Los Angeles Angels fans getting antsy about Mike Trout’s prolonged slump: "Everyone assumes he will be a stud forever" "This is the new normal"
Longtime Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is deep in one of the longest slumps of his career and Halos fans are starting to get a bit antsy.
Now, "slump" is a relative term. Trout enters the week hitting .254 with 14 home runs, 36 RBIs and 39 runs scored. There are several teams in MLB that wouldn't mind having those kinds of statistics from their centerfielder.
However, when you're talking about one of the poster boys of the league and a player in the midst of a 12-year, $426.5 million contract, it's a slump.
It's been almost a month since I talked to Mike Trout about what was, at that time, a two-week slump.
He's got a .681 OPS through his last 37 games.
It's the worst 37-game stretch for him since he was a 20-year-old rookie in 2011.
ocregister.com/2023/05/17/ang…
Mike Trout is coming up on his 32nd birthday. He's not exactly old yet, but not quite a spring chicken in MLB terms either.
Trout has played his entire 13-year major league career with the Los Angeles Angels after the team selected him with the 25th overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft.
@JeffFletcherOCR This is his new normal. All time bad contract
@JeffFletcherOCR Everyone assumes he will be a stud forever. He won't.
@JeffFletcherOCR He needs to step it up
Mike Trout debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2011 at the age of 19. He played in just 40 games that season, hitting .220 with five homers.
However, Trout took the league by storm in 2012, his first full MLB season. He led the majors with 49 stolen bases and 129 runs scored, as well as hitting .326 with 30 homers and 83 RBIs. He was the runaway American League Rookie of the Year, as well as finishing second in the AL Most Valuable Player voting.
He made the All-Star Game that season, as he has done in every year since other than 2020.
@JeffFletcherOCR Kinda funny that’s he’s playing the worst he’s played since his rookie year and the Angels as a team are playing better than ever.
is!@JeffFletcherOCR It’s the Calm before the storm. Get ready Halo fans I believe Mike Trout is about to remind us who the 🐐is!
@JeffFletcherOCR Trout, Ohtani (as a pitcher) and Sandoval have all struggled in the last month. One common factor is they all were in the WBC in March. I wonder if the "dog days" have arrived early for them.
Mike Trout is still hitting .301 for his career, but he has hit over .300 in just one of his past five seasons (.333 over 36 games in 2021).
The three-time AL MVP may just be finding Father Time catching up with him a bit. The Los Angeles Angels certainly hope not, as the organization is paying him an average of $35.5 million a season through 2030.
@JeffFletcherOCR It’s the back injury just want say anything
On the other side of the coin, his .826 OPS through 63 games is not unprecedented.
He had a worse stretch when he was the unanimous MVP in 2014.
@JeffFletcherOCR Moniak waiting to take his spot soon
Trout still remains a popular player around the league. He is currently second among AL outfielders after the first round of voting for the 2023 All-Star Game.
He looks like he has lost confidence at the plate, to match the long-vanished confidence of stealing bases. twitter.com/JeffFletcherOC…
Mike Trout slumping as Los Angeles Angels playing well
While Trout may not be performing up to his usual standards, it hasn't affected the Angels much. Largely due to the efforts of phenom Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles is currently on pace for its first winning season since 2015, as the team enters this week with a 36-31 record.