The "Greatest Hitter of His Generation" Can't Touch Fastballs Right Now
countdouglas
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An article written this past week by Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci:
https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/06/14/mike-trout-slump-cant-hit-fastball-angels
TL/DR, then here's a quick synopsis:
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If all of that looks and sounds familiar, it's because it's ripped right from the textbook we use for the Trouty 101 class at The University of Countdouglas! From the fact Trouty has never really been able to hit high fastballs, to debunking the myth that pitchers work around him rather than go right after him, to the fact he's one of the least feared hitters in the league in clutch situations (the "here-it-is-hit-it treatment" was normally saved for late game situations, but now they're punking him out all game long, and not only at 100+ as is often used as an excuse, but more often at just 92-96), right down to the comparison of his hitting prowess vs that of a somewhat competent hitting pitcher. I've always said that I don't need no fancy schmancy stats to tell me what my eyes see, but I'm glad that Verducci included the stats for all of the doubters, since they don't seem to actually watch the games.
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Comments
has his bat speed slowed down this much? could it be the back condition? he will be 32 this summer.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Someone will come along soon and show a geeky baseball stat that says he is still the best current hitter at the moment though
I'm not sure if Trout ran over his dog or something but he seems to love blaming Trout for the Angels organizational issues.
As far as Trout he still has an OPS over .800 and numbers that would be considered good if not very good for the vast majority of guys not named Trout even with having a bad couple weeks which every player has at somepoint. If hes still doing this in September than maybe something is up or an injury is being hidden.
Its possible hes trying to play through some injuries knowing this may be his last real chance at the playoffs. The central is terrible, hes not getting any younger and Othani is a free agent at the end of the year. Even if Othani insists on staying on the west coast the Padres, Dodgers, Giants will all make a push for him. Hes going to pick somewhere where hes happiest and thinks could win The Angels weren't the highest bidder the first time and he almost signed with the Cubs simply because of Darvish whose now in SD, but decided to stay on the west coast and wanted to play with Trout and Pujols. Money wont be an issue for him or the team that signs him. Othani is so big in Japan that his contracts pay for themselves and he makes 40 million a year in endorsements alone. He may have changed his mind about what coast hes wants to go to but its hard to see him coming back to the Angels and it would take more than just throwing money at him to get him to do so.
Missouri 14 OSU 3
This is basically a hurt Mike Trout. The back is obviously giving him some issues. He is missing some dead red fastballs right down Broadway. I've watched some of these games and it's apparent that something is not right about him batting. Pitchers know this and they are going for the kill while they can. He's missing so many pitches that he is not even getting walked much either. I like Trout and it appears that injuries are truly changing his career. I think it's possible he may not be a star for much longer. I also see a stint on the DL soon. He most likely is playing hurt.
It is strange that this is the "healthiest" Trout has been in years. at least as far as games played. he is on pace for a full season. at 32, he should still be in the back side of his prime, that is definitely not what we are seeing though. at least so far this year. I wonder if he has turned into Pujols? OBP and BA tanking but still able to hit for some power, though the power is down this year as well. It happened for Albert at this age too.
Trouts plate discipline has really seemed to tank the last 2 years or so as well. he used to be a BB machine. It would make sense if his bat speed has decreased that he has to load up on his swing earlier and not let each pitch get as deep in the zone before he pulls the trigger.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Injuries and father time are part of the game. Trout is still a productive player, but his MVP days are long over. I am a big Trout fan. Hoping he gets to 500 home runs.