Have recent injuries derailed Mike Trout's Hall of Fame chances? Exploring Angels star's ailments
Mike Trout was a surefire Hall of Famer and one of the rare players who lived up to the hype. As a very young prospect, he was heralded as the next face of baseball. Many players have been given that title, but few live up to it and Trout did become the face of baseball and arguably the best player of this era.
However, in recent years, everything has changed. The slugger has hardly had any healthy seasons, and he's been on the bench a lot. It has put a damper on his overall output and his career trajectory. Did it affect his Hall of Fame chances?
Is Mike Trout still going to be a Hall of Famer?
While it's impossible to predict, it seems likely that Mike Trout will still be a Hall of Famer. If he decided to call it a career after his latest injury, the Los Angeles Angels star would probably still be voted in.
He is already 50th all-time in bWAR. He's the top active player with the most wins above replacement, and that alone should be enough to get him in. Assuming he plays a few more seasons, he will likely get into the top 30 all-time.
That said, it is much less likely now. From 2019-2023, Trout played a total of 424 games. In that span, the Angels played 708 games.
That trend is continuing in 2024. Trout has played 29 games, but he's going to continue to be out for a while as he rehabs from knee surgery. He might not play in 60 games this season, a worrying trend.
He had done enough prior to this injured spell to make sure he got into the Hall of Fame, but he was in "greatest of all time" debates before he began to get hurt. In the last few years, he's had four major injuries. Before that, he didn't have many.
- 2017 torn thumb ligament, 47 games
- 2021 calf strain, 139 days
- 2022 back inflammation, one month
- 2023 broken hamate, 89 days
The injuries have derailed the narrative surrounding Trout's career, but they probably did not quite do enough to take him out of the Hall of Fame race.