I don’t even know where to begin today. Bryce Harper hit three home runs in his first three at-bats. Victor Martinez nearly set a record for the slowest tater trot of all-time. Evan Longoria, Carlos Peguero, and Joc Pederson all went deep twice as well. In Minnesota, Eddie Rosario notched a home run on the first pitch he saw as a major leaguer. Whew.
Let’s get to the trots.
Home Run of the Day: Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers – 33.08 seconds [video] and Bryce Harper #3, Washington Nationals – 21.36 seconds [video]
Ok, it’s a bit cheating, but how do you choose between a 33-second trot and a three-homer day?! For full details on the Victor Martinez trot, check this out. One thing to note: when Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run in 1998, he stopped to hug just about every person he passed on his trot home. That trot, at 33.04 seconds, was quicker than this trot from Martinez (McGwire’s big trot here).
For Harper, it was three home runs in three at-bats on Wednesday afternoon, with the last two finding their way deep, deep into the second deck. We should probably take the moment to remind everyone that Harper is only 22 years old.
Slowest Trot: Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers – 33.08 seconds [video]
Full coverage here. Lost in the day yesterday was Adam Lind, who deposited a pitch into the bullpens at Miller Park on Wednesday and then trotted home in 29.07 seconds [video]. That’s positively quick compared to Martinez, but is still good enough for the third-slowest trot of 2015.
Quickest Trot: Curtis Granderson, New York Mets – 18.37 seconds [video]
A nice quick trot from Granderson to counter-balance the otherwise slow day. Grandy is joined by Eddie Rosario on the quick trot list, who sped home after cranking a home run in his first big league at-bat.
All of Today's Trots Victor Martinez....33.08 Aaron Hill.........21.83 Adam Lind..........29.07 Justin Morneau.....21.82 Jhonny Peralta.....25.89* Shin-Soo Choo......21.74 Ryan Howard........25.43 Carlos Peguero #2..21.74 Joc Pederson #1....24.48 Carlos Peguero #1..21.67 Chris Carter.......24.08 Brandon Moss.......21.64 Anthony Rizzo......23.54 Bryce Harper #3....21.36 Melky Cabrera......23.49 Mookie Betts.......21.13* Kendrys Morales....23.38 Nick Hundley.......21.02 Joc Pederson #2....23.2 Drew Stubbs........20.66 Scooter Gennett....23.07 Mark Trumbo........20.26 Kennys Vargas......22.85 Russell Martin.....20.22 Bryce Harper #2....22.77 Eduardo Escobar....20.01 Evan Longoria #1...22.63 Paul Goldschmidt...20 Kyle Seager........22.3 Marlon Byrd........20 Conor Gillaspie....22.29 Eddie Rosario......18.89 Andrelton Simmons..22.25 Curtis Granderson..18.37 Bryce Harper #1....22.17 Giancarlo Stanton..N/A Evan Longoria #2...22.05 Dilson Herrera.....n/a Mike Trout.........21.83
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.
