Olney: Which dominoes are next to fall after Mike Trout's megadeal?
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
Torii Hunter watched Mike Trout launch rooster tails of dirt into the air every time he ran to first base and loved it. He called him The Digger because of it. Hunter loved the emotional investment, loved the earnestness, the devotion. Trout would hit a routine ground ball to shortstop and maybe Hunter would see a hint of frustration in the way his friend dropped the bat, but then he would be all-in.
Trout really doesn't know any other way, other than devotion to the moment, and long before he and the Los Angeles Angels would begin negotiations on a record-setting deal, Trout began attending to future Angels. He had questions for the front office about the players in the minor leagues -- about the kid who just rapped out three hits for Inland Empire, or the teenage pitcher with the dominant stuff in Mobile. He has asked for phone numbers, made calls and sent texts, doing what he can do to make sure all of the Angels, from Anaheim to A-ball, know they are on a mission together.
Trout hasn't known for sure, until now, that he will spend the rest of his career with the Angels -- and the years that follow his last at-bat -- and yet The Digger has been going all-out to do everything he can to make them better. A great at-bat; a home run robbery in center field; encouragement for a prospect to be part of something great.
He's staying put, and that decision sends dominoes tumbling in all directions for everybody affected:
Billy Eppler: The Angels' general manager never has to answer another question about whether he's going to weigh trade offers for Trout, and the truth is that he never would have, anyway. As he once explained: The New York Giants never would have traded a young Willie Mays; the Milwaukee Braves never would have considered dealing a young Henry Aaron. Trout is their historical peer, destined to be regarded as an inner circle Hall of Famer, the elite of the elite. The Angels could never have gotten equal value for him even if they had ever seriously considered a deal.
Now Trout is locked up and the greatest pressure is off Eppler, who can focus on building around Trout with the improving Angels' farm system.
Mookie Betts: Betts will be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season, just as Trout would have been, and like Trout, he checks all the boxes -- offense, defense, speed, etc., etc., etc. Like Trout, his reputation as a person and as a teammate is pristine. And now the market price has been set for Betts, who is a year younger than Trout.
The Philadelphia Phillies: The Mike Trout fantasy ends for this organization, and maybe it's for the best. While Trout is their hometown guy, decked out every offseason in his Eagles gear, a lot of his days with the Phillies would've been on the downslope of his career -- and that might not have been fun for anybody.
But with Trout off the board, owner John S. Middleton and the Phillies' front office can begin to think about other free-agent options in the years to come. Maybe Betts. Maybe Kris Bryant. Maybe Aaron Judge.
Major League Baseball's marketing department: It's a simple reality that it would be easier for the game to sell the best player in their sport if he were with the Dodgers, or the Yankees, or the Red Sox or the Cubs, or Bryce Harper's teammate in Philadelphia. But for Trout, the Angels are like a West Coast version of his hometown of Millville, New Jersey. He knows them, knows how much they care for him, respects how they've treated him, and for Trout, that matters. Marketing opportunities are not a priority for him. He wants to play baseball and have a relatively normal life within the fishbowl of superstardom. So he's staying put.
It could be, however, that Trout's decision to stay with one team could vault him into the imagination of casual or non-baseball fans. Hey, it worked for Cal Ripken ... and all the conversation about Trout's record-setting deal isn't going to hurt awareness, either.
Kris Bryant: He can be a free agent after the 2021 season, and maybe he's the next star who teams with Harper, his longtime friend. When Bryant broke into the big leagues with the Cubs, he seemed like a strong candidate to play his whole career in Chicago. Now, rival executives and some agents aren't so sure, after the Cubs' efforts to sign him to a long-term deal evaporated.
Aaron Judge: The price tag to keep him just climbed higher -- and the Yankees probably will be inclined to do what they can to keep him, given his multidimensional skill set. He has demonstrated early in his career an ability to handle all the attention that comes with being a star in the biggest market in baseball.
The AL West: You wouldn't blame the Astros, Mariners, Athletics and Rangers if they sort of hoped to see Trout leave Anaheim, and stop torturing them with his play. But there is an upside: They get to see their generation Mays or Aaron on the field. Billy Beane, head of the Athletics' baseball ops, once said he loves watching Trout. Everybody on other teams seems to love watching Trout, for that matter.
Mike Trout: Like Ripken, like Tony Gwynn, like Derek Jeter, he's doing exactly what he wants to do, and he's exactly where he wants to be.
I hear from peers from time to time: Trout is boring.
