Trout hurt again, naturally

[nat]

Giving up playing the field is a really good idea.

The average is low, but he's leading the league in home runs. I'd prefer a high average and home runs, but still, home runs cover a lot of sins.

It's amazing that Trout is going to go down as a disappointment. If reflects just how much promise he had that a guy who was already well-qualified for the hall of fame before he turned 30 is still a "what might have been" story.

Some random facts for Trout-appreciation-purposes:

His career OPS+ (on base percentage plus slugging percentage, adjusted for the park he plays in and normalized so 100 is average) is 173. It's the best among active players. Hank Aaron's was 155 (and 156 through the same age as Trout; Aaron was amazingly consistent). Mike Schmidt's career OPS+ was 148.

His WAR is about 86. That's 50th all-time. Eyeballing the list, the only center fielders ahead of him are Mays, Cobb, Speaker, and Mantle. Before injuries struck he was averaging 9 WAR per season. Age would take some of that naturally, but sans injury (and COVID) he was only about four seasons from overtaking Mantle.

Even with all of his injuries he was still on pace for a 6.5 WAR season this year (until he knee gave out). He is very battered, but he's still all-star quality when he's healthy.