Farewell Kole Calhoun Pt. 1: Much More Than Trout’s Sidekick

The departure of Kole Calhoun is one of the final pieces to the Angels era of the 2010’s to leave the team, this has much more meaning than it just being the Angels letting one of the best right-fielders they’ve ever developed, this is the opening for the beginning of the next era.

What happens next will be known as the makeup for the majority of the upcoming 20’s. There’s still a lot of uncertainties in the near future despite a lot of promise, but what is certain is that the Angels will be watching their beloved Kole Calhoun and living piece of Angels history walk for newer pastures.

Kole Calhoun is an eight year veteran of the Angels, coming up as both the Right-Fielder and Right-Hand Man of Mike Trout. Calhoun was more than just a corner outfielder for the Angels; for eight year Calhoun provided leadership, energy, and electricity when the team needed it most.

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His defense was a shot above what the rest of the outfield was doing, at times it even seemed as if Mike Trout needed to flash some glove just to keep up with Calhoun’s highlight reel play. His 2019 season may have been one of his best yet, not just with the glove, but with his power bat as well.

Kole Calhoun mashed a career high 33 HRs in 2019, making him one of the more valuable power hitters on the Angels squad. He may not have been perfect as an all-around hitter (.232 AVG in 2019), but with his ability to kill the ball every time he made contact he earned his fan-bestowed nickname of Kole “Calboom”.

Kole Calhoun always brought opportunity to the plate and at the end of the day you can’t really ask for more than that. Baseball is a game of role players and Kole Calhoun was the embodiment of a guy who knew exactly what his role was and executed to perfection. His roles expanded beyond hitting for power; he was the perfect guy to have leading beside Mike Trout given his electric play and energizing leadership.

That void will be hard to fill with him gone, although with Shohei Ohtani on board bringing life and electricity to the team it as the promising young Jo Adell on his way up to provide his own source of power and energy it seems the Angels will be more than okay.

It’s always to see an era end, but there also is nothing more exciting than the beginning of a new era and all it’s promises. Not just for the Angels, but for Kole Calhoun as well, wherever he may end go.