It's Time To Talk About The Tragedy Of Mike Trout 

I legitimately wonder if Stephen A Smith has ever watched an entire sporting event like even once

I am a huge Angels fan and Trout sticking with us is an actual miracle, I just want to have one person that is relevant at all times

Sell the team

lol raid shadow legends is the ultimate sponsor

Sometimes loyalty is misplaced, and conceals a lack of strong boundaries

It's bizarre, he's a generational talent, has an insane amount of career WAR, played with another generational talent for 6 years, and will likely be a first ballot Hall of Famer .... but did not win a single playoff GAME.

There is not any criticism of Trout that is relevant. He is royalty here in Orange County and is a class act all the way. His latest injury has probably been happening for a while and it just tears when it wants with as little as a step. That's the meniscus. The tear doesn't hurt until it does. There is no better man in pro sports. Every ounce of the blame is on the owner whose reputation in Orange County is trash!

Trout was banking on some kid praying for an Angels championship run and actual Angels would come to help them cheat

Bro I straight up skipped 10 seconds when you said "but first let me talk about raid shadow"😂 Well played sir

This situation has some parallels with Joe Mauer. Prodigious baseball talent sticks with one team despite poor playoff records? Uncomplicated private life? Ownership that could build around them but consistently cheaped out? Alluring trade value diminished by injury-related downturns? Now it’s not a perfect parallel. Trout isn’t playing for his hometown team. Trout is an overall better player than Mauer. Trout has barely been in the playoffs whereas the Twins kept getting fed to the Yankees in the first rounds (except 2006, where we were swept by Oakland). There were more solid to good players around Mauer (call some of that nostalgia on my part, as these are my childhood-adolescent teams). The Polhads may suck, but they aren’t Arte Moreno. Hell, the Angels didn’t need to worry about whether they would exist when Trout made the show! While we can comfort ourselves that Trout is a lock for the HOF first round, it is cold comfort.

I guess I am the outlier….he didn’t have to sign that 430 million contract. He could have tested the waters. Either way, he needs to quit center field and maybe be a DH to let his body heal. Loyalty only gets you so far and every person in the world knows you need to pull the trigger and leave your job for other pastures when the cards fall a certain way. I wouldn’t judge him if he requested a trade. When your franchise is doing worse than the Atheltics, it’s time to make a change.

As a Rangers fan, I grew up watching him.I've seen him live more times, then i can count always a class act we should stride to be more like him. Also, op cringe af

I'm shocked that this narrator was able to speak for eleven minutes with barely a pause for taking a breath. Remarkable. News networks should be aware of this incredible feat.

It simply has to be a systematic problem with the Angels. Either coaching or the executive or the scouting, it's ridiculous.

Hey Italk can you make a video on Shota Imanaga? Dude is literally making history!

I would love to see Trout on a winning team but maybe he is happy just playing baseball and just wants to stay an Angel. He is from New Jersey like myself and we only want a simple life and to be happy doing something you love to do.

Honestly Taking easy way out is staying with Angel, no aspiration no pressure and no criticism on him in playoff or have winning season. Just do what he does everyday. Which is fine, but saying its easy way out --just say you are also fine with the situation. Baseball is a team game afterall

I appreciate your work ethic man, also the Raid Shadow Legends fake out got me.

I'm not even sure it's Loyalty. I think it's complacency. He enjoys his life down there. And that's fine all respect to him. But hopefully he doesn't lose sleep over it in the future when Ohtani has 4-5 rings and what he has, is money in the bank...

Should have come home to Philly and played either left or right field. Perhaps he stays healthier

Trout I think is a player in decline whose body I don't think is going to allow him to play till 2030. I wonder is he still playing in 26-27? Is the contract fully guaranteed even if he retires early? I don't quite understand these contracts....I don't really feel sorry at all for Trout. I think he's had a fantastic career, and he chose to be loyal to the Angels. I think he thought they'd be better, but not every great player plays on great teams or for the best franchises. I believe he wants to win, but I also think he's content never having won a World Series. These guys aren't all the same. It doesn't mean they don't care as much, it's just I think some of them it's not as important to win championships, and they may see being loyal to the club as more respectful than jumping from team to team, such as Lebron James chasing championships. He's had an incredible career, made a ton of money, I think enjoys Southern California...just hasn't had the playoff success you'd hope for. I think his stocky, muscular build in a way is kind of probably causing more injuries the older he gets.

