September 14, 2012

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for September 13

by Larry Granillo

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It was another sparse slate of games on Thursday, and this time the number of home runs hit matched it, as there were only ten home runs across the league. In fact, there were nearly as many amazing throwing plays around the majors as there were home runs, including this beautiful Yadier Molina throw, this nearly-as-beautiful toss from Erik Kratz, and this throw from Carlos Beltran that nailed Josh Beckett at first on what should have been a single.

Be that as it may, let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays - 22.2 seconds [video]
Ok, who predicted that Edwin Encarnacion would have 40 home runs this year? And that he would be only the second person in the majors to do so? It's amazing, especially when you consider how many of his home runs are hit as hard as this one was. My favorite thing about this big season from Encarnacion, though? It's the way the Blue Jays television announcer pronounces Encarnacion's name every time. It's not wrong exactly; it's just the way he runs the syllables together in order to say his name quicker. I might be alone on this.

On Wednesday, Prince Fielder hit a big blast of Leyson Septimo. He enjoyed it. (Maybe Septimo shouldn't be pitching in the seventh inning?)

Slowest Trot: Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins - 23.26 seconds [video]
Which is more surprising, Encarnacion's 40 home runs or Willingham's 34? I think it might be Willingham, who happened to pull the bad luck today and get tagged with the slowest trot of the day despite coming home quicker than most Albert Pujols trots. Ezequiel Carrera finds himself in the "N/A" pile after stopping at second base during his home run trot thanks to Nelson Cruz throwing the ball into the infield despite it hitting well over the fence in Texas.

On Wednesday, Alfonso Soriano and Albert Pujols vied for the slowest trot of the day. Pujols came home in 25.58 seconds on his 475th career home run after admiring its flight, but he was still nearly a second quicker than Soriano, who took 26.5 seconds on his own blast.

Quickest Trot: Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners - 19.89* seconds [video]
Not much to speak of with the quick trots. Ackley's trot was the only one to come in under 20 seconds, with Matt LaPorta's 20.74 second trot the next fastest on the day.

Curtis Granderson made things easy on Wednesday, with his 18.04 second (but possibly slightly faster) trot topping the day. Logan Forsythe also put in another speedy trot, finishing second with an 18.74 second trip around the bases.

All of Today's Trots

Josh Willingham...23.26
Torii Hunter......23.04
Trevor Plouffe....23.04
Jason Kipnis......22.21
Edwin Encarnacion.22.2
Adam Lind.........21.91
Matt Dominguez....21.52
Matt LaPorta......20.74
Dustin Ackley.....19.89*
Ezequiel Carrera..n/a

Wednesday's Trots

Alfonso Soriano.......26.5   Matt Carpenter........21.36
Albert Pujols.........25.58  Kevin Youkilis #1.....21.36
Wilin Rosario.........24.3   Edwin Encarnacion.....21.12
Ryan Zimmerman........23.65  Kevin Youkilis #2.....21.11
Rickie Weeks..........22.84  Ian Desmond...........20.89
Jarrod Saltalamacchia.22.55  Jimmy Rollins.........20.64
Prince Fielder........22.38  Curtis Granderson #2..19.75*
Robinson Cano.........22.12  Jason Heyward.........19.5
Salvador Perez........22.05  BJ Upton..............19.34
Miguel Olivo..........21.68* Logan Forsythe........18.74
Josh Hamilton.........21.67  Curtis Granderson #1..18.04*
Adrian Beltre.........21.59  Yoenis Cespedes.......n/a

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.