You know how most Red Sox-Yankees games seem interminable these days? Well, last night’s game between the longtime rivals in the Bronx made that almost literally true, as it took nearly seven hours and 19 innings to complete. But, thanks to David Ortiz, we can’t complain!
Let’s get right to the (one really long) trot!
We’re less than a week into the season and we already have our first 30-second tater trot! And it’s Papi’s first homer of the season as well, which means that he is 1-for-1 as a 30-second man. Let’s see if he can keep it up!
The stage was set for this 16th inning blast roughly three hours earlier, when Yankees third-baseman Chase Headley launched a home run of his own in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game up at 3 (Headley’s trot was a blistering 20.34 seconds by comparison). Seven innings and many press box pots of coffee later, Papi stepped up to the plate in the 16th inning and launched this 0-2 offering into the rightfield bleachers.
The trot itself looked brisk enough that I was actually surprised to see that it had passed the 30-second mark. Papi was chugging along pretty steadily the whole way, taking 8-9 seconds to reach first and touching third around 22 seconds. At home, Ortiz slowed down to take the final two steps at a walk which is what put him over the mark. At the time, the tater looked to be a game-winner, coming in the 16th inning and putting the Sox up.
Of course, Mark Teixeira would return the favor in the bottom of the inning (with a 24.91 second trot). Teixeira and the Yanks celebrated the home run outwardly, but you just knew they were dying on the inside. The game finally ended after a sac fly put Boston up in the top of the 19th.
Slowest Trot: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox – 30.13 seconds [video]
How many times are we going to see Papi right here this season? The next slowest trot of the night came in Cleveland, when Detroit’s Nick Castellanos tooks 25.07 seconds on his trip around the bases.
Quickest Trot: Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays – 18.43 seconds [video]
Two home runs for Kiermaier this season and two times atop the quick trots leaderboard. This shot wasn’t quite as quick as his first, but it was still an easy winner. Jed Lowrie had the next quickest trot of the night at 19.56 seconds.
All of Today's Trots David Ortiz........30.13 Colby Rasmus.......21.82 Nick Castellanos...25.07 Mark Canha.........21.59 Mark Teixeira......24.91 David Wright.......21.58 Yasmani Grandal....24.19 Starling Marte.....21.57* Joey Votto.2.......23.57 Kendrys Morales....21.2 Adam Jones.........23.43 Justin Morneau.....20.55 David Freese.......22.66* Chase Headley......20.34 Pedro Alvarez......22.38* Michael Taylor.....20.26 Joey Votto.1.......22.26 Cameron Maybin.....20.12 Brian Dozier.......22.2 Randal Grichuk.....19.96 Paul Goldschmidt...22.19 Jed Lowrie.........19.56 Jonathan Schoop....22.19 Kevin Kiermaier....18.43 John Mayberry Jr...21.87
Click here for the ongoing 2015 Tater Trot Tracker Leaderboard. You can also follow @TaterTrotTrkr on Twitter for more up-to-the-minute trot times.
