August 16, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for August 15

by Larry Granillo

No time to waste. Jim Thome's waiting! Let's get to those trots!

Home Run of the Day: Jim Thome #600, Minnesota Twins - 24.75 seconds [video]
Jim Thome entered the night with 598 career home runs, needing two taters to become only the eighth player to reach 600 career homers. He made short work of that, blasting #599 in the sixth inning and #600 in his next at-bat. The trot was typically Thome, with a little bit of emotion at first base and a deliberate step onto home. At 24.75 seconds, Thome trotted out his 600th trot quicker than any of his predecessors (that I can find video of).

I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm beyond glad to see Thome reach such a significant milestone. He has always been one of the game's best sluggers and a reportedly great guy. To see him keep his career going these last couple of years in Minnesota, when it seemed everyone was ready to write him off, has been fantastic. In many ways, it's fitting for Thome to reach this milestone only a couple of months after the death of Harmon Killebrew. Not only is he finishing his career Killebrew's team, but Thome is also very much the Killebrew of his generation - a highly prolific slugger who people seem to overlook despite being well-loved and well-regarded.

Congratulations, Jim Thome!

Slowest Trot: Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers - 27.16 seconds [video]
It may feel weird to see Martinez with such a slower trot than Thome's 600th (especially since they were hit in the same game), but Martinez hit his homer three innings before Thome hit his first of the night, so there's no use in reading anything into the trot time. Besides, Martinez has never been a quick trotter, as was clearly evident Monday night.

Quickest Trot: Eric Thames, Toronto Blue Jays - 18.56 seconds [video]
Ah, the perils of hitting a home run with runners on base (especially with a runner on first). Thames always speeds around the bases, but you can only do so much when the runner in front of you is taking his sweet time.

 

All of Today's Trots

Victor Martinez...27.16      Mike Fontenot.....21.53
Ryan Doumit.......24.99      Ryan Braun........21.42
Jim Thome #2......24.75      Mike Stanton......21.42
Mark Reynolds.....24.3       Matt Wieters......20.96
Jason Giambi......23.64*     Lucas Duda........20.68
Nelson Cruz.......23.61      Corey Hart........20.39
Russell Branyan...23.58      Casper Wells......20.28*
Jim Thome #1......23.56      Adam Lind.........20.19
John Buck.........23.05      Mike Carp #2......20.09*
Brian McCann......22.48      Will Venable......19.96
Mike Napoli.......22.37      Mike Carp #1......19.75
Josh Thole........22.18      Brett Lawrie......19.63
Jonathan Lucroy...22.01      Ryan Raburn.......19.58
Nate Schierholtz..21.82      Xavier Paul.......19.53
Delmon Young......21.66      Eric Thames.......18.56
Troy Tulowitzki...21.63