APRIL 23, 3:47pm: Trout was in the Angels’ initial lineup for Friday, but the team announced that it has scratched him. He’s day-to-day.
7:15am: Trout was diagnosed with a left elbow contusion, the team announced. After the game, Trout told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic) he hopes to be back in the lineup for Friday’s matchup with Houston.
APRIL 22: Angels center fielder Mike Trout exited their game against the Astros on Thursday in the fifth inning. Trout left shortly after the Astros’ Cristian Javier struck him in the left elbow with a 93 mph fastball in the fourth inning. The Angels replaced Trout with Scott Schebler.
There is no word on whether Trout departed because of an injury or if the Angels simply took him out as a precautionary measure. The Angels were trailing 7-0 when they lifted Trout, so the team may have just been playing it safe when it removed him. Considering Trout’s importance to the Angels and the baseball world as a whole, the hope is that he didn’t suffer a serious injury on the hit by pitch.
Even though Trout is only 29 years old, he has already cemented himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. If healthy, the three-time American League Most Valuable Player looks as if he’ll find himself in the MVP race yet again this season. Seventy plate appearances into his year, Trout has batted an incredible .393/.514/.804 (258 wRC+) with six home runs and a major league-best 1.6 fWAR.
Could have gone all spring & summer without hearing this.
Mike Trout – the next Wally Pipp!
Scott Schebler is just as good, what’s the big deal?
LOL
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
LOL
astros still haven’t learned what class is!
hasnt surpassed 140 games since 2016…that contract will look great in due time.
Looks like the Angels will claim Alford or Fowler to replace him.
That’s certainly a loose definition of the word “replace”.
Isn’t Fowler done for the year or was that sarcasm
Dustin Fowler, not Dexter
He’s back in the lineup tonight soooo… yeah way to overreact
The good news is that even if he misses the season the playoffs are unlikely to be affected at all.
::Fingers crossed::
Probably needs TJS.
It hit his arm guard. I’d be shocked if this turned out to be anything. He’s fine, the bullpen isn’t.
Texas (Rangers), K. C., Houston (previous series) and Toronto have thrown at Trout this season. It might be different if he bat flipped or or “hammed” it up, but he’s class.
It’s time for our pitchers to protect him.
Good idea, Quintana could throw at the first batter and then they will kick him out of the game and do us all a favor.
quintana and cobb are not quality starters. doesn’t matter one bit if they are suspended 140 games
If you are watching the game, Trout said he couldn’t pick up the ball. This HBP was not the pitchers fault. I’d like to feign outrage, but I can’t this time.
Wow a conscientious Angels fan. Correct, he said he doesn’t see the ball well in MMP and he told Bregman he wished he’d had an elbow pad. Yet, an entire article and comments of speculation follows. LOL
Not every HBP is intentional, in fact 2 of 3 incidents you mentioned were on breaking balls.
Starting to throw at other players is a sure fire way to put him in legitimate harms way.
We need to have pitching machines, can’t have these players getting hurt while batting!
Why not just Tee Ball?
LOL
Assault.
I swear to the baseball gods, this better not be serious.
Trout hasn’t played 150 games since 2016, and I selfishly want to continue seeing him destroy records this year in a full season.
At least he’s proven himself already over more than a full season unlike Tatis Jr.
He’s already worth a record 1.4 WAR in only 56 at-bats! The fastest in history to reach that mark. (Sorry Tatis, even with your “swag” you’re not dethroning Trout as the face of baseball yet.)
I’m with you Doctor Spengler . I want to see trout finish with 700 homers 3000 hits and a WAR near 200
Still doesn’t change the fact that Daron Sutton is the worst play by play announcer I have ever heard..
I’d rather listen to Jackson/Van Gundy destroy a broadcast…
Can we send Sutton down to the minors?
Yeah I miss Victor Rojas big time. I’d rather have just Gubie and Jose Mota and Matty V can join in when available.
Just watched the video. He definitely stuck his elbow out.
You watched the video? Oh good for you, I watched the game… Trout had a mic on. He didn’t pick up the pitch. He told Bregman that. He made an approach to hit the ball which is not the equivalent of sticking his elbow out. But you watched the video with zero understanding what actually happened.
Thanks for your insight, or should I say lack of it.
He clearly stuck his elbow out. Whether it was intentional or not (it very well may have not been), that’s clearly what happened. His elbow was not out. When the pitch was delivered, he stuck it out. No one is even talking about reasons, just that that’s what happened.
He stuck his elbow out on ball four? Seriously people?
Sure, because video lies, right?
