The Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout demonstrated his powerful hitting capabilities during this week’s series in New York, reminding baseball fans of his exceptional slugging talents.
However, it’s his ability to maintain that performance throughout the entire season that has become the central concern in recent years.
At 34 years old, Trout hasn’t claimed an MVP award since 2019, marking six seasons without the honor. His most impressive recent campaign came in 2022 when he launched 40 home runs. During last season, he managed to appear in more than 82 games for just the second time since 2019, though his performance suffered with a .232 batting average and an OPS under .800.
While his batting average remains similar this year, Trout has blasted seven home runs across 22 games, suggesting a return to his offensive dominance—though without the base-stealing speed that characterized his earlier career. During the Angels’ split of their four-game series against the Yankees, he connected for five home runs.
Unfortunately, this pattern has emerged before. Last season saw him crush nine home runs in April before landing on the injured list in early May due to a knee problem. The 2024 season followed a similar script with nine April home runs before a torn meniscus ended his season before the month concluded. In 2023, despite posting an April OPS exceeding 1.000, he participated in barely half the season’s games.
Coming into spring training this year, Trout expressed his desire to return to center field after spending most of the previous season in right field or serving as designated hitter. He believed that playing center field would actually reduce the physical stress on his body.
Under new manager Kurt Suzuki’s guidance, Trout has started 20 of his 22 games in center field so far. His theory about reduced physical strain is currently being tested. Should he remain healthy and continue his strong hitting performance through next month, the Angels might begin considering whether Trout is entering a late-career resurgence.
Trout joins an exclusive group as one of only four players to capture three MVP awards before reaching age 30.
In other baseball news, the National League Central division presents an unusual situation with all five teams maintaining winning records. The Chicago Cubs currently hold the third-best run differential in baseball, while Pittsburgh ranks fifth. Meanwhile, Cincinnati and St. Louis have excelled in close contests, with the Reds perfect at 6-0 in one-run games and the Cardinals maintaining a 5-0 record in both one-run games and extra-inning contests.
Both the Cubs and Cardinals are riding five-game winning streaks.
Conversely, every American League West team is performing at .500 or below.
Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton delivered an outstanding performance Tuesday night, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and four runs scored in the team’s 6-0 victory over Boston.
Despite a slow start to the season, Buxton’s Tuesday performance accounted for half of his season RBI total. The Twins have reached .500 after losing 92 games in the previous season.
The San Diego Padres pulled off a dramatic comeback Wednesday night, overcoming a four-run deficit in the ninth inning to defeat Seattle 7-6.
Trailing 6-3 with two outs in the final frame, the Padres mounted their rally as Luis Campusano and Ramón Laureano delivered RBI singles, followed by Jackson Merrill’s game-winning two-run double. This marked San Diego’s first victory since 2019 when entering the ninth inning trailing by four or more runs. Seattle’s win probability reached 98.7% in the ninth inning, according to Baseball Savant data.
The victory extended San Diego’s winning streak to seven games, eventually reaching eight, positioning them just half a game behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.
The answer to the MVP trivia question: Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, and Albert Pujols join Trout as the only players to win three MVP awards before turning 30.
