The long week is over and beautiful spring weather is kicking in across the country. Well, in some cities at least. As the temperatures heat up, so shall the home run totals. Friday, obivously, wasn't one of those days.
Let's kick back and enjoy the trots anyway!
Home Run of the Day: Curtis Granderson #1, New York Yankees – 19.78 seconds [video]
What in the world is going on with Curtis Granderson? As Bob Nightengale of USA Today said on Twitter yesterday, the only player in the majors to have more home runs than Granderson since last August is Jose Bautista. Pretty impressive.
Granderson's first trot gets the Home Run of the Day honors because I love the reaction of the woman who caught the ball. She knows she's supposed to throw it back onto the field, but she isn't exactly confident in her abilities to do that. It's the upper deck, after all.
Slowest Trot: Rod Barajas, Los Angeles Dodgers – 24.59 seconds [video]
The moneyline for a Rod Barajas home run being the slowest trot of the day is probably pretty low, considering his reputation. No one should be surprised to see him here today, then, even if Yadier Molina was on the list. They may be surprised at his time, though, expecting something in the Big Papi-range. It just goes to show how hard those 25-to-26 second trots really are.
Quickest Trot: Jason Pridie, New York Mets – NUM seconds [video]
I had originally written this down as a quick trot belonging to Jason Bay. Pridie makes so much more sense. The three-run home run gave the Mets a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning en route to a 6-3 victory.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Tampa Bay's Brandon Guyer, who hit a home run in his first major league at-bat on Friday (and in front of a huge contingent of friends and family). The 19.36 second trot made the moment all the better.
All of Today's Trots Rod Barajas..........24.59 Troy Tulowitzki......21.45 Derrek Lee...........24.5 Adam Lind............21.21 Ike Davis............24.04 Trevor Plouffe.......21.17 Adrian Gonzalez......23.05 J.D. Drew............20.37 Jay Bruce............23 Curtis Granderson #1.19.78 Johnny Damon.........22.13 Brandon Guyer........19.36 Carlos Quentin.......22.08 Alex Gordon..........19.31 Yadier Molina........21.92 Curtis Granderson #2.19.08 Neil Walker..........21.47 Jason Pridie.........18.88
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