(insert face palm)
Being able to interpret what happened is a wonderful thing, but it takes common sense and discernment.
You don’t seem to have much.
The pitch was ball four. Maybe the umpire calls it a strike because maybe the stitching touches a corner of the plate. But no part of that ball that hit Trout’s elbow was in the strike zone.
Trout admitted he didn’t pick up the spin. As I say, he was on a mic.
He stuck his elbow out? No one with a clue about anything would suggest such a thing.
His elbow moved. It was either late approach at a pitch he thought was an off-speed pitch and didn’t pick up the spin, or it was a reaction to avoid getting hit by ball four.
I think it’s the former, but the later makes some sense. He stuck his elbow out to get hit by ball four is about as dumb as dumb can be.
Just to add, this is what happened.
From Trout. Makes perfect sense.
“Was I trying to get hit by the pitch? No. I was trying to hit,” Trout said. “It was weird. To be honest, I thought it was a slider. Then, at the last second, tried to get out of the way and when I turned my head, my elbow flew out. It just hit my elbow.”
This is a classic case of “having too much information”, dissecting a video in slow motion, frame by frame and coming up to a conclusion.
No player period will stick his elbow out to take a HBP. The elbow sticking out is part of the mechanics of hitting a baseball. It’s the reading/loading/launch process. The elbow comes out and the wrists follows.
Every player, even if they are taking the entire way, will load his body up and if you break it down, you’ll see the elbow come out as he tracks or attempts to track the baseball.
Then, in the unfortunate situation that a player takes it off the elbow, fans and commentators look at the video and come to the conclusion that he stuck his elbow out. We see the video in uber slow motion and forget that it’s a fraction of a second that a player needs to make a decision. Watch the video in real time and see if you come to the conclusion that he sticks his elbow out
Watching the multiple views in the video below shown at full speed, this looks to be completely unintentional At the 0:27 mark, in slow motion, his elbow moved into the pitch. My guess – and that’s all any of us can do is guess since we’re not Trout – is it was an instinctive reaction. I didn’t hear the audio, but apparently he said it wasn’t on purpose, and I believe it.
mlb.com/news/mike-trout-departs-game-after-hit-by-…
I think the pitch would have been a ball had it not hit him.
I’m just glad it’s not serious and we get to continue to watch the best ballplayer of his generation continue to do his thing.
#GBs42
That is a well thought out post.
Here’s an idea. Watch MANY other Trout at bats and see if he “sticks his elbow out”, instead of watching one pitch out of the thousands that he has faced to reach your conclusion about what happened.
Why, if you can find an AB where Trout doesn’t pick up the spin, makes an approach to hit the ball, then flitches at the last second on a pitch just off the inside corner on a 3-2 count. You let me know.
No one with a clue thinks he stuck is elbow out. No one.
That is my point.
Then you made a very good point Mr. Why.
Hope he’s okay. I’m always hoping this guy stays healthy since he’s a favourite of mine.
Derek cheater did it all the time.that is why he wore that arm armor
Soto, tacos, acuna, and trout all injured in the first month of baseball. Ugh.
R.D. – Yep, no one likes broken tacos.
Tuesday’s are not the same.
He couldn’t possibly miss time with a bruise right? I keep seeing more and more players missing time with bruises. You would think the amount of money these guys make is enough to give them the motivation to play through bruises. This sport has gone soft.
A lot of times the players want to play but management keep them out as a precaution because of the amount of money invested in them.
Wear the cheat pad, crowd the plate, odds of a HBP go up. Don’t wear the pad and you probably don’t crowd the plate. Very simple.
Its a non-issue. Conforto’s moment was perfectly fine in the eyes of baseball, the media and the fans. Pitch to Trout was very close to the zone.
Conforto’s moment received lots of scrutiny, and the umpire admitted he blew the call.
With the amount of money MLB makes – about $10B/yr – it makes sense to protect its most valuable assets – the players. If Trout ended up missing months because of this HBP, would that be beneficial to anyone, other than the teams facing the Angels while he was out?
The pitch to Trout was a ball, moving inside when it hit him.
gbs not scrutiny, the message should have been to ban the cheat pad. People use the “protect people” angle. It’s bull. You stand close to the plate your entire body is at-risk.
Every player knows there is a danger. Nobody cares about the aces going down to injury. Pitchers hold the ball the longest. Trout gets 4-5 at bats and a few fly balls. Let’s stop using the “protection” card. Protect pitchers, ban the arm guard, re-introduce stamina over speed with players backing off the plate.
