"Watching an all-time great athlete fade into anonymity comes with a perverse sadness: a slow death on a public stage, with stakes that only matter because people have decided to lend it some fictive narrative purpose."
"Trout is now 34. He has played two-or-so full seasons, depending on how you count, since he was named the American League MVP in 2019."
"For those who crave a Trout resurgence, if just to see, again, what made him so great, he has put on a brilliant early showing."
"Pitchers have barely been pitching to Trout, which has resulted in a pretty funny early heat map for the year, in which Trout's wOBA is precisely .000 for a third of the strike zone."
Mike Trout, now 34, has struggled in recent seasons, with a notable decline in performance since his 2019 MVP award. His contract with the Angels limited his opportunities for significant impact in crucial games. Despite this, his early season performance shows promise, with increased walks and a strong showing that excites fans hoping for a return to form. Trout's unique situation highlights the bittersweet nature of witnessing a great athlete's decline while still holding onto the hope of a comeback.
Read at Defector
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]