He's not boring; he's happy.
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
Torii Hunter watched Mike Trout launch rooster tails of dirt into the air every time he ran to first base and loved it. He called him The Digger because of it. Hunter loved the emotional investment, loved the earnestness, the devotion. Trout would hit a routine ground ball to shortstop and maybe Hunter would see a hint of frustration in the way his friend dropped the bat, but then he would be all-in.
Trout really doesn't know any other way, other than devotion to the moment, and long before he and the Los Angeles Angels would begin negotiations on a record-setting deal, Trout began attending to future Angels. He had questions for the front office about the players in the minor leagues -- about the kid who just rapped out three hits for Inland Empire, or the teenage pitcher with the dominant stuff in Mobile. He has asked for phone numbers, made calls and sent texts, doing what he can do to make sure all of the Angels, from Anaheim to A-ball, know they are on a mission together.
Trout hasn't known for sure, until now, that he will spend the rest of his career with the Angels -- and the years that follow his last at-bat -- and yet The Digger has been going all-out to do everything he can to make them better. A great at-bat; a home run robbery in center field; encouragement for a prospect to be part of something great.
He's staying put, and that decision sends dominoes tumbling in all directions for everybody affected:
Billy Eppler: The Angels' general manager never has to answer another question about whether he's going to weigh trade offers for Trout, and the truth is that he never would have, anyway. As he once explained: The New York Giants never would have traded a young Willie Mays; the Milwaukee Braves never would have considered dealing a young Henry Aaron. Trout is their historical peer, destined to be regarded as an inner circle Hall of Famer, the elite of the elite. The Angels could never have gotten equal value for him even if they had ever seriously considered a deal.
Now Trout is locked up and the greatest pressure is off Eppler, who can focus on building around Trout with the improving Angels' farm system.
Mookie Betts: Betts will be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season, just as Trout would have been, and like Trout, he checks all the boxes -- offense, defense, speed, etc., etc., etc. Like Trout, his reputation as a person and as a teammate is pristine. And now the market price has been set for Betts, who is a year younger than Trout.
The Philadelphia Phillies: The Mike Trout fantasy ends for this organization, and maybe it's for the best. While Trout is their hometown guy, decked out every offseason in his Eagles gear, a lot of his days with the Phillies would've been on the downslope of his career -- and that might not have been fun for anybody.
But with Trout off the board, owner John S. Middleton and the Phillies' front office can begin to think about other free-agent options in the years to come. Maybe Betts. Maybe Kris Bryant. Maybe Aaron Judge.
Major League Baseball's marketing department: It's a simple reality that it would be easier for the game to sell the best player in their sport if he were with the Dodgers, or the Yankees, or the Red Sox or the Cubs, or Bryce Harper's teammate in Philadelphia. But for Trout, the Angels are like a West Coast version of his hometown of Millville, New Jersey. He knows them, knows how much they care for him, respects how they've treated him, and for Trout, that matters. Marketing opportunities are not a priority for him. He wants to play baseball and have a relatively normal life within the fishbowl of superstardom. So he's staying put.
It could be, however, that Trout's decision to stay with one team could vault him into the imagination of casual or non-baseball fans. Hey, it worked for Cal Ripken ... and all the conversation about Trout's record-setting deal isn't going to hurt awareness, either.
Kris Bryant: He can be a free agent after the 2021 season, and maybe he's the next star who teams with Harper, his longtime friend. When Bryant broke into the big leagues with the Cubs, he seemed like a strong candidate to play his whole career in Chicago. Now, rival executives and some agents aren't so sure, after the Cubs' efforts to sign him to a long-term deal evaporated.
Aaron Judge: The price tag to keep him just climbed higher -- and the Yankees probably will be inclined to do what they can to keep him, given his multidimensional skill set. He has demonstrated early in his career an ability to handle all the attention that comes with being a star in the biggest market in baseball.
The AL West: You wouldn't blame the Astros, Mariners, Athletics and Rangers if they sort of hoped to see Trout leave Anaheim, and stop torturing them with his play. But there is an upside: They get to see their generation Mays or Aaron on the field. Billy Beane, head of the Athletics' baseball ops, once said he loves watching Trout. Everybody on other teams seems to love watching Trout, for that matter.
Mike Trout: Like Ripken, like Tony Gwynn, like Derek Jeter, he's doing exactly what he wants to do, and he's exactly where he wants to be.
I hear from peers from time to time: Trout is boring.
He's not boring; he's happy.
