ATLANTA _ Minor head and neck pain caused by a head-first slide nearly two years ago caused Cubs slugger Kris Bryant to reconsider his preferred sliding method.
But even after injuring his left pinkie on another head-first slide that caused him to leave Wednesday's game, Bryant still prefers to avoid foot slides.
"I don't know if there's any sports science on it," Bryant said after wincing in pain when Braves third baseman Johan Camargo stepped on his hand on his unsuccessful attempt to advance on a wild throw. "But for me, how I feel sliding, I feel I get there quicker head-first. It's more elusive when I'm tagging at third base. It's much tougher to tag someone with a head-first slide than feet first.
"Baseball instincts take over. You want to be safe, so you're going to do anything you can. And as stubborn as we are, sometimes this is what happens."
Bryant missed one game in 2015 after colliding with the knee of Brewers shortstop Jean Segura.
