May 8, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for May 7

by Larry Granillo

Printer-friendly

In Toronto, Detroit's Justin Verlander threw the second no-hitter of his career, blanking the Blue Jays with a four-strikeout, one-walk performance. It was the second no-hitter of the week (and, to Brewers fans, very nearly the third, after Yovani Gallardo came oh-so-close to throwing his own no-hitter in St. Louis). I don't care what some people are saying - I still love hearing that a no-hitter was thrown. Some things are impressive in their own right, and don't need to be broken down and dissected.

Enough of that. Let's get to the trots.

Home Run of the Day: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies - 24.74* seconds [video]
Alex Avila hit a home run in support of Verlander's no-no. The Tigers ended up winning the game 9-0, though, so I'm not sure Avila's blast was all that key. Howard's monster blast went to straightaway center and was hit off of Atlanta's uber-prospect Julio Teheran. On a night light with home runs, it's as good a candidate as any for Home Run of the Day.

Slowest Trot: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies - 24.74* seconds [video]
There's something about Ryan Howard when he hits a home run. He just has the perfect look of a slugger, and nothing shows it better than the brief pose he gives at home plate after each home run. His trot around the bases is similar: it's certainly slow, but not obscenely or insultingly slow. It's exactly what you would expect from a slugger, and Howard seems to enjoy fitting that bill.

Quickest Trot: Michael Young, Texas Rangers - 18.3 seconds [video]
B.J. Upton and Blake Dewitt also had themselves a pair of nice, quick trots on Saturday, but Young easily outpaced them. It's a clear continuation of his 2010 trotting ways, when he was the fifth quickest trotter in the majors. With his two home runs, 26 RBIs, and league leading 47 hits for the Rangers, he'll have plenty more chances to get back on the leaderboard. I wonder how certain Rangers fans feel about that.

All of Today's Trots

Ryan Howard.......24.74*     John Buck.........21.78
Nick Swisher......24.58	     Carlos Pena.......21.58
Justin Upton......23.65	     Alex Avila........21.2
Lyle Overbay......23.23	     Cliff Pennington..20.07
Dioner Navarro....22.49	     David Murphy......19.92
Jhonny Peralta....22.3	     B.J. Upton........19.69
Evan Longoria.....22.21	     Blake Dewitt......19.39
Vernon Wells......22.11	     Michael Young.....18.3