Nats pitcher A.J. Cole hit his first career homer and took nearly 30 seconds to round the bases
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Baseball is a game of firsts. The first day you're called up to the Majors. Your first career start. Your first hit. The list goes on.
Nats pitcher A.J. Cole entered Tuesday's 13-6 loss to the Braves with two career base hits -- but no homers. He had yet to connect on a dinger. As MLB.com's Jamal Collier pointed out, Cole was actually looking for his first extra-base hit at any professional level.
So, of course, that search ended when he blasted a solo shot into the left-field seats at SunTrust Park in the second inning ... and took his time rounding the bases. We mean really took his time.
According to Statcast, Cole's jog around the bases clocked in at 27.89 seconds, roughly 6.97 seconds per base. Compare that with this, the Adam RosalesSpecial:
Or this, the Billy HamiltonBlitz:
Quite a stark difference ... but we can't blame Cole.
His post-homer trot, by the way, wasn't unlike that of Bartolo Colon, who took 30.5 seconds to round the bases after his epic blast at Petco Park two seasons ago.
It's your moment. Do what you want!