May 1, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for April 30

by Larry Granillo

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It's not mentioned below, but Toronto's Mike McCoy hit his first career home run on Saturday. The Yankees fan who caught the ball threw it back onto the field. His trot was a nice speedy 19.15 seconds, but I have to wonder about the fan. Did he know that it was McCoy's first home run? Was he doing it as a nice gesture, or was he later disappointed to learn that he had missed out on an opportunity? Either way, I'm glad for McCoy.

How about some trots?!

Home Run of the Day: Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs - 23.7 seconds [video]
With his home run on Saturday, Soriano joins Ryan Braun as the only two major leaguers with ten home runs this year. This blast makes Home Run of the Day for its sheer size, clearing the Chase Field batting eye and smacking off the lower part of the scoreboard. Hit Tracker Online calls it 461 feet, the second longest home run of the year.

Slowest Trot: Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals - 24.77 seconds [video]
Billy Butler is not a fast man. He's one of the handful of players in the league who, even when he seems to be running fast, can't manage anything better than a roughly 25-second trot. Saturday's trot is a perfect example. (Then again, Miguel Cabrera usually falls into that same category, and he managed a 22.96 second trot Saturday.)

Quickest Trot: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates - 18.9 seconds [video]
On the other hand, no one is harmed more by having a third-base home dugout than Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen always puts up great, speedy trots, but is forced to slow down at the plate because of what side of the field his dugout is. Watch this trot and you'll see what I'm saying. If he had a first-base side dugout, he could easily have more than his fair share of 17-second trots.

All of Today's Trots

Billy Butler.......24.77	Mike Napoli........21.46
Nelson Cruz........24.39	Alex Rios..........21.06
Alfonso Soriano....23.7		Ryan Raburn........20.62
Miguel Cabrera.....22.96	Eli Whiteside......20.6
Michael Brantley...22.57	Chris Iannetta.....20.25*
Alex Gordon........22.4		Robert Andino......20.11
Matt Joyce.........22.04	Kurt Suzuki........20.04
Prince Fielder.....21.98	Mike McCoy.........19.15
Josh Willingham....21.89	Michael Young......18.96
John Mayberry......21.55	Andrew McCutchen...18.9
Carlos Santana.....21.53