August 7, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for August 6

by Larry Granillo

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A day after one of the scariest moments I've seen on a baseball diamond, Saturday was able to bring us some entertainment in the form of a few monster blasts, a pitcher's home run, and two entertaining first-career home runs. Thoughts are definitely with Juan Nicasio, but it's nice to have something fun to take our minds off of it as well.

Now let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Trayvon Robinson, Seattle Mariners - 19.75?? seconds [video]
I'm torn on what to do here. Robinson, a top prospect the Mariners were somehow able to acquire from the Dodgers for a packet of magic beans, hit his first career home run on Saturday, a big blast to left-centerfield in Anaheim. Robinson was speeding around the bases until he rounded second, where he actually slowed down and stopped for the briefest of moments before he realized it was a home run and finished his trot. My general rule is to not count any trot that has the runner stop, but Robinson's pause was about as brief as could be. However, he definitely halted his momentum, pulling his body back as he looked to the umpire. In the end, he touched home plate 19.75 seconds after hitting the ball, even if it is technically a disallowed time.

Yonder Alonso, who helped with a first career home run earlier in the week, finally was responsible for his own home run on Saturday. There's nothing too remarkable about his trot (other than the "speed" of it). He isn't exactly the most graceful trotter, though (video).

Slowest Trot: Carlos Lee, Houston Astros - 26.22 seconds [video]
As I said on Twitter, Carlos Lee is not a very fast man. Alonso's 25.33 second trot was the second slowest of the day.

Quickest Trot: Kyle Blanks, San Diego Padres - 19.33 seconds [video]
It's no secret that I am a fan of the quick tater trot. It may be even better when a man as big as Kyle Blanks (6'6", 270) is the one responsible for the speedy trot. The fact that this was a grand slam just makes it even better. Let's hope we start to see a few more home runs from the big man.

All of Today's Trots

Carlos Lee.........26.22    Justin Turner #2...21.13
Yonder Alonso......25.33    Pablo Sandoval.....21.1
Carlos Zambrano....24.42    Jeff Francoeur.....21.04
Prince Fielder.....24.19    Clint Barmes.......20.9
Jason Kipnis.......23.3	    J.D. Martinez......20.88
Albert Pujols......23.12    David DeJesus #2...20.68
Jonathan Lucroy....22.37    Garrett Jones......20.63
Dan Uggla..........22.31    Adam Jones.........20.32
Jason Bay..........22.15    Brent Lillibridge..20.27
Mark Teixeira......22.09    Justin Turner #1...20.21
Ty Wigginton.......21.97    Chris Iannetta.....19.84
Josh Thole.........21.65    David DeJesus #1...19.78
Colby Rasmus.......21.45    Trayvon Robinson...?? 19.75
Rick Ankiel........21.35    Kyle Blanks........19.33
Jacoby Ellsbury....21.26