Don’t care if the pitch was a ball or strike. Arm pads are performance enhancing and it allows players to stand close to the plate. Disadvantage pitchers.
WWJGH – by that logic, hitters should not be allowed helmets either. Imagine the advantage the hitters have been getting from that gift! All jokes aside, any “advantage” a hitter gets from the elbow pad is minuscule at best, you seem to have vilified the pad for no reason. Weird hill to die on but that’s your prerogative, however, if you’re going to go that hard after such an inconsequential object, at least make an argument that with fewer holes than a piece of Swiss cheese a dairy farmer uses for his daily target practice.
As usual GBs, that is a well thought out post.
Don’t wear a seat belt, you’ll be more careful and your chances of getting into an accident go down. Don’t forget to disable your air bags.
Unless your Bonds, who wore a swing aid disguised as protection, I never have an issue with players wearing padding.
The inside corner is a great place to pitch, the batter can’t give that away, and the pitchers don’t always hit the inside corner. And when they miss, a batter should not have to fear going on the I.L, or worse.
Halo, seatbelt? Really? It’s the equivalent of a player wearing a helmet. Saves LIVES. Hit by pitch in the arm is not dire.
I just watched a bogus double by Yandy Diaz were Joe Panik made an awful error. It’s a by product of a soft baseball league with a soft mentality.
Arm padding is soft mentality. It is also cheating. Hitters feel comfortable in the box. Comfort is performance enhancing. Helmets matter in life and death, same as a seatbelt.
You of all people shouldn’t be condoning cheating. Arm guards is the most obvious form of cheating in baseball.
Arm guards/padding are allowed by the league, so they can’t be cheating. And a HBP on the wrist or elbow can cause a significant injury. Also, HBP usually happen when batters are *not* crowding the plate, so protection is justified.
I’m not sure how efforts to improve safety and health qualify as soft, but that doesn’t seem to be a topic worth debating.
Surprised he doesn’t have severe back issues from carrying that crappy franchise for years
Lol. Go Angels!
He got absolutely drilled. Loud sound and no padding
S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S
I only watch playoff baseball. is he a recent call up? Never heard of him
IMHO, he didn’t move into the pitch. If I had to take a guess, it looks like he gave up on the pitch. It was inside and I think he just took his eye off the ball. I didn’t see any flinch reaction like you would if the ball was about to hit you. And I doubt anyone takes one off the elbow when they are down 6-0.
Fear not Angels fans, Juan Lagares is on the way.
Seriously though, i don’t think Trout necessarily stepped in to the pitch but Javier wasn’t throwing at him either. Angels can afford to give him a night off and use him as a Pinch-Hitter late in the game if needed
It’s kinda funny these journalists are praising trout after his first 8 seasons and rightfully so, he’s a kickass player. But damn though I look at his teammate pujols first 8 seasons and his first 8 is way superior than that of trout. No way did pujols get the praise from media and journalists like trouts been having last few years
To me pujols put up the best numbers than anyone in MLB history his first 10 seasons.
Pujols was truly excellent his first ten seasons, though perhaps not the best ever during such a stretch. He also was a metronome of consistently, with performance so repeatedly great that he may have lulled everyone into complacency by expecting the same greatness year after year.
Pujols also derived most of his value from his bat, while also playing a terrific first base, while carrying the bulk typical of the position.
Trout, of course, is also a tremendous hitter, but he started as a dynamo on the bases, and his wall-scaling defense earns raves and frequently makes highlight reels. He’s a more rounded player than Pujols, and while I’m a big Pujols fan from his days in St. Louis, I give the edge to Trout based on his greater ability to influence games in more ways.
Trout plays in Southern California so perhaps his praise is a bit over blown. Pujols’ first 8 seasons were incredible.
Pujols first 8 seasons (2001-’08): 319 HR’s, 977 RBI’s, 5 postseason appearances, 1 World Championship
Trout’s first 8 full seasons (2012-’19) 280 HR’s, 736 RBI’s, 1 postseason appearance, 0 World Championships
Trout in his career has yet to pass Pujols in either career totals which just shows how incredible Albert was while wearing a Cardinals uniform. Albert also played three different positions in his first few seasons (3B/LF/1B). Not trying to knock Trout but head to head Pujols was better
One played first base and one plays CF. Big difference. And Pujols is considered one of the greatest RH hitters of all time. Trout is compared to Mickey Mantle.
And since when are West Coast players overrated?
Trout is a great player, I’m not saying he isn’t but Albert had one of the greatest first 10 year stretches in MLB history. And to be fair Albert played 405 of his first 530 games at other positions before settling in at First Base in 2004