Comments on: Don’t let 20-year-old Mike Trout be overshadowed by 19-year-old Bryce Harper

By: zsmyers1980

zsmyers1980 — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:44:37 +0000

Mike Trout = The next Tim Salmon, but better…

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:36:16 +0000

I have seen him at lead-off. Not sure if he was there each game.

By: recoveringcubsfan

recoveringcubsfan — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:58:46 +0000

I was just thinking, where does Trout hit in the lineup and has he been there the whole time? Harper has hit 1st, 8th, 2nd, and 3rd (I think, maybe once?) with the Nats. Obviously, hitting 8th didn’t get him too many pitches to hit.

By: jamessmyth621

jamessmyth621 — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:32:36 +0000

As John Updike said in his famous Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu about criticism of a non-clutch Ted Williams: “…for Williams to have distributed all his hits so they did nobody else any good would constitute a feat of placement unparalleled in the annals of selfishness.”

By: undsputed

undsputed — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:25:29 +0000

Those are some nice statistics you posted there, but the Angels lineup in the month of April and the Angels in the month of May are two different things. Posting the year to date number for both is misleading since Trout wasn’t on the team until about May. I mean, look at Pujols performance alone in those two months.

Meanwhile the Nationals were playing without their 2, 3, and 4 batters. Werth and Morse are still out now.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:37:59 +0000

Also, you honestly think people taking PEDs, which, in one form or another, have been in the game with no repercussions for what, 30-40 years is worse than breaking the #1 rule in baseball?

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:37:02 +0000

Ah the old Arod only hits HRs in garbage time cliche. If you are really a Yanks fan, who was mainly responsible for getting the Yanks to the WS in ’09? Whose monster season was probably the sole reason the Yanks even made it to the playoffs in ’07?

Btw, last time Arod hit two HRs, he hit the first one in the first inning with the Yanks up 1-0, and his second in the 3rd with the Yanks up 3-0.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:34:08 +0000

Are you saying admitted PED users SHOULD be in the hall of fame?

Yuuup, because there already are admitted PED users in the HoF. Hank Aaron is one of them.

By: judahbenhur

judahbenhur — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:12:59 +0000

What are you talking about? It was Trout that got the team going, not the other way around. He sparked the team by not only setting the table, but stealing bags, great catches and hitting for power. He’s doing it all… Pujols and Trumbo followed, so let’s get it straight. The kid is Pete Rose with more power and speed. A special player that goes beyond good. He’s a once in a generation player who hasn’t begun to scratch the surface. He’ll be in the top 5 of players by the end of next year.

By: btwicey

btwicey — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:06:21 +0000

They will be the faces of the MLB for the next 15 years

By: madhatternalice

madhatternalice — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:00:13 +0000

@dondada10, that’s an excellent point!

By: humanexcrement

humanexcrement — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:19:49 +0000

As a follow-up, Yankee fans: how many times have you read this in your local newspaper: Alex Rodriguez clubbed two monstrous home runs as the Yankees lost, 10-3???

By: humanexcrement

humanexcrement — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:16:38 +0000

What do you want me to explain? Why an admitted cheater doesn’t belong in the hall of fame? Why Roger Maris should still hold the record for single-season home runs, since every guy who broke it was a known steroid user? What do you want me to explain here? Are you saying admitted PED users SHOULD be in the hall of fame?

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:11:49 +0000

Him and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are more deserving of being left out of the HOF than Pete Rose and Joe Jackson combined.

Explain this, because it makes zero logical sense. Then again you ranted about Arod not making the HoF because he was an admitted PED user, but so was Aaron…

By: humanexcrement

humanexcrement — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:06:20 +0000

Alex Rodriguez will be in the hall of fame? I’ll bet my life he won’t. This is coming from a lifelong Yankee fan here: I can’t STAND that asshole. He’s an admitted PED user, and what irritates me the most about the guy is that he would have been a hall of famer without PEDs. Him and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are more deserving of being left out of the HOF than Pete Rose and Joe Jackson combined.

By: dondada10

dondada10 — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:02:16 +0000

“The Angels have one more HR, 7 more runs and 11 more total bases. The Angels have also played 2 more games than the Nats.”

…and a DH.

By: unlost1

unlost1 — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:38:31 +0000

ALREADY REALIZED this when Harper came up I ditched Trout off my fantasy baseball roster. Someone already snatched him that week.

By: madhatternalice

madhatternalice — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:36:13 +0000

but….that’s decidedly not true. there’s absolutely no evidence to indicate that what you’re saying is a fact.

oh wait, there is! intentional walks!

Harper: 0
Trout: 1

hmm…

By: jarathen

jarathen — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:33:05 +0000

So many great young kids break down or fall off a cliff. I hope neither one does because that’s tragic, not fun. I hope these two are just the latest heroes of baseball, and I hope my son gets to grow up seeing Mike Trout play all summer long, and then someday realize how spoiled he was.

By: robmar924

robmar924 — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:24:29 +0000

I’m just saying regardless of a tiny portion of a season worth of numbers, pitchers would rather pitch around Harper and face zimmerman and laroche than pujols and trumbo so Trout is seeing a few more good pitches per at bat. Thats not a knock on Trout it is just common sense.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:04:26 +0000

What? I didn’t say one way or another. I have no idea who’s better, Mike Trout or Bryce Harper. They’re both really really really good, and really young. Anything could happen. It’s pointless to speculate, because on the one hand developmentally Harper’s year makes a huge difference. On the other hand, Trout’s a really special player too. Who the hell knows who’s better?

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:02:28 +0000

If either of those two batted directly behind Trout, this would be a valid point.

By: koufaxmitzvah

koufaxmitzvah — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:01:55 +0000

Yeah. Opinions suck unless you agree.

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:57:52 +0000

Seeing that his stat line for the same amount of plate appearances is better, he won’t be.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:53:08 +0000

Let’s check back in 10 years and see, huh? Kinda pointless to play that game now.

By: ningenito78

ningenito78 — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:42:52 +0000

Yeah agreed. The post about the Angels lineup being that much better than the Nats is uninformed at best.

By: madhatternalice

madhatternalice — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:32:29 +0000

I’m not sure why you think this is factual? The Nats have a better team OPS than the Angels (.708 to .693). The Angels have one more HR, 7 more runs and 11 more total bases. The Angels have also played 2 more games than the Nats.

Harper has the same number of walks that Trout does, and a handful less strikeouts.

So…I’m not sure why you think lineups are contributing? Seems like they’re pretty even.

By: robmar924

robmar924 — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:21:31 +0000

While Trout is great, it doesnt hurt that hes in a lineup with Pujols and Trumbo who are both on fire. Harper doesnt see nearly as many hittable pitches because of how week the Nats lineup is around him. End game they will both probably be top 10 players in a couple years

By: biasedhomer

biasedhomer — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:12:14 +0000

I think Trout is the better player, we shall see…

By: Gardenhire's Cat

Gardenhire's Cat — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:10:54 +0000

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mike-trout-is-pretty-good-too/