Another Season in the Midst of Mike Trout’s Prime Shortened

The postponement of the start of Major League Baseball this season has left teams and players in a state of pause. Some players were hoping to rejuvenate their careers, while others, just beginning theirs in the big leagues. And then there’s Mike Trout, arguably the best player in the game, who’s left with another season cut short in the prime of his career.

The postponement of the start of Major League Baseball this season has left teams and players in a state of pause. Some players were hoping to rejuvenate their careers, while others, just beginning theirs in the big leagues. And then there’s Mike Trout, arguably the best player in the game, who’s left with another season cut short in the prime of his career.

To better understand how this layoff is going to affect Mike Trout, we turned to SI Senior Writer Tom Verducci.

“You start thinking about the ‘what if’ bittersweetness of Mike Trout,” he said. “He’s had some injuries the last three years. I think we’re going to see a really truncated season this year.”

So that means, whenever we do get baseball back, 2020 would mark the fourth consecutive year that Mike Trout has not played in more than 140 games—during the prime of his career at ages 25, 26, 27, and now, 28.

By no means is he going downhill, it’s just that the window of his prime years has just been cut short again, this time instead of injuries, it’s now due to the coronavirus.

“As a baseball fan, I feel a little bit cheated too, because we haven’t seen—as crazy as it sounds—the best of Mike Trout,” Verducci added.

In his first eight full seasons in the Majors, Trout averaged 35 home runs, 92 RBIs, and 110 runs per season—all at batting over 300. Statistically, that compares with Mickey Mantle and a host of other Hall of Famers.

Yet, outside of the baseball world, Mike Trout remains largely unrecognized, not because baseball doesn’t promote him, but because he hasn’t reached the postseason stage.

Let’s hope there is a season this year and that Trout can get back onto the stage where his talents can be showcased.