The Angels haven’t had a
history of iconic players who they could call their very own. There isn’t a guy out there, whose storied
career and great accomplishments are tied solely to the Angels.
Of the players whose numbers
have been retired by the Angels - Rod Carew is better known as a Twin and Nolan
Ryan, an Astro and a Ranger. There are even
members of the team’s own Hall of Fame who are better known for being a part of
other franchises.
Until Vladimir Guerrero was
inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, they didn’t have anyone representing the
team in Cooperstown and Vlad put up most of his Hall of Famer numbers in
Montreal.
Tim Salmon is the closest
thing the Angels have to an iconic figure who played his entire career in
Anaheim and although he is very much beloved by the Anaheim faithful, he’s not
a Hall of Famer or an all-time baseball great by any means. Salmon never even made an all-star game,
unfortunately.
That all changed with the
news that Mike Trout will be Angel for his entire career. For the first time in the franchise’s 58 year
history – they have a player who can be mentioned in the same breath as Babe
Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson and
other greats, who they can also call their very own.
It’s been a long time coming
and quite frankly, it’s been worth the wait.
If you’re going to wait 50+
years to find such a player – might as well have that player the greatest
player in the history of baseball. Yes,
I said greatest ever. If you want to debate
that fine – but he’s at least in that very limited conversation.
The Trout extension is quite
possibly, the most significant event in the history of the franchise (outside
of the 2002 World Series).
Just up the road – the Dodgers
can claim ownership of names like Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax and Duke
Snider. Down south – the Padres can
boast about Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman.
As great as those names are –
Trout’s overall statistical career is going to better than all of them.
Name a team and who comes to
mind? Cardinals – Stan Musial and Bob
Gibson. Cubs – Ernie Banks. Reds – Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Pirates – Roberto Clemente. And now whenever anyone mentions the Angels –
the one name that will always be associated with the franchise is Mike Trout.
It’s a beautiful thing.
What’s even more beautiful
about all of this is that Mike Trout is even a better human being than he is a
baseball player. He does amazing things
out of the public eye and away from the spotlight. I’m quite certain we don’t even have anywhere
near an idea of just how much he does for others.
I can’t think of another
baseball player I would rather have my favorite team be associated with.
He may be the most humble superstar
on the face of the planet. His humbleness
is even greater than his talent. He
doesn’t seek the spotlight. He doesn’t
seek accolades. He lets his play do all of his talking and his talent screams
at us every time he steps on a baseball field.
All he wants to do is play
baseball. I am beyond thankful – that he’ll
be doing just that in Anaheim for the next 12 years.
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