To even ask such a question along these parameters may seem wholeheartedly ludicrous. As a matter of fact, Stephen A. Smith would maybe even so insofar as to say that such an inquiry borders on blasphemy. Mike Trout and MVP belong together.
Trout is heralded by many (granted it should be everyone, right?!) as the best, all-around player in the Milky Way. So, everyone may suddenly ask what the point is in even bringing it up. It certainly appears to be a head-scratcher because it pretty much seems like a given at this stage.
The thing is this. It is not to say that the Angels’ superstar cannot win it or is incapable of it. He certainly can. One could construct the argument that he could have four or five MVP trophies in his already diamond-studded collection.
It is largely a matter of wondering whether the voters will continue to think the way they did last year. The Halos were not that great last year in terms of Mike being one of the only bright specks of light amidst the considerably high levels of murkiness. However, the voters finally realized that the award should still go to the player whose talents best increase his team’s chances of winning regardless of the wins and losses.
The wins and losses are precisely why (alas) Trout does not have an extra award or two. A majority of the teams he has been a part of have been rather mediocre. Some would even assert that mediocre is too kind of a word when it comes to depicting the ball club the New Jersey native is a part of. The centerfielder has literally done everything imaginable to help the Halos win as much as possible. The following comments from Manager Mike Scioscia say it all.
“‘He never takes a pitch off,’ manager Mike Scioscia said recently. ‘He can change a game at any point. Not many guys in baseball can do that. He can change it with his glove. He can change it with charging a ball and stopping a first-and-third [situation] on the defensive side, and obviously on the basepaths, you see the way he applies his speed there. And the obvious thing is in the batter’s box. He’s a game-changer there.’”
Such a description is well put by Scioscia. It correctly touches on all the aspects of the game Trout is gifted in. And, indeed, few can claim the same. Nevertheless, a lot of it will come down to what the guys around Mike can do in the upcoming months. Mike will be a candidate for the award for many, many years. There is no doubt that he will be a fixture there for quite a long stretch of time.
However, more threats will come into the limelight if the leader of the Angels does not get enough support. The voters did the right thing last year. It does mean, though, that such luck will emerge every year unless the Halos can “light that baby up” a little more often.
The MVP talk is a subject Trout is pretty laconic with all things considered. He is pretty well-known for that. It is just who he is. Whether he actually wins the physical award or not, that in itself is perhaps what makes him so MVP worthy every year. Knowing that is doing everything imaginable to be the best player there is, but he expects nothing nor is he boastful. It also trickles down to how giving he is. Just the sheer fact that before every home or away game he is signing dozens of autographs for kids in the stands. How many superstars in any sport honestly do things akin to that?
The tangible numbers he puts up speak for themselves. Listing them all would probably take until 2018 to do because he always seems to among the league leaders (if not, be the league leader) in such a variety of categories. But aside from those abilities that are difficult to comprehend, his true MVP caliber nature stems from something more. He will always be the Angels’ MVP on account of the heart he seems to show in any given circumstance.