Please Enjoy This Video of Mike Trout Obliterating a Golf Ball

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: Mike Trout does a very mean thing to a golf ball, Zion vs. LeBron and more.

I can’t stop watching this

Let’s not waste any time in the intro here. Do you wanna see Mike Trout hit a golf ball as hard as he can? Of course you do. 

It’s just so satisfying to watch. The sound of the impact is like a gunshot. I must have watched it 20 times by now. 

It’s also a rare opportunity to see a bit of personality from Trout. The way he grins before he addresses the ball—fully aware of what he’s about to do, almost saying, “watch this”—is as cocky as I’ve ever seen Trout be. And he delivered. The reaction of the onlookers tells you everything you need to know. 

One person says, astonished, “180!” which must refer to the exit velocity of the ball. That would be an elite figure on the PGA Tour. The top average exit velocity off the tee on tour last year was Cameron Champ’s 190.7 mph—and that’s using a real golf ball, not the reduced-flight ones Topgolf uses. Bubba Watson, who was sixth in driving distance, averaged 181.2 mph off the tee. 

The Pujols Family Foundation, which works with children who have Down syndrome and their families, held an event at a Topgolf in Arizona on Sunday night where they invited MLB stars to smack the hell out of some golf balls. Trout was there, along with Dodgers players Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy and Austin Barnes. 

Bellinger also punished a ball, but let’s be honest: it was nowhere near as impressive as what Trout did. 

Seeing Bellinger’s swing just makes Trout’s wallop seem even more impressive. Sure, Bellinger also hit the ball super hard, but look how awkward his swing is. His takeaway is so stiff and his hips don’t move at all in the backswing. On the other hand, even though a golf pro would cringe watching the Trout video, you can tell that he has a good swing that he’s just turning up to 11 so he can show off. That shouldn’t be a surprise, though. Trout has never won a playoff game, so he’s had plenty of time to work on his golf game. 

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Around the sports world

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When have you ever seen LeBron pull up from there?

Poor Kyle Kuzma

Brady was NOT happy about this

“He’s coming back, he’s coming back.”

–Julian Edelman messing with Tom Brady 😂 pic.twitter.com/OYdPS3xzzr

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 29, 2020

LeBron’s acting has improved in Los Angeles

How cute is this?

Swimming lesson No. 3 for Tacko Fall. “It’s a good workout,” he says. pic.twitter.com/pYUxHnONm8

— Nicole Yang (@nicolecyang) March 1, 2020

Watford ended Liverpool’s potential undefeated season

That move was sick

It’s gonna be a loooooong season for the Astros

The XFL is a wonder

This Polish soccer player had to be subbed off after he broke his own nose

Beautiful

Holy crap, what a save

UCLA gymnasts have so many viral floor routines

One of the worst leg breaks I’ve ever seen

Not sports

Three people died at a Russian influencer’s pool party when dry ice was thrown into a swimming pool. ... Dunkin’s new side dish is just a pouch of bacon. ... The only good thing about the coronavirus is that it dramatically reduced air pollution in China. 

Look at the guy who tried to catch it!

I respect him so much for this

Beware the buffet

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.