July 20, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for July 19

by Larry Granillo

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I don't know who it was, but some brilliant supervillian decided to build an invisible sauna over much of the United States this week. It's been well short of fun. I can only imagine what it must feel like for the players on the field. It hasn't really stopped the ball from flying out of the yard, though. Players probably like that - the tater trot gives them a nice respite from running too hard as they round the bases.

So how do those trots look?

Home Run of the Day: Brandon Allen, Arizona Diamondbacks - 20.97 seconds [video]
Unannounced to the public, the Brewers and Diamondbacks hosted another home run derby in Chase Field on Tuesday night. The two teams combined for six home runs, with Milwaukee hitting five of them. The balls travelled a combined 4.5 miles.

Corey Hart, Ryan Braun, and Yuniesky Betancourt all hit first inning home runs (Braun was "returning to the lineup" after a weird bout with his leg). Betancourt(!) also hit a home run in the ninth. It was the two bombs off the bats of Rickie Weeks and Brandon Allen that everyone will remember, though. Weeks' blast went to left-centerfield and landed beyond the first section of elevated seats a the Chase sign. It was definitely one of the biggest home runs I had watched in real time this year. See the video.

But then I saw Brandon Allen's. His bomb went clear down the rightfield line, towered over the foul pole, and landed somewhere the cameras couldn't find. It certainly looks like the ball lands in the suite deck in the corner (well, well behind the regular section of seats), but I'm not 100% convinced. Fans in that suite aren't reacting like the ball landed in their room. It may have fallen down right in front of the section. Either way, it's a blast to remember.

Slowest Trot: Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals - 24.76 seconds [video]
Another big blast on the night. Josh Hamilton, visiting the Los Angeles Angels, also blasted a home run worth seeing (video). The Rangers announcers even invoked Bo Jackson. As for Berkman, he beat out Mark Reynolds and Miguel Cabrera for slowest trot honors.

Quickest Trot: Brendan Ryan, Seattle Mariners - 18.67 seconds [video]
There were only two trots to come in under 20-seconds on Tuesday and, oddly, they both came from Seattle Mariners' players. Ryan had the top trot at 18.67 seconds while Greg Halman followed him with a 19.89 second trot.

All of Today's Trots

Lance Berkman...........24.76     Yuniesky Betancourt #2..21.71
Mark Reynolds...........24.52     Troy Tulowitzki.........21.67
Miguel Cabrera..........24.34*    Melky Cabrera...........21.32
Rickie Weeks............23.88     Clint Barmes............21.08
Carlos Gonzalez.........23.6      Adrian Beltre...........21.08
Starlin Castro..........23.32     Robinson Cano...........21*
Michael Morse...........23.28     Brandon Allen...........20.97
Derrek Lee..............23.03     Dan Uggla #2............20.96
Corey Hart..............22.71     Brandon Belt............20.58
Ryan Braun..............22.45     Jarrod Saltalamacchia...20.51
Dan Uggla #1............22.35     Josh Hamilton...........20.12*
Yuniesky Betancourt #1..22.23     Endy Chavez.............20.04
Jerry Hairston..........22.04     Greg Halman.............19.89
Carlos Guillen..........21.8      Brendan Ryan............18.67
Adam Lind...............21.8