On Monday night, just before I interviewed him on FS1, Mike Trout told me he was having the time of his life. During the interview I asked him why he felt that way. Trout mentioned his teammates, his coaches, the atmosphere, putting USA across his chest. The World Baseball Classic, he said, has been “unbelievably fun.”
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Trout, 31, is always upbeat, even during his periods of greatest frustration with the Angels. Seven straight losing seasons have not crushed his spirit. Nor has the Angels’ failure to reach the playoffs since 2014. Yet Trout at the WBC is finding a new level of buoyancy, a joy unlike anything he has experienced in his 12-year career.
So when he was asked Wednesday night, in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s awful knee injury, about the physical risk of playing competitive games in March, Trout spoke again about his exhilaration — the same exhilaration Díaz was experiencing when he suffered his injury during Puerto Rico’s celebration of their victory over the Dominican Republic.
“I talked to (U.S. teammate Adam) Wainwright about this during the Canada game,” Trout said. “This is the funnest experience I’ve had on a baseball field. To represent your country, it’s been a blast. Obviously, there’s risk involved. (But) you’re still playing baseball in spring training. For me, being part of this atmosphere, it’s special. It means a lot to me. I knew going in it was going to be a fun time. I never knew it was going to be this fun.”
Mike Trout is 4-for-6 with a homer, triple and two walks in his past two games. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
Trout is Team USA’s captain. He was the first U.S. position player to commit to the tournament, and his decision prompted others to follow. It was fitting, then, that his three-hit, three-RBI performance Wednesday night propelled the U.S. to a 3-2 victory over Colombia and a quarterfinal matchup Saturday in Miami against Venezuela. If the U.S. players’ euphoria is one topic of this event, their admiration of Trout is another.
At Team USA’s very first workout, Trout took batting practice with Nolan Arenado, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber, three of the best players in the game. Watching Trout, they could not believe what they were seeing. Arenado said Trout’s routine is similar to that of other hitters, but the way he moves and swings is just different, and so is the sound of the ball off his bat.
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“He lets the ball get so deep,” Arenado said of Trout’s approach in the batter’s box. “There are times when it looked like he was hitting it out of the catcher’s mitt and he was pulling it for a backspin homer. For me to do that, I feel like I’ve got to catch it out front to hit it to the pull side.”
Arenado, like Trout, is a near-lock for the Hall of Fame. But almost to a man, the Team USA players and staffers view Trout as existing on another level, rising above even the best of the best. It’s not unlike how NBA stars once viewed Michael Jordan.
NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt said his Cardinals teammates know Trout is his favorite player, and tease him for always wanting to watch the 10-time All-Star and three-time MVP on TV. Wednesday night, when I asked Team USA manager Mark DeRosa what he sees in Trout, he responded without hesitation during our FS1 interview, “I see one of the best players of all-time.”
Team USA advances to their 5th WBC Quarterfinal 🇺🇸@Ken_Rosenthal spoke with @USABaseball manager @markdero7 after the win ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Q2zhuBzPmD
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 16, 2023
Trout actually started the tournament slowly, at least by his standards, going 1-for-6 with three walks in the first two games. But he had made only 17 plate appearances in spring training, so it was understandable that his timing might be off. The same is true for any number of hitters in the WBC.
The difference with Trout is that he snapped out of it quickly, going 4-for-6 with a homer, triple and two walks in his next two games. He even stole a base in Team USA’s opening victory against Great Britain, quite a surprise considering he has only four steals the past three seasons.
What did that tell DeRosa?
“Everything,” the manager said. “He’s all-in.”
The same is true off the field, where Trout is taking an active leadership role, fulfilling his responsibilities as captain. He was among the Team USA stars who spoke at a hitters’ meeting before the first game, encouraging everyone to relax. He relayed a similar message to DeRosa, telling him not to overthink his lineups. Trout, like his idol, Derek Jeter, exudes a breezy confidence. Yet, the players view him as down to earth, too.
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“The main thing is that he’s a normal dude,” Mookie Betts said. “Obviously we all know the baseball side of it. But just getting to be in the clubhouse, simple things like going to eat together, going to hit together, going to take defense together, you get to know someone. Now I don’t even really pay attention to the baseball thing. I just look at him as my boy. I’m out there playing with my boy. And he just happens to be Mike Trout.”
Seeing Trout thrive in a playoff-type environment, it’s only natural to wonder: How would he perform if the Angels ever got back to the postseason? He is entering his 13th year, but his only playoff appearance was in 2014, when he went 1-for-12 with a homer and the Angels were swept by the Royals in the Division Series. A theme of the upcoming season, and of many recent seasons, is that baseball needs Trout in October.
Trout, naturally, agrees with that assessment, telling me earlier this spring, “It’s getting to a point where we’ve got to win.” A reporter asked him Wednesday night if he viewed the WBC as a chance to showcase himself as if he were playing in the postseason. Trout acknowledged such talk exists, then repeated what he has said from the start: That he knew the atmosphere would be electric after watching the 2017 WBC, and he wanted to be part of it.
Betts, one of the players Trout recruited, echoed that sentiment, sending a message to American major leaguers who might see the tournament as too much of an imposition, too much of a risk. “This is so much fun,” Betts said. “This is way better than getting four at-bats on the back fields (in spring training). I encourage those who are watching to come play for Team USA.”
Trout took the plunge and has never been happier. Díaz likely would say the same, even after the freakish, accidental injury he suffered on Wednesday. There is something about playing for your country. Something about bonding with fellow stars. Something about the WBC.
(Top photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
Ken Rosenthal is the senior baseball writer for The Athletic who has spent nearly 35 years covering the major leagues. In addition, Ken is a broadcaster and regular contributor to Fox Sports' MLB telecasts. He's also won Emmy Awards in 2015 and 2016 for his TV reporting. Follow Ken on Twitter @Ken_Rosenthal
