Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is a 12-time All-Star, three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) (winning the award in 2014, 2016, and 2019, while finishing second in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018), and nine-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award. He also captained the United States national team during the 2023 World Baseball Classic and was named to the All-WBC Team. He is regarded by many as the best baseball player of his generation and one of the greatest players in baseball history.
The Angels selected Trout in the first round of the 2009 MLB draft. He made a brief major league appearance in 2011 before becoming a regular player for the Angels the subsequent season and won the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Award unanimously. Trout's athleticism on the field has received praise from both the mainstream media and sabermetricians. Trout led the American League in wins above replacement (WAR) in each of his first five full seasons, and is the active leader in the stat with 87.5 WAR.
Trout has led the American League in runs (2012–14, 2016) and times on base (2013, 2015–16, 2018) four times. In 2019, he signed a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Angels, one of the richest contracts ever in professional sports and the second-biggest contract at the time of signing.
Michael Nelson Trout was born on August 7, 1991, in Vineland, New Jersey, to Jeff and Debbie (née Busonick) Trout. He grew up in nearby Millville, New Jersey. He has two older siblings, sister Teal and brother Tyler. His father, Jeff (born January 7, 1961), played baseball at the University of Delaware and was a fifth-round draft pick as a second baseman by the Minnesota Twins in 1983. Jeff played four years of minor league baseball before a torn plantar fascia and knee injuries ended his career. Trout grew up a die-hard Philadelphia Phillies fan and attended their World Series parade in 2008.
Trout began playing baseball in Cal Ripken Baseball, a division of Babe Ruth League. His main position as a youth baseball player was shortstop. He wore #2 in honor of his childhood hero, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. He would switch to #1 in high school. Mike attended Lakeside Middle School and is a 2009 graduate of Millville Senior High School.
Trout attended Millville Senior High School in Millville, New Jersey, where he played both baseball and basketball, earning five letters (three in baseball and two in basketball). In his junior year, he threw a no-hitter against Egg Harbor Township High School. The Thunderbolts made it to the state playoffs and were defeated by Cherry Hill High School East. He started as a pitcher and shortstop and was shifted to the outfield during his senior year. That year, he hit 18 home runs, a New Jersey high school record. Trout had committed to play baseball at East Carolina University before the 2009 MLB draft. Millville initially planned to retire Trout's jersey number but instead began awarding it to the team captain, starting in 2012.
Trout played travel ball with Tri-State Arsenal, one of the premier travel programs in the Northeast. He began working with the coaches at Arsenal at age 14. Trout played in various tournaments with Tri-State Arsenal, including the Perfect Game WWBA Championships in Jupiter, Florida, in 2007 and 2008.
In the summer before his senior year, Trout attended the Area Code Games in southern California, where he went 6 for 11 against some of the best players in the country. Angels scout Greg Morhardt, who had played in the minor leagues with Trout's father, claimed Mike was the fastest and strongest 17-year-old he had ever seen.
The Angels selected Trout, using their compensation pick from the New York Yankees for their signing of Mark Teixeira, 25th overall in the 2009 MLB draft. He signed a contract including a $1.215 million bonus with the Angels on July 2, 2009, foregoing his commitment to play college baseball at East Carolina. He started his professional career out of high school in 2009 playing for the Arizona Angels of the rookie-level Arizona League (AZL), hitting .360 with a .418 OBP and .506 SLG with one home run, 25 runs batted in (RBIs), and 13 stolen bases in 187 plate appearances over 39 games. He was beaten out in being named AZL Most Valuable Player by Cody Decker. He finished the season playing for the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Class A Midwest League, hitting .267 over 20 plate appearances in five games.
Before the 2010 season, Trout was considered the Angels' third-best prospect and the 85th-best in all of baseball by Baseball America. He started the season playing for Cedar Rapids, where he hit .362 with a .454 on-base percentage (OBP) and a .526 slugging percentage (SLG) with six home runs, 39 RBIs, and 45 stolen bases in 82 games. He was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. In July, Baseball America named Trout the second-best overall baseball prospect. After the Futures game, he was promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Class A-Advanced California League.
After the 2010 season, Trout received the Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award; at just 19 years and 2 months, he became the youngest player to win the award. He was also named a Baseball America All-Star as well as a Topps Class A All-Star.
Prior to the 2011 season, Trout was ranked number one by ESPN's Keith Law in his 2011 top 100 prospects list and by MLB's Jonathan Mayo. Trout started the 2011 season with the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League. He hit .324 with nine home runs, 27 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases in his first 75 games.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels (2011–present)
The Los Angeles Angels promoted Trout on July 8, 2011, to replace the injured Peter Bourjos in center field. He made his major league debut that night, going 0-for-3. In his next game, Trout recorded his first career major league hit, an infield single against Seattle Mariners pitcher Michael Pineda in the bottom of the third inning. He hit his first major league home run against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mark Worrell on July 24. Trout was sent back to Double-A Arkansas on August 1, 2011, after hitting .163 with one home run and six runs batted in 12 starts for the Angels.
After spending time back in Double-A Arkansas, Trout was recalled by the Angels on August 19, 2011. That night, he went 1-for-4 with a home run, his first at Angel Stadium. On August 30, Trout became the youngest Angel to hit two home runs in one game, homering off Mariners pitcher Anthony Vasquez in the top of the second inning and again in the top of the fourth inning. In his 40-game rookie big league stint in 2011, Trout's batting average was .220, while his on-base percentage was .281 and his slugging percentage .390.
For the 2011 season, of the 13 votes cast for the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award, Trout received the two votes allocated to the fan poll. He was named Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .326/.414/.544 with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs, 82 runs scored, and 33 stolen bases in 91 games. He was again named an outfielder on Baseball America's 2011 Minor League All-Star team.
American League Rookie of the Year (2012)
Trout began the 2012 season with the Salt Lake Bees of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. On April 28, he was again brought up from the minors, this time to replace Bobby Abreu (who was batting .208 in 24 at-bats). At that time, Trout had a .403 batting average, a .467 on-base percentage, and a .623 slugging percentage in 20 games with Salt Lake.