Ohtani vs Trout WBC matchup

Ohtani vs Trout – WBC Matchup

The 2023 World Baseball Classic turned into one of the most exciting baseball events in recent years. With Team USA captained by Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani anchoring the Japanese baseball team, everyone was hoping to see a match-up between the two Angels teammates. The seeding of the tournament put Japan and the United States in opposite pools. The only way baseball fans could see the two best players in baseball face one another was for both teams to make it to the championship game. The United States needed a come from behind victory against Venezuela in the quarterfinals, and Japan needed a 9th inning comeback in the semifinals against Mexico to make the dream a reality.

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Mike Trout Cowboy Hat

In the Ribs – 2022 Season Review

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A common trope on Twitter has been “Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani do something amazing as Angles lose 5-3.” Once again the “stars and scrubs” approach to building a roster has failed the Angels’ hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The disappointment fans felt this year was similar to taking a fastball to the ribs. The Angels came out of the gate with a strong promising start that seemed to be a sure sign that this was a playoff team. Those dreams ended when the team lost 14 games in a row and manager Joe Maddon was fired. “How could this happen again?” is the question that surrounds fans of Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels.

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Mike Trout Lockout art

Mike Trout Lockout Art

The MLB lockout has finally concluded. While it’s great that an agreement was reached with substantial changes to the system the owners and players operate under, the journey to get to an agreement was excruciating. The one bright spot was the decision by a brave soul named Ray Sbarra, to draw a picture of Mike Trout every day until the lockout was over. The exercise started on Reddit and then expanded to Twitter and Instagram. The artist was fun and experimental and it was easy to see how choosing to draw every day can improve someone’s ability.

With the collection finally completed, here are some of our favorites.

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It Didn’t Even Happen – 2021 Season Review

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Mike Trout’s 2021 season will hopefully be remembered as the worst of his career. In the pandemic shortened 2020 season Trout only played in 53 games. To everyone’s shock that would not be the lowest game total in his career. On May 17th, while playing the Cleveland Indians, Trout pulled his right calf while running from second to third base on a 2-out pop-up. He immediately knew he was seriously hurt upon returning to the dugout. He later explained that he felt a pop while pushing off.

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Mike Trout 2021 stadium promotions

2021 Trout Stadium Giveaways

Mike Trout 200 home runs bobbleheadThe  Angels have begun releasing their promotional schedule for the 2021 season.  The list is still rolling out but it includes two bobbleheads. One commemorating Mike’s three MVP awards, and another highlighting Mike career milestone of hitting 300 home runs

April 2, Friday – White Sox
Promotion: Trout 3x MVP Award Bobblehead
Presented by Presented By Pechanga Resort and Casino

May 21, Friday – Athletics
Promotion: Trout 300 HR Bobblehead
Presented by MemorialCare

Mike Trout 2020 Season Review

The Mad Dash – 2020 Season Review

Mike Trout’s 2020 season ended with MLB’s playoffs once again lacking the best player in a quest for a championship. A shortened season caused by a global pandemic casts a sense of proportion on the disappointment, but in baseball terms. . . this is getting old.

The 2020 season offered a lot of promise for the Angels to reach the finally reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Anthony Rendon signed a free-agent contract and would provide sufficient lineup protection for Trout. Shohei Ohtani would be able to rejoin the meager pitching staff. Top prospect Jo Adell would be waiting in the wings to join the team, and the league would open up the playoff structure so that half of the total teams would make the playoffs. For the Angels to miss the playoffs in that situation the team would have to seriously underperform. Sadly, that is exactly what happened.

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