This is going to be a tough weekend. With so much rain all over the country, temperatures are going to be low and games are going to be rained out. If Friday night is any indication, this means we'll see players sprinting around the bases in every ballpark, if only to keep warm. Maybe that's one reason to like April showers? Well, maybe not.
Let's get to the trots!
Home Run of the Day: Albert Pujols #2, St. Louis Cardinals – 20.81 seconds [video]
Apparently Albert Pujols still knows how to play baseball. To many, this seems to be some kind of surprise given his start, which is just plain silly. You don't write off the best player in baseball after a dozen games. These two home runs came in Dodger Stadium, still a tough place to hit a baseball.
Considering his first trot of the night, Pujols must have been trying to make amends with this relatively speedy trot.
Slowest Trot: Albert Pujols #1, St. Louis Cardinals – 23.88 seconds [video]
As I said, the cold weather seems to be doing strange things to home run trots – there's been a string of not-all-that-slow "slowest trots" recently. Pujols' first trot, at 23.88 seconds, was certainly much slower than his second, but it's usually not a time worthy of "slowest trot" honors. At least he was able to keep from being the first and second slowest trots of the day as so often happens on nights like Pujols'.
Quickest Trot: Logan Morrison, Florida Marlins – 18.16 seconds [video]
The race was on Friday night. Logan Morrison trotted his home run out early in the night in 18.16 seconds, and seemingly every home run hit after his tried to best his time. Dustin Pedroia rounded the bases in 18.74 seconds. Curtis Granderson did is in 18.23 seconds. Even Kansas City catcher Matt Treanor got in on the act, speeding his home in 18.58 seconds. The Royals' announcers even made comment about it: "And to stay warm, Treanor goes sprinting around the bases."
None could take the crown away from @LoMoMarlins, though, even if it is just for one night. But what a fun night it was.
(Remember: I am running an experiment over the next couple of weeks. If you're interested in Tater Trot Tracker commentary during the day, follow the Tater Trot Tracker on Twitter at @TaterTrotTrkr. We'll see how it goes. You can also follow me at @Wezen_Ball.)
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