Amidst another lost season, Los Angeles Angels fans still have reasons to be hopeful as they still boast the services of two of the greatest players in baseball, dual threat Shohei Ohtani and all-world centerfielder Mike Trout. While Ohtani, the 2021 unanimous AL MVP, is now dominating the headlines as he's locked in a tight MVP race against New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, Trout has gone under the radar, but he has reawakened in the past week, hitting a home run in seven consecutive games.
However, Trout's bid to extend his streak to eight straight games, tying the MLB record set by Ken Griffey (1993), Don Mattingly (1987), and Dale Long (1956), has come to an end after he flied out thrice and walked once in a 3-1 loss against the Cleveland Guardians. Trout revealed after the game that he was consciously chasing after the record in his final at-bat, which made him press on the plate and force the issue.
““The first three at-bats I wasn’t (thinking about it), but my last one I was,” Trout said. “I’m not gonna lie. That’s the nature of the thing, I guess. When I think home run, not good. As you saw. Chasing pitches. I was just amped up too much. Guess I got to start a new streak.”
Mike Trout's recent home-run hitting binge has brought up his season numbers to 35 home runs and 69 runs batted in in only 101 games played (420 plate appearances), bringing his season WAR total to 5.2, much more in line with his career numbers after injury-riddled down seasons in 2020 and 2021.
A healthy Mike Trout remains one of the best players in the league and gives the Angels the scariest one-two punch in the heart of their batting order. But at 61-81, the Angels will need more than the two-superstar show to contend. For now, baseball fans will enjoy the superstar antics of the Angels duo who should perform free of pressure the rest of the way.
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