Home Run of the Day: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (Trot Time: 27.48* seconds) [video]
Brian Fuentes made his return to the Angels last night after recovering from an injury. There was some discussion about whether Mike Scioscia should put him back in the closer’s role immediately, or let Fernando Rodney continue to close things out until he started faltering. Scioscia elected to bring Fuentes back to the ninth inning immediately. The first batter he faced was Miguel Cabrera who, after a nine-pitch at-bat, absolutely crushed one to left-centerfield to tie the game up. His trot time is approximate because the camera cut away when he was still two steps or so from the plate. With an accurate time, he could be contending for the slowest trot of the year (on any day before yesterday, at least).
(Click “Read More” to continue reading.)
Slowest Trot: Alex Gonzalez, Toronto Blue Jays – 29.28 seconds [video]
Gonzalez ran out of the box pretty quickly on his home run, but he somehow tripped over first base. This meant he had to return to the bag and tag it before finishing his trot. He did so, but, for some reason, he slowed down considerably between first and second. The end-result is the slowest trot of the year, and oh-so-close to our first 30-second trot. Personally, I’m glad he got to the plate in 29 seconds. Frankly, I’d have been a little disappointed if the first 30-second trot of the year was due to stumbling over first base. I want to see a legitimate half-minute tro.
Quickest Trot: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds – 18.03 seconds [video]
Detroit’s Don Kelly hit his first career home run yesterday, and trotted it out in 19.2 seconds. Not too shabby. Votto gets the award for quicket trot of the day, though, with his 18.03 run. Scott Rolen also hit a home run for the Reds yesterday, and his run clocked in at 18.15 seconds. If you recall, Rolen ran out an 18.00 second trot earlier in the year. Maybe his “Swing Hard, Run Hard” mentality is rubbing off on the rest of the Reds.
