Home Run of the Day: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants (Trot Time: 19.72 seconds) [video]
That NL West race is as exciting as ever. The Giants currently have a half-game lead over the Padres and a 2.5 game lead over the Rockies. They also sit only a half-game behind the Braves in the Wild Card standings. Every win, then, is vital. And, as we’ve seen often throughout the season, the Giants’ pitching staff always has what it takes to get things done – it’s the offense that can be a problem.
Buster Posey‘s eighth-inning, solo home run that put the Giants up 1-0 in Chicago last night, then, is incredibly important. It ended up being the only run in the game and helped the Giants maintain their lead in the West, as San Diego won as well. The race is going to be tight; the Giants can use as many Posey home runs as possible in the meantime.
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Slowest Trot: Jim Edmonds, Cincinnati Reds – 28.24 seconds [video]
For at least the third time this year (I’ll have to check back to see if I forgot one), we see a player get injured during his home run trot. For Edmonds, it happened as he was approaching third base. If you haven’t noticed (and you might not if you don’t watch as many home runs as I do), players often have to take smaller steps (or shuffle their feet) as they approach a base so that they step on the bag with the appropriate foot. Apparently, Edmonds was doing this a few feet away from the third base bag and he messed something up. It’s reported that he might have ruptured the Achilles tendon that’s been bothering him all year.
If that turns out to be the case, there is a very good chance that Jim Edmonds career may have ended on that home run. As neat as that tidbit is, I’m sure he would’ve liked to end his Hall of Fame-caliber career on his own terms.
Quickest Trot: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves – 19.34 seconds [video]
Sure, it was only a 19.34 second trot, but it’s still always nice to see the quickest trot of the day go to someone who has never rounded the bases in a big league game before. Freddie Freeman becomes the latest player this year to hit his first career home run and round the bases quicker than anyone else that day. I still get a kick out of it.
