Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout, 23, won his first MVP award on Thursday night. The award was Trout’s first MVP-crown after finishing 2nd in the two previous seasons. However, this award is special because Trout is the youngest player to ever win the MVP unanimously. He is the first American League player to win the title unanimously since Ken Griffey, Jr. accomplished the feat in 1997. This is an incredible accomplishment for one of the game’s brightest stars.
Trout batted .287 with a career-high 36 home runs, and an American League-leading 111 RBIs. He also led the league in runs scored, with 115. For those WAR (Wins Above Replacement) fanatics out there, Trout led all position players with a 7.9 WAR rating. On top of the MVP award he received, Trout also won a Silver Slugger award and was named MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota this past July. There is one negative to Trout’s game (and it came as a surprise to me), but he led the league in strike outs with 184. I would assume that is what you get with elevated power numbers, as Trout had previously hit only 30 home runs in a season. However, his one negative is probably something he will work on in the off season, and we could see another advanced level to his game next season.
Essentially, this could be the beginning of a run of MVP titles for Trout. After finally breaking through against Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera, who won the past two MVP-crowns, Trout has made his name as an MVP-award winner, and barring injury, should be in contention for the title every season. Plus, he is ONLY 23 years old. The Angels have one of the greatest assets in Major League Baseball, and he is signed through 2020. With 1B Albert Pujols under contract with Trout for the next several years, the Angels will have a premier 3-4 combination in the batting order for along time. If they can add some pitching, and the right mix of players around the two, it is possible to see Trout lifting his first World Series trophy in the near future.
Congratulations to Mike Trout on winning your first MVP award! He is a great young star in baseball today, and should be a “household” name at this point.
