Five Years of Mike Trout: What have the Angels done with him?

Mike Trout was called up for good by the LA Angels five years ago on April 28, 2012. Ever since, he has been performing at an elite level, and has already put his name next to all-time greats in his career.

Mike Trout was called up to The Show for the first time in 2011. In 40 games with the club, he hit .220 with five home runs and 16 RBI’s. The top prospect received some much needed MLB playing time at the end of this 2011 season. These 40 games allowed Trout, 19 at this point, to spend the offseason with the knowledge of how tough major league pitching really is.

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Trout did not make the Opening Day roster because of a stomach virus suffered in Spring Training. However, Trout started the season hitting .403 through his first 20 games in Triple-A Salt Lake. Meanwhile, the Angels had a horrific start to the year. Trout was called up to play left field and hit leadoff. After going two games without a hit, Trout turned himself from a young stud into the phenom we know him as today. His rookie season was absolutely historic. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in unanimous fashion after hitting .326 with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases. Those 49 stolen bases are a career-high, along with the 129 runs he scored.

As we know, Trout has been the best player in baseball since. He has finished in the top-two of Most Valuable Player voting every season of his career. He has won the award twice, in 2014 and 2016. However, a case can be made for Trout in every year he did not win as well. He has maintained and improved his game each season, and continue to plays a premier position in baseball with efficiency.

Trout has been compared to many baseball greats throughout his career. He causes Mickey Mantle flashbacks because of his combination of speed and power. His dominance has brought comparisons to Barry Bonds, as they have both won five straight Silver Slugger Awards. Bonds and Trout are also the only players in MLB history to finish in the top two of MVP voting for five straight seasons.

Without Mike Trout, the Angels would have been a joke these past few years. While they have made many bad signings (CJ Wilson, Albert Pujols, and Josh Hamilton), Trout has been able to garner positive headlines for the team. He even led them to the best record in the MLB in 2014. They were swept by the Royals, but Trout hit an absolute bomb for his first postseason hit.

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Looking forward for the rest of this season, Trout could pass some serious milestones. He has 615 career runs, and sits at 15 runs on the season. Trout has topped 100 runs every full season he has played in the majors, so it is likely he can reach 700 career runs this season. He sits at 947 career hits, and will easily reach the 1000 mark this season. Trout currently sits at 174 home runs. He has six on the year, so would need 32 big flies on the year to reach the 200 mark. If he is able to reach that number, Trout will join his teammate Albert Pujols and six others as the only players in MLB history to hit 200 home runs before turning 26.

Next: Will the Angels continue to stay hot in Texas?

Mike Trout has been nothing short of legendary in his time as an Angel. He has given these past five years a purpose for Halo fans. However, there is still something missing from Trout’s resume, and that is a successful postseason. There are still many greats who never did win a World Series. However, if Trout is going to be the legend he has been talked about as, he will need to lead his team to a championship.

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