Doing something a little different today since the afternoon promises to be plenty busy. I’m posting the Home Run of the Day right now, but the slowest and quickest trots won’t be up until this evening are up now. This Jose Bautista thing is just too good to wait…
Home Run of the Day: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays #2 (Trot Time: 28.74 seconds) [video]
Jose Bautista entered yesterday’s game against the Yankees with 38 home runs, a total that would shock most people. In the third inning, he added to the total with a two run home run. After a pitch went too close to his head in the sixth, benches cleared for a moment but nothing happened. Bautista was not happy, though.
In the eighth, he made up for it, smacking his second home run of the day and his 40th of the year. It obviously meant something to him because he drastically changed his trot. Before yesterday’s game, Bautista’s slowest trot of the year (and remember, we’re talking about 38 of them) was 22.64 seconds, making him one of the fastest big-time sluggers so far this year. The trot he pulled out in the eighth inning clocked in at a Papi-esque 28.74 seconds, good for 12th slowest trot of the year (look to the right to see the top 10). He would only have needed to be on the bases for an additional 0.16 seconds to break into the Top 10 – which I think would’ve been great, as it would’ve been our first clear spite-fueled top 10 trot. If you don’t believe me, check out this quote he gave after the game:
“I don’t know what his reasons were, but I dealt with it for the rest of the game and that’s exactly why I took my time running the bases just to enjoy it. And I have no shame in it given what happened earlier in the game.”
If only all home run trots had this much excitement…
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Slowest Trot: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays – 28.74 seconds [video]
Was there any doubt? The next slowest trot was the 24.58 second trot from Aubrey Huff and the 24.0 second trot from Garrett Jones. Neither hold a candle to Bautista’s, though (even with Huff’s slow bat drop).
Quickest Trot: Blake DeWitt, Chicago Cubs – 18.66 seconds [video]
Not a whole lot of quick trots to choose from, but, considering there were only twelve home runs hit all together yesterday, that’s understandable. Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton looked to be the leader, with a 19.2 second trot, but he didn’t keep the pace up enough to secure the victory. Blake DeWitt came got the victory with his consistent 18-19 second trot time.
