Just about everyone on the Los Angeles Angels got involved in a 12-0 offensive explosion against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. Seven of the nine starters got at least one hit, and six of nine posted at least one RBI. But Mike Trout was the only Angels player to have a record-breaking evening.
In the eighth inning — with the game already out of reach for Toronto — Trout blasted a two-run home run. It was his third home run in the last four games, and it gave him his 1,025th career run scored. This is significant because it gives him sole possession of the Angels all-time record.
Not only did Trout break the Angels all-time runs record, he did it in about 700 less games than Garret Anderson. And when it’s all said and done, he figures to have plenty more records to his name, at least according to Phil Nevin via Julia Kreuz of MLB.com:
“We’ve had a lot of great hitters in this franchise, and obviously Mike’s going to go down as the best,” said Angels interim manager Phil Nevin. “He’s still got a lot of years left and he’s going to add to all his numbers, and he’s going to be at the top of all of them, I’m sure.”
Trout’s greatness has also resonated with young outfielder Jo Adell. He has had his fair share of struggled in MLB, but went 4-for-5 with two home runs on Friday against the Blue Jays.
“It’s motivating, being around a guy who’s been this good for this long and continues to go out and do it, to show that he’s the guy,” said outfielder Jo Adell. “It makes me want to work harder. It’s something that I get to say later on, that I played with the one of best to ever play.”
Trout has already solidified himself as one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball. As he enters his 30s, his greatness is only going to be further emphasized by breaking record after record in Angels and league history.
We often focus on the nightly history being made by Trout’s teammate, Shohei Ohtani, making it easy to forget that Trout himself is a history-making machine. This week has done plenty to remind everyone that Trout, despite some injury issues, remains among the very best of what baseball has to offer today.
Rod Carew has new hope for Angels
With the big news announced this week that Arte Moreno plans to explore selling the Angels, fans and players alike seemed to celebrate. Perhaps no former Angels player was happier than Rod Carew, who believed a team sale could re-establish his relationship with the franchise.
