Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is not only the best and most productive player of his generation: he is also one of the most elite players of all time.
He is so good that he can retire today and enter the Hall of Fame five years later as a first-ballot player.
Trout is an elite hitter, a great defender, and a fantastic baserunner.
He is, in addition to that, very smart and that trait is not discussed often enough.
His baseball IQ is off the charts, and it’s a shame the Angels have wasted it for so long.
The 9-10 Angels are third in the AL West and trying to win every game they can.
Trout is eager to help in any way he can: hitting, throwing, fielding, and even serving as a de-facto baserunning coach.
Take a look at this play:
“Watch Mike Trout in this video! This is the job of the on deck hitter executed perfectly by Trout telling the runner to slide and where to slide,” Steve Trombly tweeted, with a video of the play.
Watch Mike Tout in this video!
Any other player would just ignore the play at home, or watch it without giving away any instructions.
But he is a good teammate and wanted the run to score, so he instructed the baserunner to slide to his right (away from the incoming catcher’s tag) and you can see that in the video.
The runner was declared safe and the run counted, so it was all a success.
Hopefully, the Angels can make a playoff run and get Trout some October baseball, which would be a first since 2014.