April 22, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for April 21

by Larry Granillo

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For a random Thursday in mid-April, yesterday was filled with some pretty great moments. A first pitch, first career home run for Scott Cousins that happened to come with the bases loaded; Cameron Maybin body-slamming into the centerfield wall trying to catch a flyball; a walkoff bomb, and plenty more. There were only 22 home runs hit across the league, but they were all pretty great.

Let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers - 22.94 seconds [video]
The Dodgers tried to give Clayton Kershaw a complete game by leaving him in during a bases loaded situation in the ninth. It didn't work out, but the Dodgers were able to tie it up in the bottom of the ninth. Matt Kemp won the game three innings later, with this blast, his second walkoff homer in the last week. As Vin Scully said, "sooner or later, the word's gonna get around the league that Matt Kemp might beat you."

It should also be noted that Jason Bay joined the "Little League Home Run" club in Thursday's game (video). Bay's trip took a grand total of 16.26 seconds. As quick as Bay made it around those bases, he was two-and-a-quarter seconds slower than Peter Bourjos' own four-base single.

Slowest Trot: Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels - 27.89 seconds [video]
There is no one in baseball who I think fans would be more surprised by his slow trots than Torii Hunter. His average trot time in 2010 was 23.86 seconds, which is definitely on the high end of the scale (though not near the 25-second trots of the Billy Butler's and David Ortiz's of the league). This 27.89 second trot may be Hunter's slowest in the last two years, but it certainly isn't shocking given his track record.

Quickest Trot: Mike Stanton, Florida Marlins - 19.33 seconds [video]
Mike Stanton's teammate Scott Cousins may have had the home run of the game - a grand slam for Cousins' first career home run - but Stanton's blast wasn't too bad itself. Stanton joined David Wright and Kelly Johnson as the only three sub-twenty second trots of the day.