July 27, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for July 26

by Larry Granillo

Printer-friendly

It's been a busy day, what with the 19th-inning blown call, the Colby Rasmus trade, the almost-Carlos Beltran trade, and Ervin Santana no-hitter. I'm certainly not complaining. But it has kept us all from what's really important - the Tater Trot Tracker.

Let's get to those trots!

Home Run of the Day: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals - 23.2 seconds [video]
Chase Utley hit an inside-the-park home run, but we can talk about that below. Michael McKenry, the catcher at the center of the Pirates/Braves blown-call, hit a home run early in the game to give the Pirates the runs they needed to stay in the game for 19 innings. Pujols gets the Home Run of the Day, though, for an interesting reason all his own.

Pujols' home run hit the upper corner of the Busch Stadium centerfield wall. It was ruled a home run on the field, but Houston centerfielder Michael Bourn thought otherwise. The umpires went and reviewed the home run and, despite some pretty clear angles showing that the ball hit the wall and did not hit beyond the wall, the upheld the ruling. Pujols' blast remained a home run despite not actually being a home run.

On a day when everyone was demanding the use of instant replay because it would reduce umpire errors, it should probably be noted that, only a few hours earlier, a team in the same division had already benefited from an incorrect call via instant replay. Nothing, it seems, is perfect.

Slowest Trot: Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals - 26.37 seconds [video]
I'm sure I say this every time I talk about Billy Butler, but it is truly remarkable watching a Butler tater trot. He really does seem to be moving at a brisk pace, but, when you get down to the numbers, it's always incredibly slow. It must be because he's big boned.

Quickest Trot: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies - 15.2 seconds [video]
Now, granted, it's no inside-the-park grand slam, but Chase Utley's inside the parker on Tuesday was a blast to watch. The ball was misplayed, sure, but it was off of a weird carom and not poor glovework. What made Utley's trot so great, though, was that slide at the end. It was necessary, of course, but there's just something cool about the look of it. Nice work, Chase.

All of Today's Trots

Billy Butler.......26.37    Alex Gordon........22.17
Derrek Lee.........24.36    Nolan Reimold......21.82
Adam Dunn..........23.63    Adam Lind..........21.23
Aaron Rowand.......23.23    J.J. Hardy #1......21.18
Paul Konerko.......23.22*   Michae McKenry.....21.02
Albert Pujols......23.2	    John Mayberry......20.92
Mark Teixeira......23.17    Joey Votto.........20.88
John Buck..........23.09    Matt LaPorta.......20.85
Laynce Nix.........23.06    J.J. Hardy #2......20.73
Yorvit Torrealba...22.88    Jason Varitek......20.69
Aramis Ramirez.....22.77    Ben Zobrist........20.26
Ryan Howard........22.67    Aaron Hill.........20.01
David Freese.......22.66    Raul Ibanez........19.52
Logan Morrison.....22.47    Justin Upton.......18.9
Jesus Guzman.......22.37    Curtis Granderson..18.86
Greg Dobbs.........22.25    Chase Utley........15.2