Trout hurt again, naturally

[Peter_Spaeth]

He almost lasted a month this time.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/m...entire-season/

[bnorth]

That sucks. I am sure the team he plays for will miss his 220 batting average.

[Seven]

It's a shame. He was on pace to be an inner circle Hall of Famer with how his career was stacking up in his 20's. Truly mirroring the likes of Mickey Mantle. All the talent in the world, but his body is failing him as he hit his 30's.

3 MVP's, a slew of other awards. I don't think this is the "end" for him, but at this point he needs to consider maybe giving up playing the field.

[nat]

Giving up playing the field is a really good idea.

The average is low, but he's leading the league in home runs. I'd prefer a high average and home runs, but still, home runs cover a lot of sins.

It's amazing that Trout is going to go down as a disappointment. If reflects just how much promise he had that a guy who was already well-qualified for the hall of fame before he turned 30 is still a "what might have been" story.

Some random facts for Trout-appreciation-purposes:

His career OPS+ (on base percentage plus slugging percentage, adjusted for the park he plays in and normalized so 100 is average) is 173. It's the best among active players. Hank Aaron's was 155 (and 156 through the same age as Trout; Aaron was amazingly consistent). Mike Schmidt's career OPS+ was 148.

His WAR is about 86. That's 50th all-time. Eyeballing the list, the only center fielders ahead of him are Mays, Cobb, Speaker, and Mantle. Before injuries struck he was averaging 9 WAR per season. Age would take some of that naturally, but sans injury (and COVID) he was only about four seasons from overtaking Mantle.

Even with all of his injuries he was still on pace for a 6.5 WAR season this year (until he knee gave out). He is very battered, but he's still all-star quality when he's healthy.

[jingram058]

It's how it is today with all your superstars "du jour". Tell me again how much bigger, stronger, faster they are. Whoopee effing do. They all break down.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jingram058

It's how it is today with all your superstars "du jour". Tell me again how much bigger, stronger, faster they are. Whoopee effing do. They all break down.

It certainly seems that way. Is there too much emphasis on strength and not enough on flexibility? Is it just that in the past players tended to play through injuries whereas now a hangnail sends them to the DL? Something else?