Mike Trout is Insanely Good - RedsZone.com - Cincinnati Reds Fans' Home for Baseball Discussion

RedsManRick · 08-23-2012, 05:56 PM

Mike Trout is currently hitting .343/.407/.603.

That's obviously great, but not all that uncommon. In the history of baseball, there have been 224 player seasons in which a player hit at least .300/.400/.600 while qualifying for the batting title, if we include Trout.

But how many of those guys played CF? Just 28 of those seasons were put up by guys who played 50% of their games in CF. Those 28 seasons were put up by just 14 players.

Trout
Edmonds
Giles
Griffey
Lynn
Mantle
Snider
Mays
DiMaggio
Averill
Wilson
Simmons
Speaker
Cobb

Wow, what a list. But, oh yeah, Trout is also leading the league in SB with 39. Including Trout, in just 4 of those seasons did the guy steal at least 20 bases and 40 just twice -- Trout will soon make it 3.

Those seasons were Willie Mays in 1957 at age 26 and Ty Cobb in 1911 at age 24. Mike Trout is 20.

I'm not saying this is one of the greatest seasons ever (though I certainly could), but at minimum this is one of the most well-rounded seasons in the history of baseball. And it's being done by a 20 year old rookie.

I know Trout is getting hype. But however much he's getting, it's not enough.

Johnny Footstool · 08-23-2012, 05:59 PM

I don't think you need to hedge it. He is having one of the greatest seasons ever.

Tom Servo · 08-23-2012, 06:08 PM

AL MVP

fearofpopvol1 · 08-23-2012, 06:09 PM

Don't forget about the very good defense too (and some of the awesome catches he's made).

Despite what some have claimed, I don't see Harper ever being as good as Trout.

Wonderful Monds · 08-23-2012, 06:16 PM

Is this the surest a rookie has looked like a HOF candidate, provided he doesn't get injured or abducted by aliens or something?

Degenerate39 · 08-23-2012, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wonderful Monds

Is this the surest a rookie has looked like a HOF candidate, provided he doesn't get injured or abducted by aliens or something?

Ichiro

Wonderful Monds · 08-23-2012, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Degenerate39

Ichiro

Special case for him, IMO. Trout is different.

jojo · 08-23-2012, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Degenerate39

Ichiro

But Ichiro is an alien.

Wonderful Monds · 08-23-2012, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojo

But Ichiro is an alien.

He also appears to have the ability to clone himself, which is weird and bad.

RedsManRick · 08-23-2012, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Footstool

I don't think you need to hedge it. He is having one of the greatest seasons ever.

I only hesitated to make the claim because I hadn't looked at the data that way. However, I went to B-R and took the top 200 rWAR seasons of all-time (by position players). Using that, Trout comes in at #139 as of today. Projected to the end of the season, he's in the 15-20 range with a WAR around 11.0.

Of course, he missed the first month of the season. If you standardized performances to WAR per 600 plate appearances, here's your top 10.

Code:

Rk	Player			Age	Year	Tm	rWAR/600
1	Babe Ruth		28	1923	NYY	11.8
2	Barry Bonds		37	2002	SFG	11.4
3	Babe Ruth		25	1920	NYY	11.3
4	Rogers Hornsby		28	1924	STL	11.2
5	Mike Trout		20	2012	LAA	11.1
6	Babe Ruth		26	1921	NYY	10.9
7	George Brett		27	1980	KCR	10.8
8	Babe Ruth		24	1919	BOS	10.7
9	Mickey Mantle		25	1957	NYY	10.7
10	Carl Yastrzemski	27	1967	BOS	10.6

Note, this doesn't give The Babe credit for pitching, so he's probably missing a few years on this list. But yeah, by the end of the year, if he keeps it up, Trout will have had one of the greatest seasons of all time. Notice that this list has 8 guys between the ages of 24-28, one guy who was roided out of his mind at age 37 and Mike Trout, who is 20.

Trout is probably having a a "lucky" year -- e.g. putting up results that are higher than his "true talent". But the same can be said of everybody on that list. If there's a guy who looked like a HOFer, it's him.

MrCinatit · 08-23-2012, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wonderful Monds

Is this the surest a rookie has looked like a HOF candidate, provided he doesn't get injured or abducted by aliens or something?

