Does Major League Baseball have a Mike Trout problem, or does Mike Trout have an MLB problem?
Before commissioner Rob Manfred wedged his trotter in his mouth at a press conference over the All-Star break, around the sport there held some consensus that Trout’s modest profile in the culture at large was a little disappointing, a missed opportunity for him and the Angels and to a lesser extent the league, but of hardly more consequence than Andrew Heaney’s BABIP or the outcome of some midweek series in August against the Rangers.
The familiar-by-now contrast: What the 26-year-old Trout has already done as a player has few parallels in history—only Ted Williams amassed more offensive wins above replacement in his first eight seasons.