Albert Pujols and Mike Trout played together for a decade, from 2012 to 2021.
Pujols was starting to decline when he joined the Los Angeles Angels, and Trout was, to the contrary, blossoming into one of the game’s top stars.
Regardless of their career trajectories, they both know each other, worked with each other, and admired each other.
They became friends over the years, and a relationship of mutual admiration started.
Now that Pujols – one of the best right-handed hitters in the history of the game – is retired, he gets to see Trout’s greatness from another angle.
Trout has had to battle injuries in recent seasons, and had his worst performance as a pro last year with a .858 OPS (yes, that was his worst version).
This time, however, he is fully healthy and showing how dominant he can be if he is fully healthy.
Pujols is not surprised because he has seen from up close how great his former teammate can be.
Trout is having a performance for the ages.
He is slashing, as of Thursday afternoon, a cool .282/.363/.690 with eight home runs, 11 RBI, and a 1.053 OPS.
The Angels have done a poor job getting people on base in front of Trout, which is why he only has 11 RBI despite an impressive eight dingers.
One thing is clear, though: he is back to his best version, and that means bad news for the rest of the MVP candidates in the American League.