Junior.
Don't get me wrong, Junior's 1989 season was no where near Trout's season this year, but the kid did generate a lot of excitement upon his arrival. His lineage did help.

dougdirt · 08-23-2012, 08:19 PM

I am not even sure this is the best age 20 season in baseball history, or even my lifetime. Different environment of course, but Arod did hit .358/.414/.631 with a league leading 141 runs scored, 123 RBI, 54 doubles, a triple and 36 home runs while playing shortstop.

Wonderful Monds · 08-23-2012, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougdirt

I am not even sure this is the best age 20 season in baseball history, or even my lifetime. Different environment of course, but Arod did hit .358/.414/.631 with a league leading 141 runs scored, 123 RBI, 54 doubles, a triple and 36 home runs while playing shortstop.

Missed that. I would be inclined to agree, but I would like to see those numbers in a more neutral run scoring environment.

Also, gotta question if A-Rod ever did any of it clean.

mth123 · 08-23-2012, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wonderful Monds

Is this the surest a rookie has looked like a HOF candidate, provided he doesn't get injured or abducted by aliens or something?

"Johnny Bench. A Hall of Famer for sure." Ted Williams.

RedsManRick · 08-23-2012, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wonderful Monds

Missed that. I would be inclined to agree, but I would like to see those numbers in a more neutral run scoring environment.

Also, gotta question if A-Rod ever did any of it clean.

Even assuming he was completely clean, the run environment was a huge deal. Just looking at a quick proxy, ARod's OPS+ was 161. Trout is at 182.

From an overall "runs produced" standpoint, ARod likely had the better season. But if you care about production above replacement, it wasn't.

08-23-2012, 05:59 PM	#2
Johnny Footstool Churlish Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Olathe, KS Posts: 13,670	Re: Mike Trout is Insanely Good I don't think you need to hedge it. He is having one of the greatest seasons ever. __________________ "I prefer books and movies where the conflict isn't of the extreme cannibal apocalypse variety I guess." Redsfaithful

08-23-2012, 06:08 PM	#3
Tom Servo thirsty and miserable Join Date: May 2006 Location: NJ/NY Posts: 5,419	Re: Mike Trout is Insanely Good AL MVP __________________ "Since I've been with the Reds in 1989, we've never had a farm system this loaded," Bowden said. "If we were the New York Yankees and had unlimited dollars, we could have traded for Colon, (Jeff) Weaver, Rolen, (Cliff) Floyd, (Kenny) Rogers and Finley and gotten them all -- and still held onto our top five prospects. That's an amazing statement."

08-23-2012, 06:09 PM	#4
fearofpopvol1 Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 8,634	Re: Mike Trout is Insanely Good Don't forget about the very good defense too (and some of the awesome catches he's made). Despite what some have claimed, I don't see Harper ever being as good as Trout.

08-23-2012, 08:19 PM	#12
dougdirt The Boss Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 30,758	Re: Mike Trout is Insanely Good I am not even sure this is the best age 20 season in baseball history, or even my lifetime. Different environment of course, but Arod did hit .358/.414/.631 with a league leading 141 runs scored, 123 RBI, 54 doubles, a triple and 36 home runs while playing shortstop. __________________ www.redsminorleagues.com

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08-23-2012, 05:56 PM	#1
RedsManRick Stat Wanker Hodiernus Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 14,921	Mike Trout is Insanely Good Mike Trout is currently hitting .343/.407/.603. That's obviously great, but not all that uncommon. In the history of baseball, there have been 224 player seasons in which a player hit at least .300/.400/.600 while qualifying for the batting title, if we include Trout. But how many of those guys played CF? Just 28 of those seasons were put up by guys who played 50% of their games in CF. Those 28 seasons were put up by just 14 players. Trout Edmonds Giles Griffey Lynn Mantle Snider Mays DiMaggio Averill Wilson Simmons Speaker Cobb Wow, what a list. But, oh yeah, Trout is also leading the league in SB with 39. Including Trout, in just 4 of those seasons did the guy steal at least 20 bases and 40 just twice -- Trout will soon make it 3. Those seasons were Willie Mays in 1957 at age 26 and Ty Cobb in 1911 at age 24. Mike Trout is 20. I'm not saying this is one of the greatest seasons ever (though I certainly could), but at minimum this is one of the most well-rounded seasons in the history of baseball. And it's being done by a 20 year old rookie. I know Trout is getting hype. But however much he's getting, it's not enough. __________________ Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance. Last edited by RedsManRick; 08-23-2012 at 06:20 PM.