Mike Trout has been the consensus best player in baseball for a majority of his career with the Los Angeles Angels. However, this hasn’t resulted in wins the way that Trout and the Angels had hoped. 2021 appears to be the season where this can finally change, as Joe Maddon and a deep roster are finally giving Trout the support he’s been looking for.
The Angels have made the postseason just one time since Trout was brought the major leagues, in 2014. There, they looked to be one of the best teams in baseball, but were swept out of the ALDS by the Kansas City Royals. To this day, Trout does not have a win in the playoffs.
Maddon, after another big win against a solid American League opponent, said that he’s excited to potentially give Trout and the whole team a chance to compete in big postseason games, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I’m really looking forward to getting him and the whole group to the playoffs this year,” Maddon said. “So that guys can have the opportunity to play in these types of games. We’ve been playing a lot of these games. I think it’s great to play against good competition. And Mikey came through again.”
At 8-5, the Angels are off to a relatively good start, especially when considering the injuries that have battered the roster. Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Jared Walsh have all been phenomenal offensively, but they are still waiting for more consistent support from the other parts of the lineup.
Meanwhile, pitching has also held up well despite constant problems in recent seasons. Despite having the seventh worst ERA in the majors, they are fifth in both quality starts and strikeouts.
If the Angels want to make a legitimate postseason run this year, they’ll have to be consistent on both sides of the ball the way they’ve been the first 13 games. If they can do that, this could be a great opportunity to get Trout into the postseason, and get him wins.
Maddon not concerned about positive COVID test in Twins organization
As the Angels are in the middle of a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins, there could be some cause for concern because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Twins organization.
Maddon was not concerned, saying he believes that it shouldn’t affect the Angels moving forward, but that they’ll remain in contact with the league about it.