The way Shohei Ohtani shined in June and the way Mike Trout started playing — they thought things were going well for the Angels. They thought Trout would finally return to the postseason for the first time since 2014, to baseball’s biggest stage reserved for great players.
But now all that has stopped. Specifically The hamate bone of his left arm. Complications that need to be treated surgically. So suddenly, instead of talking about the Angels advancing to the playoffs for the first time in nine years, the math changed drastically for him, requiring four to eight weeks before returning to action.
Trout, a New Jersey native, told ESPN in February while watching his Philadelphia Eagles (in football) play in the Super Bowl.
“It divides me because I want to experience the atmosphere of the postseason. I gave a little taste in 2014, but we’ve been a long time coming. I can’t imagine what the players are feeling. I think everyone who competes in the game feels that. The goal every year is to get to the postseason. Everybody. They tell me, ‘We’ve got to get Trout into the postseason.’
After a nightmare week for the team, it could happen this time. Trout broke his wrist after fouling the Padres’ Nick Martinez. Ohtani left his start against San Diego with a blister on his pitching hand. Anthony Renton left the same game after directly fouling his shine.
On June 27, the Angels posted a 44–37 record. Ohtani has been on fire and Trout is hitting his best speed. The club was in contention for an American League wild card. But now, Trout is undergoing surgery and will miss four to eight weeks. Baseball will miss him again. The All-Star Game just wouldn’t be the same without him. Baseball just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Now more than ever, there are many parallels between Mickey Mantle’s quality and Trout’s career. But in the case of the Bombers’ gunboat, it was knees that robbed Mantle of some of his magic, leaving the 37-year-old hanging on by hooks. But even with that, Mickey Mantle is a Yankee. He was in the World Series 12 times at age 32; How old is a trout in August?
“Everybody knows I’ve accomplished a lot,” Mantle said before Old-Timers Day in 1994 at Yankee Stadium. “But I think everyone will always wonder how much more I would have achieved if I had been healthy.”
They kneel to “The Mick”. It’s different for trout. He’s missed 274 games over his last six seasons, tied for the lead, and could go 40-50 this time around. The list of injuries is long: In 2018, Trout suffered from inflammation in his right wrist. It was the surgery that sidelined him for some time the following year. In 2021, it was a back problem that limited him to 36 games. Last year, it backfired, causing him to miss 43 games.
Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr. is a magician on the field. He suffered a major injury to his knee. The surgery required him to miss the second half of the 2021 season and the first quarter of 2022. It’s a big deal, but it’s the same thing. Trout has suffered many inconveniences. Now wrist surgery.
For years, before Ohtani hit the major league stage, there was no debate about who was the best player in baseball. It was trout, no doubt. Since 2014, he has won the Most Valuable Player award three times and finished second in the voting twice. We talk about him the same way we talk about LeBron James in NBA basketball, for example, even though he played in 10 Finals.
Trout has played in three postseason games. He hit. A home run. Nine years have passed since then. We thought it would be different now. Maybe it still is. But for now, the story remains the same as previous years. He was injured again.
