SAN DIEGO -- Adam Rosales approached third base on a dead run, the only thing missing was him picking up third-base coach Glenn Hoffman.
"I was hoping Hoffy would wave him in," Padres bench coach Mark McGwire said with a smile.
Rosales smacked a fifth-inning home run that eventually accounted for the deciding run as San Diego beat Pittsburgh, 5-4, on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
But the talk wasn't how far Rosales' blast went, smacking high off the side of the Western Metal Supply Co. building. Instead, it was about Rosales' 16.3-second home run trot, the second-fastest in the Statcast™ era.
"That's really fast," said McGwire, who hit 583 homers, all of which included a trot.
Padres manager Andy Green agreed.
"It seems to make SportsCenter," Green said of Rosales' pace. "It's a home run and he gets around quick. It's a quick highlight at least."
Rosales, in the lineup because of Yangervis Solarte's strained hamstring, had one of three Padres homers. His home run was his first of the season and broke his 0-for-14 skid.
"I was looking for a fastball up, and that is what [Arquimedes Caminero] threw me," Rosales said. "I got the head out on it and hit good. But it doesn't matter if it was a wall-scrapper or a big homer, what matters is it meant something."
And what's up with his four-base dash?
"I've been doing that since I was a kid," said Rosales, who signed a Minor League deal with the Padres in January. "I made a promise to myself when I was younger that I would always play like this."
But he admits it's tough not to try to do too much.
"You want to stay within yourself as a baseball player, and that is what you wrestle with the most,'' he said. "Kind of know who you are and not always try to put too much pressure on yourself."