Mike Trout, The Best

This Mike Trout kid, I’m thinking that we should keep him. He just kind of does it all, doesn’t he? Since his call up last year, he has put all five tools on display, he has gotten my wife interested in baseball and has saved 17 cats from 13 different house fires across seven states.

May 21, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels left fielder Mike Trout (27) rounds the bases on a triple against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ok, maybe I made that last one up. But, would it really surprise you if it was true? Yeah, me neither. He is, simply put, the best. And he added another feather to his cap last night when he became the sixth Angels player to hit for the cycle. He’s the youngest Angels player to ever hit for the cycle, the youngest American Leaguer to ever hit for the cycle, the youngest player since Mel Ott hit for the cycle in 1929, and, the sixth youngest player to ever hit for the cycle. Mike Trout: Go big, or go home. Obviously, Trout intentionally made sure to not hit for a natural cycle by getting his triple in the fourth before getting a bases clearing double in the sixth. He doesn’t want to make it look too obvious that he is a baseball playing cyborg. My guess is that he unveils his secret sometime after he signs some ridiculous $200MM extension (hint, hint. Wink, wink Dipoto).

After the game, Trout had this to say:

"“I didn’t really think of it until about the eighth inning. I’m in the outfield, I’m like, ‘Man, I got a triple, double and a single,'” Trout said. “And I got to 2-0 there, and I said, ‘Hey, if I’m going to hit one, it’s going to be this pitch.’ So I hit it and it went out."

Er, um. Well, he’s awesome between the lines, right? And that’s all that matters.

The short list of Angels players to hit for the cycle is as follows: Jim Fregosi (twice), “Disco” Dan Ford, Dave Winfield, Jeff Davanon and Chone Figgins. And I know exactly what you’re thinking; Jeff Davanon? Really? Yup, Davanon hit for the cycle on August 25th, 2004. Surprisingly, not all of the cycles hit by Angels players have come in games where the Angels have come out on top. Both Figgins’ and Ford’s came in losing affairs. Tuck that little nugget of useless information into your back pocket for the next time you are at a company mixer and someone randomly asks, “Hey, I wonder if an Angels player has ever hit for the cycle in a game where they lost?” You will be the only person that will know, and you’ll thank me for it later.

Mike Trout’s five RBI’s from last night, also set a new benchmark for “RBI’s in a game in which a player hit for the cycle while wearing an Angels uniform.” Previously, Jeff Davanon had the most with four. And I know what you’re thinking; Jeff Davanon? Really? Yup, really.

So, congratulations, Mike Trout, on your first career cycle. It’s not hard to fathom him getting plenty more over the course of his career. The Major League record for cycles in a career is three, and that has been done by Babe Herman, John Reilly and Bob Meusel. Will Trout eclipse that number? At only 21 years of age, with his talent? I’d say that the odds are definitely stacked in his favor.