May 4, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for May 3

by Larry Granillo

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Sometimes the days just line up perfectly. Tuesday was a great example of this, with many important home runs and a few memorable trots. I'm glad the Tater Trot Tracker gives me a chance to see some of these. It's just too easy to miss so much otherwise.

So how about them trots?!

Home Run of the Day: Jason Kubel, Minnesota Twins - 20.81 seconds [video]
It was a great day for home run heroics. Jeff Francoeur, Aubrey Huff, Rob Johnson, and Daniel Descalso all hit late-inning, go-ahead home runs for their clubs. Descalso's was even a three-run homer that put the Cardinals up 7-5 in the seventh inning. The brothers Upton also had big nights, with Justin providing the Diamondbacks with a late-inning, go-ahead blast of his own and B.J. walking the Rays off in Tampa Bay with a two-run shot (B.J.'s 18.82 second trot is very impressive for a walkoff). None of them, however, were responsible for securing a 1-0, no-hit bid with their home run. That honor belonged to Jason Kubel, who earns the Home Run of the Day.

Slowest Trot: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox - 26.58 seconds [video]
Two days in a row with home runs from Big Papi, and two days in a row with Ortiz sitting atop the list of slowest trotters. It's always comforting to see Ortiz here.

Quickest Trot: Eric Patterson, San Diego Padres - 17.01 seconds [video]
Patterson hit all of two home runs in 2010, so his speed around the bases had slipped my mind. It's easy to that when you only see one or two trots from a particular person; it's only when you see a few trots from one player before you really get to know them. But Patterson takes his trotting seriously. The only reason this trot was not speedier is because he slowed himself down a bit past second base once he realized the ball had sailed out.

San Diego pitcher Mat Latos also went long in this game, circling the bases in 20.32 seconds. He even did a neat little slide step as he touched home plate (see the video).

All of Today's Trots

David Ortiz........26.58       Chris Johnson......21.31
Aubrey Huff........24.33       Henry Blanco.......21.25
Matt Holliday......23.96       Luke Scott.........21.23
Nate Schierholtz...23.71       Mark Trumbo........21.22
Justin Upton.......23.29       Mark Teixeira......21.18
Adrian Gonzalez....23.28       Jason Kubel........20.81
Carlos Beltran.....22.86       Rob Johnson........20.68
Ike Davis..........22.67       Mat Latos..........20.32
Carlos Pena........22.59       Brett Wallace......20.12
Carlos Gonzalez....22.37       Daniel Descalso....19.91
Marco Scutaro......21.87       B.J. Upton.........18.82*
Jeff Francoeur.....21.72       Eric Patterson.....17.01
Michael Morse......21.48