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It was Mother's Day yesterday, which means Major League Baseball was trotting out the pink bats (and other paraphernalia) to support the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. I'm a big fan of the partnership and I'm glad MLB has continued the tradition. I will say, though, that I wasn't a big fan of all the pink Phiten-type necklaces that everyone was wearing.

And now on to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Derek Jeter #2, New York Yankees – 19.38 seconds [video]
I really wanted to avoid putting Jeter's name up here in the Home Run of the Day space, but there weren't that many options for great home runs. Ryan Doumit's eighth-inning blast had a chance, but he probably shouldn't supplant Jeter. The Yankees shortstop, of course, has been having a less-than-great year so far. His two home runs on Sunday were the first two homers of the year for him, and his first home runs since late-August of last year. Anyone saying "He's back!", however, should maybe wait an extra game or two.

Slowest Trot: Ryan Doumit, Pittsburgh Pirates – 26.39 seconds [video]
A three-run monster of a blast in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead. That's the kind of thing that deserves some celebration, which is exactly what Doumit did. Those first few steps out of the box were savored. The only drawback of Doumit's home run was that he didn't hit it with a pink bat. (Eric Hinske had an even bigger few steps out of the box on his late-inning, pinch-hit blast. Watch the video.)

Quickest Trot: Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees – 18.53 seconds [video]
A nice little battle for quickest trot here, between Granderson and the man he was traded for, Austin Jackson. Jeter's two home runs and a couple of nice trots from Grady Sizemore and Drew Stubbs also made the top of the list nice to see.

 

All of Today's Trots

Ryan Doumit.........26.39    Jose Bautista.......21.25
Eric Hinske.........25.32*   Gaby Sanchez........21.25
Mark Teixeira.......24.29*   Freddie Freeman.....21.06*
Chris Johnson.......23.91    Kurt Suzuki.........20.78
Jorge Cantu.........23.88    Francisco Cervelli..20.03
Cody Ross...........23.68    Drew Stubbs.........19.54
Adrian Gonzalez.....23.34    Grady Sizemore......19.45
Kevin Kouzmanoff....23.18    Derek Jeter #2......19.38
Andre Ethier........22.69    Derek Jeter #1......19.33
Alex Gonzalez.......22.68    Austin Jackson......18.85
Danny Valencia......21.69*   Curtis Granderson...18.53
Derrek Lee..........21.31

Thank you for reading

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boards
5/09
Jeter's greatness is evident in his trot consistency.
doctawojo
5/10
I'm pretty sure I've just been through the entire archives, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what a * on a trot time means. Help?
monkey
5/10
If I remember correctly, it is when he does not see the exact time the batter crossed the plate, due to tv crews showing more important things (i.e. mascots doing the backflip). So the * denotes an approximation.
lgranillo
5/10
The * is to denote an approximation, but only when I feel the time is close to right. If I can't see at all when the player was around the plate, I don't give a time. But if the camera cuts back half a step past home plate, or if I have trouble telling which foot touched the plate, or anything else that makes me feel like I may be just slightly off, I'll put the star down.

Basically, if I feel like I'm within a step or so of the plate, I'll keep the time. But if I have to completely guess about a player's time, I won't include it.
doctawojo
5/10
Awesome, thanks for the clarification, Larry and monkey. (Incidentally, that's the name of my preferred drivetime radio show.)
padresprof
5/10
Because it is late and sarcasm tends to be difficult to discern at this hour, is it fair to say that I can assume the reporting of trot times to hundredths of a second is for amusement purposes only? (Making the approximation values even more humorous?)
jgatti
5/10
Why does this column exist? Aside from the very occasional show up the pitcher walk around the bases, what difference does it make? And why does BP give column space to this stuff every day?
doctawojo
5/10
Are you holgado from yesterday? http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?type=2&articleid=13840#85245

You two should get a beer or something and leave the rest of us to enjoy the amusement Larry provides us.