ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout wanted to see the numbers.
The game's best all-around player began 2018 with his mind set on turning himself into an elite defensive center fielder, a distinction that continually eluded him. He wanted to know what the advanced stats had to say about his first step, and he wanted to compare it to that of Jackie Bradley Jr., Kevin Kiermaier and Byron Buxton -- the best of the best.