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May 1, 2012

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for April 30

by Larry Granillo

A full Tater Trot Tracker update won't be ready until this evening. In the meantime, though, we can't ignore the obvious Home Run of the Day...

Home Run of the Day: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers #2 - 23.05 seconds [video]
Actually, I'd say Braun's ninth-inning at-bat was the single most exciting at-bat of the night. The ninth inning began with the Brewers needing two baserunners in order for Braun to get a shot at his fourth home run of the day. Pinch-hitter Carlos Gomez reached with one out, but was then picked off, leaving the Brewers with two outs and Braun still three batters away. Thankfully, Rickie Weeks and Nyjer Morgan both walked, giving Braun his chance. On an 0-2 pitch, Braun smacked a line drive to right-centerfield on almost the exact same trajectory as his first home run of the night. The ball bounced at the warning track, forcing Braun to settle for three home runs and a triple on the night (the first player since Fred Lynn to have that specific combination). Though the ball ended up being a triple, it was definitely the closest I've ever seen to someone hitting home run #4 (I didn't see Mike Cameron, Shawn Green, or Carlos Delgado do it).

The second home run gets the specific mention here for its sheer grandeur. The towering popfly down the leftfield line didn't land until it reached the upper deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building at Petco. It was a true sight to behold.

With trot times of 21.85 seconds, 23.05 seconds, and 20.51 seconds, it's worth noting that Braun's third and final home run was his quickest single trot of the night.

Slowest Trot: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox #2 - 24.99 seconds [video]
The only surprise here is that both of Big Papi's trots were quicker than 25 seconds. Matt Kemp also hit a home run, but he didn't realize it right away, so he stopped at second around the bases. He finished the trot when he found out it had gone over the fence. However, since it was not a continuous trot, it does not get counted here.

Quickest Trot: Craig Gentry, Texas Rangers - 19.01 seconds [video]
Gentry hit his first career home run last year - it was an inside the park home run. This is Gentry's first "natural" home run.

All of Today's Trots

David Ortiz #2.....24.99    Pedro Alvarez......21.5
Jesus Montero......24.59    Cody Ransom........21.31
David Ortiz #1.....24.13    Mike Aviles........21.24*
Torii Hunter.......23.88    Darnell McDonald...21.11*
Ryan Braun #2......23.05    Donnie Murphy......20.92
Justin Upton.......22.91*   Mitch Moreland.....20.64
Bryan LaHair.......22.79    Freddie Freeman....20.59
Austin Kearns......21.92    Ryan Braun #3......20.51
Eric Chavez........21.85    Chris Iannetta.....20.47
Ryan Braun #1......21.85    Yamaico Navarro....20.4
Matt Downs.........21.84    Josh Reddick.......20.34
Edwin Encarnacion..21.57    Craig Gentry.......19.01
Miguel Olivo.......21.53    Matt Kemp..........N/A

Click here for the ongoing 2012 Tater Trot Tracker Leaderboard. You can also follow @TaterTrotTrkr on Twitter for more up-to-the-minute trot times.