Jae-kyun Hwang and the nose-in-the-dirt school of baseball sliding

There are subtle differences between the way baseball is taught in America and South Korea, but it’s unlikely there’s a coach in either country advocating the nose-in-the-dirt approach to sliding into base. Still, one has to wonder what’s going on with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Asociation.

Watch carefully as Lotte Giants infielder Jae-kyun Hwang’s slides into third.

Is Hwang trying to arrive at the base with his head and feet at the same time? Also, be sure to check out first baseman Jong-yoon Park’s slide into second. He takes a suspiciously similar — and equally painful to watch — approach.

Americans get early childhood training in the art of the headfirst slide. Summertime favorites like the Banzai Grand Slam Baseball Slide ensure future baseball players establish perfect sliding form under the guise of carefree play.

By the time an American player is engaged in organized baseball, he (or she) has already had years of sliding experience and is immune to botching this basic skill. At least that’s the theory…