April 9, 2012

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for April 8

by Larry Granillo

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It was Sunday afternoon baseball, which we've been waiting for for over six months, so that was a plus. For some reason, though, we didn't get all 30 teams playing. The Mariners and A's, who squared off in Japan roughly two months ago, rested. Yes, that is a bit odd.

However, aside from the world not getting another chance to see Yoenis Cespedes hit monster home runs, the slightly abbreviated baseball slate did not disappoint. The Tigers and Red Sox kept things very interesting, racking up an 13-12 score despite hitting only three home runs. Jay Bruce and Carlos Santana each had a pair of home runs, Buster Posey and Ryan Braun each hit their first home runs of the year, and St. Louis's Shane Robinson, who looks about a foot shorter than his listed 5'9", hit the first home run of his career. With so many home runs to choose from, let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers - 21.0 seconds [video]
Honestly, losing to the Tigers thanks to monster home runs from Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, as the Red Sox did all weekend, doesn't really say much about the quality of your pitching. Fielder and Cabrera are going to be hitting ridiculous home runs all season. Alex Avila earns the Home Run of the Day thanks to his two-run, walkoff home run in the bottom of the 11th against Boston on Sunday. It was a perfect weekend to cap a great weekend for the Tigers faithful. It should also be noted that Avila would not have been in that position if it wasn't for Cabrera's bottom-of-the-ninth, three-run blast to tie to the game.

Slowest Trot: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers - 24.66 seconds [video]
Cabrera hit his game-tying bomb on the first pitch he saw that inning, with his team down 10-7. He stopped to admire the blast at the plate before heading around the bases. The time is marked with a star (*) because the camera keeps us from seeing a clear view of his feet as he touched home plate.

The next slowest trot belonged to Billy Butler, who came around in 24.38 seconds despite running hard into second base after being unsure if the ball went over the fence.

Quickest Trot: Andy Parrino, San Diego Padres - 19.03 seconds [video]
The second player to hit his first career home run Sunday afternoon (though you wouldn't know it from the broadcast). His nice brisk trot battled with Jay Bruce (19.11 seconds) and Matt Kemp (19.86 seconds) for the quickest of the day.

All of Today's Trots

Miguel Cabrera.....24.66    Ryan Braun.........21.36
Billy Butler.......24.38    Lyle Overbay.......21.33
Carlos Beltran.....24.12    Corey Hart.........21.31
Andre Ethier.......24.02    Brian McCann.......21.12
Adrian Gonzalez....23.8     Alex Avila.........21
Vernon Wells.......23.35    Carlos Pena........20.8
Chase Headley......23.21    Jeff Keppinger.....20.62
Wilin Rosario......22.79    Josh Hamilton......20.6
Carlos Santana #2..22.54    Buster Posey.......20.6
Adrian Beltre......22.39    Jay Bruce #1.......20.45
Carlos Santana #1..22.24    Hunter Pence.......20.43
Adam LaRoche.......22.16    Eric Hosmer........20.2
Ryan Roberts.......21.92    JJ Hardy...........19.97
David Murphy.......21.83    Matt Kemp..........19.86
Shane Robinson.....21.73    Jay Bruce #2.......19.11
Pedro Alvarez......21.55    Andy Parrino.......19.03

Click here for the ongoing 2012 Tater Trot Tracker Leaderboard.