One night after securing his 1,500th career hit, Mike Trout placed himself in the Los Angeles Angels record books once again on Wednesday. In a back-and-forth extra innings battle between the Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays, Trout’s eighth-inning solo home run not only broke a scoreless tie, but gave him career run No. 1,024.
That figure is significant because it puts Trout in a deadlock with Garret Anderson for the most runs scored in Angels franchise history. It took Anderson 2,013 games to reach that figure, yet it only took Trout 1,373. With Trout under contract until 2030, it’s likely he’ll have an unreachable advantage by the time his career is done.
Angels interim manager Phil Nevin made this point following the game, discussing the type of impact Trout will have on the Angels franchise record books, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“He’s been there a long time and he’s going to be here a lot longer, so I’m sure he’s going to put a lot of things out of reach,” Nevin said. “I’m sure most of those numbers in the book.”
Trout will have plenty of opportunities to break all kinds of franchise and league records as he progresses through his 30’s. Tying Anderson for runs scored came just one night after joining the Angels 1,500-hit club, which only includes four other members.
Sadly, like the record set on Tuesday, this came in a losing effort. Trout’s home run broke the 0-0 tie in the eighth, but the Rays proceeded to tie things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame.
The game ultimately went to extra innings, where the Angels would strike first in the 10th, scoring via a throwing error to make it 2-1. But once again, the Rays would tie the game and force an 11th inning.
A Taylor Ward double gave the Halos a 3-2 advantage, but the Rays would win in the bottom of the 11th via an RBI hit and a throwing error from the now-injured Jared Walsh.
The 4-3 loss squandered both Trout’s record and a strong start from Mike Mayers, who went toe-to-toe with Cy Young hopeful Shane McClanahan and allowed zero runs on two hits and three walks over five innings.
Mike Trout appreciative of Arte Moreno
Following the news that Arte Moreno plans to explore selling the Angels franchise, Trout was asked to comment on the entire situation. He did not say much, only admitting that he is appreciative of everything Moreno has done for him and his family, and that he looks forward to talking with whoever the new owner might be.
