By Bruce Penton
Baseball鈥檚 best player will be at home when the playoffs unfold this fall and Americans who only pay attention to baseball in October will once again be oblivious to the talents of Mike Trout, the centrefielder extraordinaire of the Los Angles Angels.
Trout has completed seven full seasons with the Angels and he has played in the post-season only once. And it was a dismal performance for Trout and the Angels, who lost all three games to Kansas City Royals in 2014 with Trout batting .083.
Many observers felt this year might be different for the Angels, who signed the most sought after free agent in the game, Japanese outfielder-slugger-pitcher Shohei Ohtani. Even with Ohtani cracking 20 homers and batting in the high .290s, and posting a 4-2 pitching record before hurting his arm, the Angels couldn鈥檛 combine his talents with the immense skill of Trout to make the post-season. The Angels will be lucky to finish at .500 and they were a distant fourth in the American League West most of the year.
Critics might say that not making regular appearances in the post-season reflects on the value of a player, but you can鈥檛 argue with Trout鈥檚 stats. Year after year, his numbers are among the best in baseball, and he has two Most Valuable Player awards to his credit.
Baseball insiders say the OPS statistical category (on-base plus slugging percentages) shows a player鈥檚 true value and if that is so, Trout is the game鈥檚 best hitter. His late-September OPS of 1.096 led the majors and he was one of only three players with numbers above 1.000 (Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez of Boston were the others, but well back). Another recently new stat is WAR (wins above replacement; in other words, how many wins a player contributes to his team above what a replacement player would earn). Trout鈥檚 WAR of 9.4 (and career WAR of 63.5) are proof of Trout鈥檚 value.
Oh, by the way, he鈥檚 also one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game, and has an arm like a cannon. And he鈥檚 a top-20 base stealer, too, with 24 through mid-September.
Add it all up 鈥� batting, throwing, chasing down fly balls, stealing bases 鈥� and it鈥檚 easy to see why the Angels are talking about offering Trout a lifetime contract. It鈥檚 just too bad his team can鈥檛 make the playoffs so the rest of the world can see what southern California fans have been seeing for the past seven years.
鈥⒙� RJ Currie of : 鈥淧ackers pivot Aaron Rodgers' new contract totals $180 million with performance incentives. He鈥檒l still play quarterback the same way, only deeper in the pockets.鈥�
鈥⒙� Another one from Currie: 鈥淩est in peace Burt Reynolds, perhaps the most famous moustached star in history. Unless you include those East German women shotputters.鈥�
鈥⒙� Norman Chadof the Washington Post on Twitter: 鈥淚n the NFL, there is the 鈥�Tom Brady Rule鈥�: If a defender appears to touch Brady after he releases the ball, it is roughing the passer. In the NBA, there is the 鈥�James Harden Rule鈥�: If a defender appears to defend Harden as he slithers through the lane, it is a shooting foul.鈥�
鈥⒙� Chad again: 鈥淭rue story: I bumped into Harden the other day at the supermarket, and the security guard removed me from the store.鈥�
鈥⒙� Comedy writer Jim Barach: 鈥淔ormer NBA player Matt Barnes says he smoked pot before every game. Which explains why his favourite move was the 鈥榩ick and roll-your-own.鈥欌��
鈥⒙� Currie again: 鈥淓x-racecar driver Danica Patrick is dating Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. After years with NASCAR, this is the closest she's been to the leader of the Pack.鈥�
鈥⒙� Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: 鈥淭he Cleveland Browns won, so Bud Light unlocked beer coolers all over town with 300 bottles of beer in them. They decided this was smarter than their other promotion: Free Whisky and Chainsaws.鈥�
鈥⒙� Kaseberg again: 鈥淭he Cleveland Browns won their first game in 635 days. To give you an idea how long ago what was, 635 days ago they were the Cleveland Light-Beige.鈥�
鈥⒙� Jimmy Fallonon the Tonight Show: 鈥淣orth and 麻豆视频 Korea say they want to host the 2032 Summer Olympics together. The highlight will be when the athletes try pole-vaulting from North Korea into 麻豆视频 Korea.鈥�
鈥⒙� Dwight Perryof the Seattle Times with his Fact of the Week: 鈥淚t took Tigers pitcher Denny McLain just 49 more days to post his 30th victory in 1968 than it took the Orioles to win their 30th this season.鈥�
Raiders coach Jon Gruden, to reporters, on why his team has only two sacks in two games after trading away Khalil Mack: 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to find a great pass-rusher.鈥濃��Care to comment? Email [email protected]
