May 8, 2012

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for May 7

by Larry Granillo

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Boy, did I miss a bad day or two to skip the Tater Trot Tracker. Let's not waste any more time. Let's get to the (Sunday and Monday) trots!

Home Run of the Day: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels - 23.1 seconds [video] and Jordany Valdespin, New York Mets - 18.47 seconds [video]
This was one of the toughest Home Run of the Day decisions I've ever had to make (and having two days' of home runs to choose from didn't help). On Sunday, Adam Jones hit a 17th-inning home run off an outfielder to give his team the eventual lead. In the same game, rookie Will Middlebrooks hit his first career home run, a grand slam. Also of note Sunday was the multiple home run games from three unlikely candidates and only the fourth home run for Prince Fielder.

On Monday, Middlebrooks continued his hot hitting with two foul-scraping line drives that went for home runs. There was also the home run from Rockies pitcher Drew Pomeranz (and, yes, I still owe everyone a Tater Trot Tracker post focusing on pitcher home runs) and massive bombs from both Jay Bruce and Cody Ransom.

But the honors go to Albert Pujols, who finally decided the "Bryce Harper vs. Albert Pujols" race I was hoping for, and New York Met Jordany Valdespin, whose first ever big league hit was a late-inning, go-ahead home run off Jonathan Papelbon last night. Valdespin sped around the bases, excited for his contribution to the team. Pujols was a bit slower, mostly from the time it took him to watch the ball sail over the fence. On the bases, Pujols was moving his legs as fast as he ever does.

Watching the Angels give Pujols the silent treatment - by completely vacating the dugout - was pretty great, though.

Slowest Trot: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox - 27.48 seconds [video]
Only the second slowest trot from Papi all season. It would have been much quicker - more than a second quicker, at least - if Ortiz had approached home plate like a normal trotter. Instead, he seemed to take three steps to traverse the final 12 inches of the tater trot and, in the process, pushed his trot time near 27.5 seconds. Drew Pomeranz, a pitcher who has only thrown 40 innings in the majors in his career, was the next slowest trot. He took the very unfamiliar journey in 26.13 seconds.

The slowest trot on Sunday belonged to Alex Rodriguez, who for some reason took it easy to the tune of 27.05 seconds.

Quickest Trot: Jordany Valdespin, New York Mets - 18.47 seconds [video]
It may not have been as fast as some people thought, but Valdespin's trot was nothing to sneeze at. The quickest trot on Sunday belonged to Austin Jackson, who led off the game in 18.72 seconds.

All of Today's Trots

David Ortiz..........27.48    Alberto Callaspo.....22.04
Drew Pomeranz........26.13    David Freese.........21.93
Hanley Ramirez.......24.89    Will Middlebrooks #2.21.72
Allen Craig..........23.9     Will Middlebrooks #1.21.26
Matt Holliday........23.36    Ryan Braun...........21.08
Bryan LaHair.........23.27    Giancarlo Stanton....20.68
Wilson Betemit.......22.96    Rafael Furcal........19.84
Jay Bruce............22.68    Jason Heyward........19.76
Carlos Beltran.......22.68    Robert Andino........19.5
Ian Stewart..........22.47    Zack Cozart..........19.5
Travis Hafner........22.4     Dustin Pedroia.......19.47
Brandon Snyder.......22.34*   Michael Young........19.07
John Buck............22.34*   Jordany Valdespin....18.47
Geovany Soto.........22.31    Cody Ransom..........n/a
Josh Hamilton........22.12

Sunday's Trots

Alex Rodriguez.....27.05    Adam Dunn..........22.11
Juan Rivera........25.15    Hunter Pence #1....21.93
Humberto Quintero..24.31*   Will Middlebrooks..21.79
Nick Swisher.......24.3     Dan Uggla..........21.58
Prince Fielder.....24.01    Tyler Greene #2....21.41
Jason Kipnis.......23.99    Todd Frazier.......21.29
Brandon Inge.......23.72    Drew Stubbs........21.29
Allen Craig........23.64    Freddie Freeman....21.2
Albert Pujols......23.1     JJ Hardy #1........21.06
Ryan Doumit #2.....22.89    Robinson Cano......21
Ryan Doumit #1.....22.82    Adam Jones.........20.88
Robert Andino......22.57    Mike Carp..........20.76
JJ Hardy #2........22.39    Hunter Pence #2....19.83*
Tyler Greene #1....22.35    BJ Upton...........18.94
Andy Dirks.........22.18    Austin Jackson.....18.72

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.