Mike Trout isn't done yet. The Los Angeles Angels star had his worst season in a long time in 2025. For the first time in what feels like forever, Trout looked mortal. With the many injuries that Trout has suffered over the last few years, it seemed like Trout was slowing down. Were we seeing the end of Mike Trout's career?
As it turns out, rumors of the death of Trout's career were greatly exaggerated. Against the Houston Astros on Opening Day, Trout had himself a night. In his first game of the 2026 season, the Astros star went 1-for-2 at the plate with three walks. That lone hit was impactful, too: a solo home run in the seventh inning to put Los Angeles ahead 1-0 in the game.
After the game, Trout talked about what he's doing at the plate this season compared to previous years.
“Just staying with the routine, staying with the plan,” Trout said, per MLB.com. “The [hitting coaches] in the cage, we’ve been working hard on it and it’s paying off. I’m just staying with my approach, just get a pitch to hit and don’t miss it.”
Trout's 2025 season was one to forget. There was at least one positive: Trout played in 130 games that season, the most he's played in since 2019, and his second year with 100+ games in that time period. However, that was just about the only good thing that happened to the Angels star. Trout had a dreadful year at the plate, batting just .232 on the year. Quite worryingly, the Angels star struck out a whopping 32% of the time: the worst mark of his career by far.
What was worrying for Trout last season was that he was missing far, far more often. He had a whiff rate of 29.9% last season, one of his worst marks. This year, it seems like Trout is leaning more into his plate discipline, one of his strong suits. He drew three walks against the Astros, an incredible feat for any batter. The Angels star is off to a roaring start. We'll see if he continues on this path.