Everybody in LA always gets hurt Trout Ohtani Kawhi Matt Stafford PG13 The entire LA Chargers roster Cooper Kupp Clayton Kershaw Aaron Donald Anthony Davis Lebron They all hurt all the time

Trout carries too much weight for a CF. CF requires quite a bit of running and constant movement. At 6'2, if he played at a lean/athletic 210ish instead of 240/250 he would be able to avoid aome of these injuries

I always think about "what ifs" like what if the angels after regressing in 2014 used Trout as trade bait like what happened to Soto, he went to winning teams with a more competitive culture and resigned somewhere like New York or with the Dodgers. Such a shame but i respect the hell our of him and his career regardless

Dude sticking with his team...very cool. I've always been baffled by dudes that bounce around a lot. I don't know how they do it. I would feel so gross playing for a team, then leaving and playing against them. I don't think I'd be able to do it. I'd want to do this. One team, that's it.

He’s proven his loyalty, and they’ve squandered it. he doesn’t need to stick around a trash franchise that’s only gonna use him/keep him around for ticket sales, and do their best to never spend any money for an actual good team. They’ve been “hey look we got Mike trout” for 14 fucking years, and they don’t deserve him anymore. Somebody get this man a damn playoff win. I’d rather see him succeed with another team than lose for the rest of his career and get a handshake and a bunch of “respect” for letting a team waste his career

I am a cardinals fan so i think you should have a poll that has the cardinals struggles over the last year and a half.

Loved the Sidious on Plagueis audio on the intro.

He was the chaosen one

Trout will retire early without a ring 💍 🚫🔥 Due to his body breaking down

@ 4:14. "Puljos last year with St.Louis was better than any year with the Angles"...How can I take anything you say seriously after that statement. At age 42, with the Cardinals Puljos hit 24 HR w 68 Rbi. He had 4 seasons in Anehiem with more than 24 HR (40HR in 2015) He had 6 seasons with +90 Rbi with Angels.

This channel has gotten much better over the offseason. Keep it going! Opening bit was hilarious

iTalk Studios that intro was sick af bro!

"Wild thing to say, even for someone who doesn't know what they're talking about." That one's going in the iTalk scrapbook.

Rendon, Puljos and Hamilton all busts. Wow. Feel bad for Trout. And SAS needs to shut his mouth. He knows nothing about baseball or loyalty

Mike Trout was once on Pace to become the Greatest Player to Ever Play the Game 😔 Feels like after 2019 he really hasn't been the same

The tragedy? He did accepted both extensions , he could be put of there long ago earning the same in other team

Give him to the dodgers

Why is everybody acting like baseball and basketball are the same. KD can, and has, requested a trade every time he his feelings hurt and the team has to oblige because contracts are so short that front offices are forced to trade him soon or risk losing him for nothing. Meanwhile, when was the last time something like that happened in MLB? Soto didn’t request a trade, that team blew up and they were gonna trade everyone anyway. The closest thing I can remember was Josh Donaldson leaving the athletics because he had beef with the front office, but even that was more Billy Bean trading him cause he hated him. Even if trout requests a trade rn, or even 2/3 years ago. All the angels have to do is say No…. and that’s it. They can wait till the last years of his contact before moving him and still pick up a huge haul of prospects, but that’s it. Trout would still be an angel for as long as they want and they love that, cause he sells tickets. I live in south Florida and only watch the marlins when the angels play. He’s my favorite player, so I root for the angels no matter what. And having a player like that that can generate buzz and fans to an atrocious franchise like the angels is probably worth a hell of a lot more money than that 450ms that they’re giving him.

Trout's agent screwed him. I don't believe that it was intentional. Getting Trout to sign a big, long term contract at such young point in history s career wasn't smart. That is, unless stability meant more than championships. I would have likely gone with stability too.

2016 Trout didn't deserve the MVP over Mookie.............my hot take, and you also almost had me on that Raid Shadow Legends ad read lol. And no one should take anything Stephen A says seriously, or anyone on ESPN for that matter.

Love this vid. I love them all. Couldn’t agree more with any of your takes

Mike Trout is great and he’s one of the few superstars who didn’t have a stable of haters. I hope he can get healthy but this game is a grind.

This channel has quickly become one of my top favorites, great job on making such fun and entertaining videos that are also oddly educational.

Trouts career is a disaster for the MLB. A generational talent like him needed to be in a major market. He just didnt reach enough casuals as he would have in Chicago or Boston

I think its less that Trout is loyal and more that Trout seems to think Anaheim could make the playoffs.

Only time I hear SAS talk about Baseball is when he slanders an MLB star. I've never heard a good word out of his mouth

You earned my sub and like with that Sidious intro💯

Ok I am an angles fan and have been my hole life but you have to face the reality that trout isn’t clutch the countless times I have seen him strike out in a situation where they need him is getting absurd keep in mind I have watched trout sense 2014 and haven’t seen them make playoffs.You can’t blame this all on him the team is terrible.SELL THE TEAM

You need to put some respect on Pujols name, there was no need to disrespect him.

