“Sure it’s a sandwich,” the Los Angeles Angels All Star slugger said with a nod. “It’s got a bun.”
Then there was the kid who asked if he could hit a baseball with his eyes closed.
“If it’s pitched I probably wouldn’t have a chance,” he said. “But in the (batting) cage we play a lot of games and I‘m pretty sure I could hit it off a tee.”
And then there was the woman who noted that one of the themes of the Major League All Star Game in Cincinnati seemed to center around the moustache. The old handlebar kind. It’s on street corner statues that have been decorated and it’s on signs and T-shirts and plenty of painted faces.
“Did you ever grow a moustache?” she teased.
The 23-year-old Trout shook his head: “I don’t think I could. I’ve got a baby face.”
With that she pulled out a chart of a couple of dozen moustache styles and asked him to choose the one he’d wear.
“Oh the painter’s brush.” he said with a quick study and a big laugh.
Trout was handling the odd ball questions the way he handles off-speed and junk ball pitches some rivals try to slip by him at the plate.
But then came the high, hard fastball that left him handcuffed.
“Who is the best player in baseball?” said a veteran writer. “The very best right now?’
The directness of the question caught him off guard. He squirmed in his seat, he laughed nervously and then his face turned crimson.
He was blushing. He was tongue tied. He wished there was another moustache question.
“You puttin’ me on the spot? asked feebly. He knew the answer the guy wanted, but instead he bailed out of the batter’s box: “I don’t know, there a lot of great players.”
The answer the guy wanted was: Mike Trout.
The young outfielder may be too humble and self-effacing to ever call his own name, but he was the choice of several other players in their meet-the-press session on the eve of tonight’s All Star Game at Great American Ball Park.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw didn’t hesitate when asked if he were to choose just one player to start a franchise,“Who would it be?”
“Mike Trout.” he said instantly.
Two years after graduating from high school in Millville, N.J., Trout made his Major League debut with the Angels in July of 2011.
That’s means he’s just in his fourth, full big league season and this already is his fourth All Star game. He was the MVP of last year’s game in Minneapolis and ended the season as the American League MVP. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2012, the same year he led the circuit in stolen bases. Two years later he was the league’s RBI champ.
And this summer he became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to reach 100 home runs and 100 RBI in his career.
He’s become such a meteoric presence that he even got a tip of the cap from President Barack Obama last year who used him as an analogy when he was touting the versatility of the US Farm Bill.
“It’s like Mike Trout,” Obama said. “For those of you who know baseball, it’s somebody who has a lot of tools.”
Trout has the most Twitter followers of any Major League Baseball player and the TV game show Jeopardy! even made him one of its answers: “Who is Mike Trout?”
The great Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer, 80-year-old Al Kaline recently answered that question to a Detroit Free Press sportswriter:
“He’s a strong guy, he runs really well. He reminds me a bit of a Mantle.”
That’s as in Mickey Mantle, one of the most iconic players the game has ever known.
“That’s an incredible honor just to be in the same sentence as him,” Trout said quietly. “Obviously my dad watched him and sometimes I go back and watch highlights of guys like him, not only to see the way he played the game, but how he carried himself.”
The one other guy people compare Trout to is his young contemporary, 22-year-old Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper. He is nearly as dynamic and some folks – most notably Hall of Famer George Brett – think he is the game’s best player.
Trout praised Harper and wouldn’t admit to a rivalry: “We’re just two young guys who are leading their teams. It’s great for the game of baseball.”
The comparisons of Trout and Harper may one day harken back to the debates sparkled over Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.
“The best thing is that there are a lot of good young players in the game now,” Trout said.
“Some of them are here in the All Star Game right now.”
He was talking about guys like Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, all of whom are 23.
“This shows the game is growing and vibrant,” Trout said
He has an advantage over some of the other youngsters:
Albert Pujols.
The 35-year-old slugger with 546 career home runs – an All Star again this year — joined the Angels a year ago after his long reign in St. Louis and has become a mentor of Trout.
“I’ve learned so much from him just watching him every day,” Trout said. “Not just in games, but the batting cage and the clubhouse. He can settle me down when I need it. He gives me tips on pitchers, just shows me how to be a better player.”
Although Trout said he was rooting for Pujols in Monday night’s Home Run Derby, he also wanted Cincinnati Reds Todd Frazier to do well.
“We’re both Jersey guys and we’ve become good friends,” he said. “We text each other and mess around with each other. I give him crap all the time because of his swing. He’ll take a full hack sometimes and look stupid and the very next pitch he hits a home run.
“He a competitive guy and just a lot of fun. In fact, we’re taking a flight back home together after the game. What I really like is that he lets people know players on the East Coast can make a real impact in this game. He can just about do it all.”
Trout can do it all.
Well, except grow a moustache.
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