Home Run of the Day: Russell Branyan, Cleveland Indians (Trot Time: 26.75 seconds) [video]
Branyan, unsurprisingly, comes in with the slowest home run trot of the day, but that’s not why he gets the Home Run of the Day treatment today. And, really, the honor is technically belongs to Jamie Moyer. With that second inning bomb to right field, Branyan hit the 505th career home run off of Moyer, moving Moyer into a tie with Philly’s Robin Roberts for most home runs given up by a pitcher in major league history. The Hall of Very Good has a nice look at Moyer’s record.
Most people would probably call this a dubious record to hold, but I don’t look at it that way. Much like how the career GIDP record belongs to Cal Ripken, Jr., the career HRs-allowed record could only ever be held by someone darn good and whose been around the game a long time. After all, if you were giving up all these home runs and you weren’t good, there’s no way you’d ever stick around to break the record. I love what Jamie Moyer is doing for the Phillies right now. He just makes baseball that much more fun.
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Slowest Trot: Russell Branyan, Cleveland Indians – 26.75 seconds [video]
It feels like Branyan is highlighted here pretty much every time he hits a home run, but that might be an exaggeration. A quick look at the archives says that this is only his fourth time with the slowest home run of the day. As I said above, it’s just not a surprise anymore. The Angels’ Bobby Abreu was second slowest on the day, with a 25.21 second trot.
Quickest Trot: Michael Young, Texas Rangers – 17.45 seconds [video]
The quickest trots of the day were a little more interesting, though. There was Mike Young‘s 17.45 second trot in Texas that took the cake, but there were also speedy trots from Martin Prado (18.09 seconds), Coco Crisp (18.42 seconds), and Josh Hamilton (18.17 seconds). Texas’ Julio Borbon also hit a home run last night, and he ran his out in a quick 19.73 seconds. With the home run trots from Young and Hamilton, that might be the single best collection of trots from teammates in a game this year. I might have to check on that.