Look at the way he lives? He lives in Orange County, California, which is a very very expensive place to live. Trust me. I know I used to live there. I don’t feel sorry for him because he could’ve gotten out and less than once somewhere else so it’s on him.

Trout lacks the Mamba mentality

Didn’t Mike Trout start in Pittsburgh? Did I fever dream that?

Guy never got the credit, recognition, or publicity he deserved. He is on the 2nd tier red-headed-step-child team of “Los Angeles.” Let’s be honest, it’s Anaheim, a suburb of Los Angeles. He’s also far on the west coast, far away from the mega-media centers of Chicago, New York City, Boston, etc. He always just faded in the media, out there on the west coast, with many late games, when most of the country is sleeping or getting ready to. If the team was actually good, he would’ve at least gotten some prime-time coverage. But he is stuck with terrible ownership and terrible management, so he gets buried. What a damn shame.

I don’t wanna hear about him crying he chose to stay with the angels. He had plenty of opportunity to sign a huge contract with any other big market team so it’s not a tragedy at all. This is because he wanted it players know their ownership better than anyone they understand if the team is trying to build a team to win or trying to build a team to make money.

I always appreciate when a player is loyal in any sport. Even if he never wins he'll be a baseball legend not just for the league but for his team too. And fans will always love him for never giving up on them or the team

Trout is looking like another Griffey or Pujols, 1st half of their careers are among the best ever, the 2nd half were kunda injury riddled disappointments. He needs to move to DH, hopefully that would cut down the toll on his body. He could easily become a Big Papi type for the second half of his career and maybe he can play another handful of years without constantly being on the IL.

That shadow legends psych-out was amazing. Lol

I live in New Mexico and am a Trout fan. I pay a ton of dinero for the MLB app to watch Anaheim. But you lose Shohei, Trout, and Rendon, now injured and heading south with his skills, my fire to watch the Angels is flickering, meaning I've quit watching them ever since this buzz-kill. It comes down to a player(s) staying healthy.

respect his loyalty. he's a unicorn and his loyalty is good for whole of sports. but he tried and failed. the team failed him as well; at this point he is not bailing. I almost wish the team would choose to part with him, and I believe a team like the Yankees or dodgers will go after him. I would also love to see him DH or maybe even move to 1st base like Harper. He could potentially stay healthier and focus on ABs. I dont want him on the Yankees or Dodgers (Phillies fan) but I want to see him do something to get to October.

Eff the loyalty! Trout doesn't want to leave cause he's in cruise control it's harder to leave

Arte Moreno will never sell the team you hope he does but he he won’t.

yea i really feel sorry for these people who make more than they could ever use in 100 life times.

Philly fans of course want him here, but .. Nola wears 27. What would his number be?? 😱 Kidding... Theres more issues then that. His old teammate, Brandon Marsh, was in center last few years, Rojas is there now and is improving his offensive abilities, and we already have a full DH. Regardless it would be nice!

He would’ve hit his 400th HR & 1000th RBI this season. He’s a .300 hitter with a career war of 86. That’s higher than Griffey Jr. He doesn’t need any rings, he’ll be a first ballot HOF’r. Nothing sad about it.

I was born in Anaheim. Worked at the stadium as a teenager. When Arte Moreno bought the team he ran a World Series Champion right into the ground. Then he insulted all the Orange County fans by naming it “Los Angeles” Angels. He’s disgusting to me. Should just become a congressman if he wants to ruin things so badly. SELL THE DAMN TEAM ARTE! YOU SUCK!

Steven A needs to sick with basketball. Anytime he starts talking about any other sport, especially baseball, it's clear he has no idea what he's talking about

I agree with you iTalk, unless he comes home to Philly. If he got traded to the Phillies and helped them win it all along side Bryce Harper? Dude that’d have all the feels.. btw best baseball channel on RU-vid, this man’s the goat of making baseball news and stories so interesting ! God speed mate

Great channel! Trout is a beast.

I wonder if he should swap to a less physically demanding position, like a corner outfielder, not necessarily giving up completely and moving to 1B or DH. Keeping him in the lineup has more value than his defense in CF. Unless you're built like a deer or a gazelle, CF belongs to someone 30 or younger.

wild thing to say even for someone who dosent know what he is talking about that sentence made me laugh out loud

Trout is a great player and probably a future HOF inductee. But yeah he's probably stuck on the Angels. Even if he requested a trade, he's injury prone and has a monster contract. Can't see too many teams wanting his contract on their books.

