Home Run of the Day: Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals (Trot Time: 24.48 seconds) [video]
As much as I would love to give Carlos Zambrano the Home Run of the Day mantle for hitting a bomb into a crowd of “bleacher bums” who were so excited to be at a Cubs-Pirate tilt that they wore their best Yankees and Giants jerseys… Or for how much I’d love to honor Jason Heyward‘s blast for reminding us all just how good the kid really is… I just can’t do it, not when Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman hit a ball so hard off the upper deck facing in Pro Player Stadium that he busted a whole array of lights on the electronic display (see the great graphic here). That is exactly the type of home run a meaningless award like the Home Run of the Day was meant to honor.
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Slowest Trot: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves – 25.78 seconds [video]
This may not last. Mark Reynolds hit two home runs for the Diamondbacks last night. The second home run was bigger than the first, and he ran the bases slower because of it. However, the highlight of the home run they show on MLB.com (right here) cuts away and prevents us from seeing when he steps on home plate. Normally, I can combat that kind of crappy camera work by watching the home run from the opposing team’s feed. However, MLB.tv won’t let me watch either feed in this game, so I don’t have that option. All I can say is that Reynolds touched home sometime between 25 and 28 seconds. If that video comes back online, I’ll be sure to give it a watch.
Carlos Zambrano had the “second” slowest trot of the night, coming in at 25.71 seconds. Reynolds’ first clocked out at 25.5 seconds.
Quickest Trot: Peter Bourjos, Los Angeles Angels – 18.11 seconds [video]
Bourjos’ second career home run was good enough for fastest trot of the night last night. The next fastest trot belonged to Jay Bruce‘s leadoff home run, which was approximately 18.7 seconds long (the camera angle wasn’t great). There were three more trots in the 19-second range.
