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He's THE ENEMY. His greatness only serves to make him Lex Luthor.
Truth, Justice and the American Way
Don't forget to enjoy it!
I offer you a brief respite from your growing M's optimism. This is just a reminder not to miss the show to the south of us.
As if you really need this reminder!
Breaking News! Stop the Presses! Clark Kent plays in Anaheim.
Well, Mike Trout does and it is all nearly the same thing.
Trout, who turned just 25 years old two days ago (so you can think of this as a birthday homage if you wish), is running a 169 OPS+ so far in '16. Assuming he finishes there this season, he will have had a 5-year run of 168-179-168-178-169. Most likely he will have finishd no lower than 2nd in MVP balloting in anyh one of those 5 years. He may have two CF GG's after this year.
That is a level of 5-year consistently excellent performance that the greatest RH hitters in the history of the game can't beat. I even looked it up. None of them have 5 consecutive years above 168 in OPS+.
Mays' best 5-year run began in '61: 160-165-175-172-185. Aaron's started in '59: 182-156-163-170-179. Killebrew, you ask? Starting in '63 he went 147-153-145-157-173....not even close. Surely Schmidt?? Nope! From '80 he went 171-198-161-156-154. Frank Robinson went '160-151-198-187-153 from '64-'68. Our own beloved Edgar got hot in '95 and streaked to a 185-167-165-158-152. PUjols, beginningin '03 had an amazing 7-year run of 187-173-168-178-157-192-189-173, but the 157 in '07 breaks up the 5-year criteria we can judge Trout by. Piazza, beginning in '93, was 153-140-172-166-185. Jolin' Joe? 166-139-184-173-184, starting in '37.
Hack Wilson and Nap Lajoie don't get there either.. Who have I missed?
All but one of those guys, btw, are in The Hall. The other should be.
Junior's best run strted in '93: 171-171-122-154-165. Junior might make The Hall some day, too. ;)
It is a bit arguable, but Willie Mays is likely the best right-handed hitting player in the history of the game.
If Superman isn't playing for the Angels right now, then Willie Buck Mays reincarnate is.
He's even able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. To wit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHJ2u6iG__A
I suspect Dodger fans, be they in Brooklyn or Los Angeles, somehow didn't stop to appreciate the Giant greatness of Mays.
Let's not do the same thig with Mike Trout. He's that good.
Back to our regularly scheduled Wild Card chase programming. Whoop the Tigers tonight and we trail them by just 1.5 games. How sweet it is!
Trout, too.
Comments
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I look forward to the Yankees or Dodgers paying him a $billion in 2021.
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Great rundown, sound conclusion. Trout = Willia Mays.
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Honus Wagner had a six year run (1904-1909) of 188, 175, 168, 187, 205, 177.
Rogers Hornsby had a six year run of (1920-1925) 185, 191, 207, 187, 222, 210. During that run, he had a triple slash of 0.397/0.457/0.666
For players in the modern era, Frank Thomas had a seven year run (1991-1997) of 180, 174, 177, 212, 179, 178, 181.
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I should have thought of that one! I actually thought of Hornsby while driving to a conference after I posted this morning. My intent was to really stick to the "modern" game....but I did mention Wilson and Lajoie.
The other name I thought of in the car was Miggy. That was a stupid miss. Starting in '10 he went 178-179-164-190-150-170....the 150 in'14 messed it up...but he ws close.
The Big Hurt......I whiffed on that one. But it doesn't really change the equation much. Thomas is in The Hall, too. I remembered, at the time, to marvel at Thomas. LEt's not forget to marvel at Trout. Enjoy it while you can.
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you know where that leaves us ... ironically, some of Trout's detractors do see some Hurt-like slowdown for him. Up to now, though, he's every inch the Angels' version of Ken Griffey Jr.