ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels knew they had something special in Mike Trout. The truth is, they didn't think they'd see it this soon.
Trout didn't make the 25-man roster out of spring training. The Angels' outfield was already full, and they wanted him to stay at the minor league level, get more experience and then perhaps earn himself a promotion at some point this season.
Trout came up on April 28, and really, the Angels haven't been the same.
He might be the most electrifying player in the game. That's not an exaggeration. He plays the game with abandon, but he's not reckless. He can hit and run and play defense and make things happen on the bases, all within the context of the game. Those kinds of players don't come along too often.
He's only 20. It's natural to think of others who began their big-league careers at such a young age. Ken Griffey Jr. was 19 when he broke in with the Seattle Mariners in 1989. So was Pudge Rodriguez when the Texas Rangers called him up in 1991.
Trout got his first taste of the big last summer at age 19, but there was still so much to learn. But speaking his name along with Griffey and Rodriguez isn't outlandish, not at all.
"He's up there," teammate Torii Hunter said. "But he reminds me more of Rickey Henderson — power, plate discipline, speed, good defense. I can't put him with Griffey because he was a totally different player. I can't put him with Pudge because he was a catcher. But I can put him with Rickey."
Since his arrival, the Angels are 20-12. Their 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night was their ninth victory in 10 games and sliced the Rangers' lead in the American League West to 4 1/2 games. They haven't been this close to the top since they were four games out on April 16.
You think they're having fun?
"I'm having a blast," Trout said. "It's fun winning. It's been great so far."
Trout wasn't just a catalyst against the Rangers, he was the whole offense and a key component of the defense. He followed a double by John Hester with a triple to right field in the sixth inning, giving the Angels their first run of the night. Then he scored on a sacrifice fly by Albert Pujols to tie the score 2-2.
In the top of the seventh, Trout, who was playing shallow, flagged down a fly ball hit deep to center by Elvis Andrus, catching the ball on a dead run with his arm extended. And in the bottom of the inning, he lined a single to right-center with the bases loaded, giving the Angels a two-run cushion that held up.
"His talent speaks for itself," manager Mike Scioscia said, "but to get a grasp of this guy being 20 years old and playing at such a high level in the major leagues is very, very impressive. He was ready for the challenge."
The bottom of the seventh was a situation Trout has been preparing for all of his life, even though there hasn't been much of it. What kid doesn't want to swing the bat in a street game with friends with the bases loaded?
"I just had a feeling I was going to come through," he said. "I really can't explain it. Growing up as a kid, you always dream of coming up with the bases loaded and getting that big hit. Once I got it, it was big for us, big for me."
Very big for Trout. But every time he faces a critical situation, he seems to respond. Nothing rattles him, nothing unnerves him, at least on the surface.
This is how quickly he's become a big leaguer: He wouldn't allow himself to think of hitting a grand slam at that moment; he knew a base hit would do.
"I've got to tell myself not to be too big," he said. "I could easily try to hit a home run there and fly out. Just try to stay short, hit the ball up the middle. It got in on me a little bit, but I stayed on it long enough and it dropped."
That's how a ballplayer thinks in those situations. A kid doesn't think like that.
But nobody considers Trout a kid, not anymore. He's here, and he's not going anywhere.
