide in those situations, though.

Still, we value weird and wacky here, and that’s what Turner did. If you disagree, you can always let us know in the comments. 

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik