July 26, 2012

Tater Trot Tracker

Carlos Gomez's Foul Ball Trot, Updated

by Larry Granillo

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The rest of Wednesday's trots will be up later this afternoon. This was just too good to pass up...

Updated: There were 37 home runs hit around the league on Wednesday, not counting Gomez's foul ball. Count me surprised. Let's get to the trots!

"Home Run" of the Day: Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers - 18.75*** seconds [video]
Let me just warn you: you're not going to believe it if you don't watch the video. Leading off the top of the first inning against Philadelphia on Wednesday, Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez launched a ball down the leftfield line. There was no doubt on the distance and, apparently, no doubt on the trajectory in Gomez's mind; he knew he had a home run, so he put his head down and started racing around the bases.

About six seconds into the trot, however, it became clear to everyone in the park that the ball was indeed foul. Everyone except Gomez. As Brewers announcer Brian Anderson was saying "Foul ball!", Gomez was preparing to round second base (he's always been a fast trotter). He continued his trot through third base while Ty Wigginton tried to tell him the ball was foul. Gomez didn't seem to hear anything until well down the third base line, though, when he finally turned to look at his teammates in the dugout. As he figured out what had happened, he slowed down, finally stopping and taking his bat from the batboy. On the next pitch, he struck out.

None of the available camera angles show exactly where Gomez was when he stopped his trot. He didn't change speed until halfway down the line, but he slowed down considerably once he understood the situation. I stopped the clock once Gomez took the bat from the batboy's hands. If I had to guess, I'd say that his trot ended there with Gomez at the edge of the home plate circle on the third base side, approximately three steps from the plate. It was a pretty funny moment to leadoff the game—even the Philly crowd seemed to like it—but I find myself sad that Gomez never actually touched home plate. What a wasted opportunity!

Slowest Trot: Jesus Guzman, San Diego Padres #1 - 26.14 seconds [video]
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that there were so many home runs hit on Wednesday when I see the likes of Jesus Guzman hitting two. Guzman's second trot was a more standard 22.88 seconds. It appears Guzman cut the corner too early and almost missed first base during his first trot. I guess that affected his trot time more than I expected.

Three other players were lucky for Guzman's misstep. Wilin Rosario, Juan Francisco, and Billy Butler all turned in 25-second trots, only to be outdone by the Padre.

Quickest Trot: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox - 19.47 seconds [video]
One of five trots to come in under 20-seconds - but just barely. Pedroia beat out Derek Jeter for the quickest trot of the day.

All of Today's Trots

Jesus Guzman #1....26.14  Nelson Cruz........21.88
Wilin Rosario......25.47* Bobby Wilson.......21.85
Juan Francisco.....25.18  Ryan Roberts.......21.76
Billy Butler.......25.17  Michael Bourn......21.6
Jose Lobaton.......24.81  Will Middlebrooks..21.07*
Adam LaRoche.......24.76  Neil Walker........20.94
Anthony Rizzo......24.16  Travis Hafner......20.79
Dayan Viciedo......23.9   Michael McKenry....20.67
Rickie Weeks.......23.76  Coco Crisp #2......20.41
Torii Hunter.......23.55  Jason Kubel........20.35
Miguel Montero.....23.49  Chase Headley......20.27
Ryan Braun.........23.16  Michael Morse......20.12
Jeff Francoeur.....23.01  Desmond Jennings...20.08
Jesus Guzman #2....22.88  Jason Heyward......19.99
Danny Espinosa.....22.82  Coco Crisp #1......19.86
Alex Rios..........22.69  Casey Kotchman.....19.74
Mike Trout.........22.65  Derek Jeter........19.63*
Chris Carter.......22.63  Dustin Pedroia.....19.47
Ike Davis..........22.1*

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.