Would your answer change if it was wet out?...

After looking at the scratches on my best friend's (Matt Johnson) body, I began to ask myself this question: Is sliding into a base in baseball really the quickest way to get there? In games of inches, is sliding a helpful technique, or is it only helpful in a game like baseball, where ending on a base is important? I'll pose this in another hypothetical situation.

You're playing soccer. The ball is rolling into your team's net and you need to stop it. Direction does not matter, no other player is on your half of the field. As long as you can get to the ball, you can stop it. Do you (a) run as fast as you can and slide as you begin approaching the goal line hoping to catch the ball, or (b) run as fast as you can hoping to catch the ball with one of your steps and stop it while you are passing it and running into the net?

My instinct as a soccer player tells me (a), but I have no definitive reason for why this is. I have some innate, or taught reason to think that sliding will help me get there quicker.

Here is the reason I really began evaluating this question. The sport of track and field is competitive. It is a sport were fractions of seconds make significant differences. All runners seem trained to stick their chest forward as they approach and cross the finish line. I'm curious if sliding as a last "step" would cut a fraction of a second or not. Has anyone ever tried in a close race to finish by sliding? What really is fastest? Should I really be approaching soccer balls in a standing position? Is sliding only helpful because stopping on the base is important?

I'll leave it for the commenters to debate.