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Nobody can deny the fact that Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout has had an excellent rookie season. Similar to Justin Verlander being part of the discussion last season, some people have an issue with the same player winning the ROY and MVP just like Verlander winning the Cy Young and MVP last season. What Trout has done in just 105 games is staggering. His .337, 24, 72 line with 100 runs scored, 144 hits and 41 stolen bases would be excellent lines for an entire seasons. I'm extremely curious to see where he finishes numbers wise for the season.
A couple of players that come to mind are St Louis' Albert Pujols and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 and Mike Piazza in 1993. Ichiro won the AL MVP in 2001, hitting .350, 8, 69 with 242 hits, 127 RS and 56 SBs. Pujols hit .329, 37, 130 with 194 hits, 112 RS and 47 2B in the same season. Piazza hit .318, 35, 112 with 174 hits and 81 RS in 1993. Trout has the second highest average in this group and is on pace to have more RS than Ichiro. Looking at stolen bases, though its an overrated stat, Trout can reasonably exceed the 56 Ichiro had in 2001.
All my sabermetrics friends will be happy about me mentioning WAR. Though I am not a proponent of the use of that stat, it will state that Trout has an 8.8 WAR, while Pujols finished at 7.5 in 2001, Piazza at 6.8 in 1993 and Ichiro 6.3 in 2001. Trout's value to the Angels is very clear since the team is struggling at 66-62. Though the Angels are fading, Trout has continued to put up the good numbers. But, unlike Ichiro leading the Mariners to not only the postseason in 2001, but a MLB record 116 regular season wins, Trout may lose out on MVP votes if the Angels miss the postseason.
Trout has had more of a power season than Ichiro, but I think Ichiro had more of an MVP season. If Trout would win the AL MVP, I would not be surprised. Perhaps Trout could pay the price for the Angels not using him at the start of the season. But maybe it makes what Trout has done even more incredible. With about five weeks left in the MLB season, Trout can finish with 180+ hits, 55 SB, 130 RS, 30 HR and 90 RBI. In my opinion, that season ranks with the before mentioned. In spite of all that, I still see Miguel Cabrera getting the award.
All my sabermetrics friends will be happy about me mentioning WAR. Though I am not a proponent of the use of that stat, it will state that Trout has an 8.8 WAR, while Pujols finished at 7.5 in 2001, Piazza at 6.8 in 1993 and Ichiro 6.3 in 2001. Trout's value to the Angels is very clear since the team is struggling at 66-62. Though the Angels are fading, Trout has continued to put up the good numbers. But, unlike Ichiro leading the Mariners to not only the postseason in 2001, but a MLB record 116 regular season wins, Trout may lose out on MVP votes if the Angels miss the postseason.
Trout has had more of a power season than Ichiro, but I think Ichiro had more of an MVP season. If Trout would win the AL MVP, I would not be surprised. Perhaps Trout could pay the price for the Angels not using him at the start of the season. But maybe it makes what Trout has done even more incredible. With about five weeks left in the MLB season, Trout can finish with 180+ hits, 55 SB, 130 RS, 30 HR and 90 RBI. In my opinion, that season ranks with the before mentioned. In spite of all that, I still see Miguel Cabrera getting the award.
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