Luckily a ws doesn't affect your hall of fame chance that much but it sucks that so many things are out of his control, injuries and bad front office

please do a video on the tragedy of Williams, Mays, and Banks

Kudos on the editing

hi talky walky studios

GOATED INTRO!!!!

I don’t understand why he stays. The team doesn’t spend money and loses constantly and because he plays in California, he’s not getting the most of his money because he gets taxed more. It’s like the Angels have something on him that keeps him there.

When he recuperates, he is still young enough to be strictly a DH. He could put up tremendous numbers by the time he retires.

The New Hampshire shade is not cool 😡

Mike Trout is the modern-day Tony Gwynn: An amazing player who stuck with one franchise no matter what.

Trout is an awesome human being Clutch..... No, he does not Desire the BiG light Keep it 💯

The angels had two "once in a generation players" and did nothing with them. Trout needs to take that into consideration.

That’s what makes him the greatest beyond the stats. Very endearing as a player

Great video

rip bro

The Mike Trout situation with the Angels went from the main attraction to we wanted to save him, but we couldn’t

I respect Trout for being loyal to one team and not whoring himself out around the league just to win a championship. Lebron James bounced around so much in the NBA you can't determine which team to associate him with. Magic Johnson is a Laker. Larry Bird is a Celtic. Michael Jordan is a Bull. Patrick Ewing is a Knick. Steph Curry is a Warrior. Who is Lebron? A Cavalier? A Heat? A Laker? There have been many great MLB players who never made the post season or won a championship. Some of them are in the HOF. If Trout never makes the post season and retires as an Angel that does not make him less of a good ball player. He gave it his all and sacrificed his body every season. As a Giants fan, I still feel the pain from 2002 so I could care less if the Angeles ever get back to the post season in my lifetime lol.

I think it's interesting that Mike Trout is actually underrated now and will definitely be seen as better and better over time as stats and WAR are more accepted and celebrated. Mike Trout was not "the best player in baseball for a 10 year stretch." A healthy Mike Trout was the best player to ever set foot on a baseball field. A healthy Mike Trout that could have played 150 games every season from 2012-2023 would have 102 WAR playing league-average defense at one of the most important and difficult positions in the game and would have been 1 or 2 in the MVP race each year. For 12 years of baseball. He would still have 4 years to go until regression starts hitting around 35. All in the most competitive era of baseball ever where he's never facing anyone that can't hit 95 with nasty off-speed and breaking stuff that would have made Ted Williams spin in his shoes. Oldheads and anti-WAR activists will try and make you think Trout doesn't deserve a spot on baseball's Mt. Rushmore. Some crazies might even try to keep him out of the Hall. I'm here to tell you he's not just one of the best. He's THE best. Not the Greatest. Not the most-better-than-the-average-player-of-his-era. Those are different conversations - and are probably both Babe Ruth. Mike Trout is simply the out-and-out BEST player to EVER play the game.

For anyone casting disparaging remarks about how he should have jumped ship, he’s got something you people don’t. It’s called LOYALTY. PS. Stephen A. Smith is an Ahole because loyalty doesn’t bring you bad karma.

I hate the fact that he'll be the best player to never win a playoff game since the playoffs first expanded back in 1969. Felix Hernandez in my opinion the best player not to appear in a playoff game.

Mike Trout is the new Griffey-- most talented man alive for the first decade of his career, then the potential legacy of being a top 5 all time great being shot down due to injuries.

Trout will be a first ballot HOF even if his remaining seasons are limited to injuries. After watching him rob JJ Hardy of an HR in Baltimore, I had no doubt he was going to be the best in MLB.

Honestly you cant really blame the Angels they spent alot of money to get players but they never turn out good they bought ch wilson, albert pujols then traded for david fresse they also had mark trumbo, Howie Kendrick, Torii Hunter, pitching was always somewhat a problem especially when they took a big blow with the lose of Nick Adenhart then look at what they spent the past few season things just do not go the Angels way Mike Trout is not a tragedy he could of been traded long ago but wanted to stay he chose to be with the Angels through thick and thin and you have to at least respect that from him

Mike Trout is probably the most talented player to ever touch a baseball field. If he doesn’t leave the Angels it will be a stain on his legacy.

Astros should give up Bregman , Tucker , and 1 middle relief pitcher for Trout! Right now. In May 2024.

The sad part he's not a big name outside of the hardcore mlb fan even the casual MLB fan knows who aaron judge is.. don't know why that is.

This video hurts too much to watch... So I will simply write this comment and then head out😭

That intro was great😂

I'm not sure what he or anyone else expected when he knew how incompetent the Angels are from the top down and signed anyway. I'm not saying Trout is looking for sympathy, but if he is then I have none. Decisions have consequences. Especially dumb ones.