April 13, 2012

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for April 12

by Larry Granillo

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It was the first real partial slate of games on the young season. As a result, only eighteen teams suited up on Thursday. It was an abbreviated schedule, sure, but that doesn't explain the 11 home runs hit across the league. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was dominant pitching. Or maybe it was just getaway day excitement.

It's impossible to say. Whatever the case, let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Joe Mauer & Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins - 22.88 & 22.22 seconds [video and video]
The Target Field crowd booed their two best players early in the game, apparently letting the two former MVPs know about their frustration with the news that Michael Bay's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" will be non-mutant aliens. I mean, I can't figure out any other reason those two would be booed. It didn't matter later in the game, though, when both Mauer and Morneau hit no-doubt home runs into the stands. Thanks to devastating injuries these last few years that are completely out of the sluggers' control, it was the first time the Mauer/Morneau combo hit home runs in the same game since July 6, 2010. Hopefully Thursday afternoon was a sign of more to come.

Slowest Trot: Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins - 23.55 seconds [video]
The other Twin to go yard yesterday, Willingham's home run wasn't all that surprising to Twins fans. After all, it was his fourth of the season in the club's first six games. Willingham finds himself atop the slowest trot of the day list as a bit of a technicality. With so few home runs hit, someone had to be the slowest, even if it was for a 23-seconds trot.

Quickest Trot: Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners - 19.35* seconds [video]
Seager, who found Arlington's lovely second deck for his first home run of the season, earned his spot atop the quickest trots list, coming around in 19.35 seconds. He was the only trotter to make the circuit in under 20-seconds.

All of Today's Trots

Josh Willingham..23.55
Joe Mauer........22.88
Chris Young......22.76
Justin Morneau...22.22
Ty Wigginton.....21.31
Carlos Pena......21.27
Shane Victorino..21.24
Michael McKenry..20.92*
Michael Young....20.7
Mark Trumbo......20.65
Kyle Seager......19.35*

Click here for the ongoing 2012 Tater Trot Tracker Leaderboard. You can also follow @TaterTrotTrkr on Twitter for more up-to-the-minute trot times.