Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
Mantle and Mays were roughly comparable players. Trout and Betts are not. At this point in their careers, it's really not even close. Betts is a very good although somewhat inconsistent player, Trout is generational.
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I'd quibble with this as Mookie is not just a very good player, he is a generational talent. But you're right in that he's still not comparable to Trout, because Trout is beyond generational. I don't know what's the next level, or the level beyond that, but Trout is there - perhaps epochal?
Mookie won an MVP and has finished no lower than 8th in the four years prior to 2020 (he should garner good MVP consideration this year, too), pretty consistent.
Trout finished lower than 2nd once in the eight years prior to 2020 (and he should garner MVP consideration this year, too), while winning three and being the runner-up four times.
I've been a Red Sox fan for most of my life, but the trade of Mookie last winter really challenged my fandom. If a team owner wants to save a few bucks so much that he wants to trade a homegrown player like Mookie, I don't think that owner appreciates baseball, the team's fans or how special a player and person Mookie is. Seems like the Dodgers and their fans appreciate him, though, so that's a good thing.