Mike Trout

Putting a historical season in perspective

April 28, 2012. In 20 years, this may be looked back upon as the day in which a new baseball era began, the day in which two transcendent players happened to be called up to the big leagues on the same day. Bryce Harper had all of the hype: he was hitting 500ft homeruns at the age of 16, he skipped his senior of high school so he could go to Junior College (which he dominated), just so he could enter the draft earlier. Can you imagine that? Being annoyed and too good to play in high school? Some people really have it hard.

For someone with such immense expectation and overwhelming hype, Bryce Harper has managed fairly well for a 19 year-old in the Major Leagues. In fact, he has been exceptional for his age. He is batting .250, has clocked 10 homeruns, driven in 30 runs, and made an All Star Team. Not bad, right?

It isn’t bad. But compared to his AL counterpart, Bryce Harper is having an ordinary season. Many of us east-coasters are in deep slumber when the other man is playing baseball. But he is not only playing baseball.

The other man is Mike Trout. Mike Trout is in the midst of not only building a run away rookie of the year campaign, not only delivering an MVP caliber season, but producing one of the most historical Major League Baseball seasons in its’ rich 100+ year history. He is doing things that nobody has done before. In a sport that prides itself in stats and records more than any other, there is something really special going on out there in Anaheim. Or Los Angeles. Whatever the hell they are called.

Player A:

141 games, .311 batting average, 23hr, 87RBI, 94 runs scored, 4 stolen bases

Player B:

121 games, .274 batting average, 20hr, 68RBI, 59 runs scored, 7 stolen bases

Player C:

89 games, .346 batting average, 20hr, 60RBI, 87 runs scored, 36 stolen bases

Any guesses? Anyone? Alright I will spoil it for you. All three players are represented by their statistical season when they were 20 years old.

Player A? Mickey Mantle.

Player B? Willie Mays.

Player C? Mike Trout.

The Angels still have 50 more games to play, Mike Trout will be playing in all of those games to only enhance these frightening statistics. You see what I’m getting at?

When it’s all said and done this year, Trout will have ran away with the Rookie of the Year Award, and will also likely win the Most Valuable Player Award. How many rookies have won both in the same year? Ichiro accomplished the feat in 2001, but since he was already 27 years old with years of Professional Japanese experience under his belt, let’s go back even further: Fred Lynn won both awards for the Red Sox in 1975. With all due respect to Ichiro who will be a first ballot hall of famer, with all due respect to Lynn who turned out to be a good but not great player, neither rookie season compares to what Mike Trout is achieving. Doesn’t that name just ring? Mike Trout…love it.

As it stands today, Trout leads the American League in batting, runs scored, stolen bases, and if you believe in that mystery stat known as WAR (Wins-above-replacement), he leads that one too. He leads those categories despite being called up a month after the season had already started.  O, and did I mention he has stolen 27 bases in a row? That’s a franchise record.

Trout is on pace to hit .346, slug 32 homeruns, and steal 57 bases. No player in the history of Major League Baseball has ever hit over .340, more than 20 homeruns, and exceed 40 steals in a single season…ever.

Let’s throw out the numbers for a second, they are even making my head stir. Has anybody watched this kid play? He is simply unreal. He hits for average, has power, blazing speed, he makes catches like this, he’s a good looking kid, he’s got it all. Not only has Trout established himself as the best rookie in baseball, not only as the best young player in baseball, not only as the best center fielder in baseball, he might already be the best player in baseball, after just turning 21 years old last week.

Look, I know lacrosse is now “the thing” amongst American youth these days. I know a lot of baseball fans don’t start paying attention until October (Yankee Fans), and I know a lot of baseball fans are already begging for football season to start to get their mind off their horrid franchise (Met Fans), but if there was ever a time to pay attention to baseball, it’s now. We have guys like Trout at 21 years old, Bryce Harper at 19 years old, Stephen Strasburg contending for a Cy Young at 23 years old, and Andrew McCutchen the favorite to win the NL MVP Award at 25 years old (hitting .365 right now for the Pirates). We might be staring at the next golden era of America’s pastime. That golden era will be centered around Mike Trout.

-Chris Collins