It's been nothing but good times for Mike Trout this season. |
This was supposed to be Bryce Harper's year. It was supposed to be the beginning of a future hall-of-famer's career. The 16-year-old phenom was supposed to be transformed into a 19-year-old sensation. The Real Deal was supposed to get real. And then we met Mike Trout.
Trout played his high school ball in New Jersey, a state known more for its football and wrestling than for its baseball (more because of geographical location than anything else). Therefore the 18-year-old at the time fell all the way to 25th overall in the '09 draft, probably because the northeast winter months denied him that extra exposure a guy like Bryce Harper had in Nevada. Trout then made the wise decision of turning down his scholarship to East Carolina in favor of the Angels rookie league squad. The 6-foot-1, 200 pound outfielder immediately soared through the Angels organization, ranking third in Baseball America's prospects list after only one year. After his 2011 minor league campaign Trout was awarded the Minor League Player of the Year award. But even as he continued to tear up the minor leagues, he remained on and off the farm, beginning the 2012 season with the Angels Triple-A affiliate and most notably hiding in the shadows of the overwhelming hype surrounding Bryce Harper.
Trout showed right away that he didn't belong stuck in the Los Angeles farm system, batting .403 in 20 games with the Salt Lake Bees. Replacing the aging Bobby Abreu, Trout made immediate noise in the majors with a .324 average in May, exploding in June by batting .372 with 27 runs in 26 games helping him earn his first All-Star appearance. With these eye-popping numbers and overly apparent five-tool set, Trout was slowly overtaking Harper in the eyes of analysts and in many respects, most baseball fans in general.
Here we are approaching October baseball and it is clearly Trout, not Harper, that is the league's finest first-year player. Trout's numbers are superior and his play has been far more spectacular. Despite the fact that the Angels are on the outside looking in and Harper's Nationals have already clinched, Trout is the better and more deserving player. The 21-year-old is a complete five-tool player while Harper has made his fare share of mistakes roaming center field in Nationals Park. Rookie of the Year is a very distinct possibility for Harper but Trout's season has been so good that he could add the AL MVP to his already pretty much guaranteed Rookie of the Year. That's even more of a lock if his Angels can somehow find a way out of their two-game Wild Card hole over the next seven contests.
But it really doesn't come down to the stats, skills or anything related to how people judge talent it comes down to what type of player Trout is. Both him and Harper undoubtedly play hard and both are extremely enjoyable to watch, but Trout plays the game with a little bit more zest and a whole hell of a lot more positive attitude. Harper complains, snaps at umps. It's even like he doesn't consider a game to be completed unless he makes a scene. And then there was the "clown question, bro" incident that made Harper just that much more unlikeable. Yet when you watch Trout, you see how much he enjoys the game and thrives because of it. Honestly he just seems like a little leaguer out there enjoying every single moment he gets to step on the diamond.
All in all, it's nice to see that a more positive phenom like Trout was able to grab our attention over the more arrogant, maybe even overhyped Harper and it'd be an absolute travesty not to see the Angels stud in the playoffs.
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