Mike Trout is perhaps baseball’s biggest case study. The Los Angeles Angels star’s career is a classic story of two halves. The first one, from 2012 to 2019, was the kind that makes legends. Day after day, he’d do things that no one had ever imagined were possible in baseball. In those 8 years, Trout won 3 MVP Awards and was by far the premier athlete of his generation. But then, something truly bizarre happened. Something that turned Trout’s career on its head: a series of tough luck and injuries.

Fast forward to 2024, and Trout’s season has come to a halt again due to a torn meniscus. The worst part? This isn’t even the first time he’s faced such a setback. The 33-year-old hasn’t completed a full season since 2019. As the Frisch brothers said, “he’s always been hurt.” Once seen as a potential GOAT, Trout now finds himself with a significantly smaller lead over his peers, who are now in a race to surpass his legacy!

Will Mike Trout be surpassed by his peers?

Here’s the thing: Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Mookie Betts are all same-generation players who debuted between 2012 and 2019. At the start of his career, Trout was on another planet. He was performing like a machine. If we compare the stats of all three in 2019, when Trout claimed his third MVP award, the difference is clear. According to Bleacher Report, at that point, Trout had a remarkable OPS+ of 176, with 285 home runs and a staggering 72.5 WAR.

In comparison, Mookie Betts had an OPS+ of 134, with 139 home runs and a WAR of 42.2. Bryce Harper, on the other hand, had an OPS+ of 137, 219 home runs, and a WAR of 32.2. Trout was leading the charts! But then came a string of unfortunate major injuries. If we look at the stats for the 2024 season, Trout is still ahead of the other two players, but the difference between their stats isn’t that significant anymore. For example, Trout has a WAR of 86.1, Betts is just a bit behind with 70.2, and Harper is at 50.4. If things remain the same, they may surpass the 33-year-old in any season.

You might be wondering what went so wrong that we’re having this discussion. Injuries are part of baseball, and many players bounce back, so why hasn’t Trout been able to? The answer is that for the past four years, injuries have been relentless for him; they haven’t spared him for even a single season.

What happened to Mike Trout after 2019?

Before the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Mike Trout consistently hit at least 27 home runs a year in each of his first eight seasons—imagine that kind of consistency! However, since 2021, he’s struggled to regain that level of performance due to ongoing injuries. As the 2024 season wraps up, he will have played in just 266 of 648 games over the past four years. He did show some promise in 2022 with 40 home runs, which was impressive.

However, the rest of his performances have been inconsistent, with just 8, 18, and 10 home runs in the other seasons. His ongoing injury issues have not only affected his stats but have also been a tough blow for the Los Angeles Angels. The 33-year-old didn’t even make it to 30 games this season, and given his star status and $400 million-plus deal, his absence is a major setback for the team. Unfortunately, it’s not just Trout—this injury spree has taken a toll on other players from the Angels as well.

Another key player the Angels relied on, Anthony Rendon, recently suffered an injury to his left oblique muscle. Thankfully, unlike Trout’s situation, Rendon’s injury isn’t career-ending; he’s just on the IL for 10 days. However, with the team already struggling, this timing is far from ideal. One thing to note is that Trout still has seven years left on his contract with the Halos. Will we see a healthier and more effective version of him next year to boost the team? Or will his legacy be overshadowed by his peers due to these ongoing setbacks?

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