Forget the 400-HR club, Mike Trout needs to learn how to hit again for the Angels

While Angels fans are more focused on the idea of a playoff push, the world of MLB is likely only paying attention to the Halos due to Mike Trout inching closer and closer to 400 career home runs. For Trout, though, he needs to focus on helping this team win ball games rather than career accolades. 

The Angels miraculously swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to invite playoff hopes back into Anaheim, but a disappointing series against the Oakland A’s quickly changed the narrative around this team once again. A large part of that was Mike Trout and his inability to perform as of late for the Angels. While, yes, Mike Trout walks a lot and his OPS+ is great and he is still, statistically, solid at the plate. He has not been hitting the ball well at all recently. He is swinging at pitches out of the zone after building an entire Hall of Fame career off of not doing that. Striking out, walking, or hitting a single have become the three outcomes for a Mike Trout plate appearance. 

The chase for 400 is on, sure. But Trout is on a team that has repeatedly maintained its status as “competitive”. They continue making moves to do so - including calling up Bryce Teodosio, which makes Trout becoming a full time DH a more realistic possibility. While the 400th home run may not be at the forefront of Trout’s mind every time he walks up to the plate, his approach right now seems desperate. It is hard to believe that the thought isn’t present in the back of Trout’s head right now. 

Two home runs away from joining the exclusive club (only 58 of the 20,976 players to play MLB have hit 400 career home runs), Trout is on the verge of strengthening an already sealed Hall of Fame case. And while some fans will focus on how Trout should be looking at 600 rather than slowly approaching 400 thanks to injuries, it will be a historic moment for Halo fans. Even Albert Pujols - who largely was a negative in the Angels lineup throughout his tenure - gave the Halo faithful signature moments when he hits his 500th and 600th career home runs wearing the Angels’ red and white. For Angels fans, watching Trout hit #400 will be worth this agonizing stretch of baseball he’s been playing. 

But when the Halos miss the playoffs and fans look back on this Oakland series where Trout went 1-10 and struck out three times, he’ll be a reason they missed the playoffs yet again.  

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