Week 22: Mike Trout

Mike Trout has been a candidate for my MLBoyfriend almost every week this season--if for no other reason than I just wanted to use this picture.

Last week, he put up the numbers to earn the title. Last week, Trout had a staggering .556 batting average and 1.986 OPS with three home runs, eight runs and six RBIs. He even managed to steal a base. Very impressive numbers for a guy who has slumped in August in the past.

Unfortunately, there was some bad news for Trout last week. He was involved in a car accident on Wednesday in which a a woman was injured. I do not believe in lowering the bar for basic human behavior for athletes or other celebrities. That said, it seems this is not the type of tabloid story we are unfortunately used to with athletes. Trout rushed to help the injured person, cooperated fully with police on the scene and showed no signs of intoxication. Again, none of this is admirable per se; however, when I first saw just the headlines--especially the one in the New York Post--I was afraid it would be a deal-breaker. After "researching" the case (i.e., Googling "Mike Trout car accident"), this doesn't disqualify hm from being my MLBoyfriend. He had the day after the accident off, and was quickly back in form--hitting a home run at his first at bat on Friday.

Mike Trout has been top candidate for the American League MVP each of the five seasons he has played. He won it in 2014 and was second in the voting in 2012, 2013 and 2015. He's on the list again, but probably won't win no matter how much he deserves it. His biggest obstacle is that MVPs generally come from teams who are at least in playoff contention, and, to put it kindly, the Angels are not. Oddly enough, the Angels manager, Mike Scioscia, has said that the teams' poor performance will and should keep Trout from winning the award. Don't listen to the haters, Mike! I think you should certainly be in the mix even though your team sucks.

I freely admit that I don't really understand the WAR stat, but apparently, Trout's is really, really good.

This post is already getting too long, and I haven't even talked about Trout's incredible hustle in the outfield. If a picture is worth a thousand words, here's three thousand words on him stealing home runs from opponents.

Of course, he has other qualities that helped him become my MLBoyfriend.

Congratulations, Mike, you certainly deserve to be my MLBoyfriend. Since even your manager agrees you'll be free in October, let's hang out have some beers and watch some playoff games together.

PS: I know I said, "Every Monday, I announce my new MLBoyfriend," and this is Tuesday. But yesterday was Labor Day, and I had important things to do like go to Red Rooster Days. Also, isn't the Tuesday after Labor Day Weekend really the biggest Monday of the year?