SAN DIEGO — Jim Eppard, the new Angels hitting coach, likes to tell a story about the time in spring training two years ago when Mike Trout accompanied the team to a game in Tucson, Ariz.
During batting practice, Angels manager Mike Scioscia called out to Trout, asking: "What do you think about when you hit a ball to right-center field?"
"Triple," Trout answered.
Good answer. Later, in the game, Trout drove a pitch into right-center and sprinted to third with a triple.
"That's pretty awesome," Eppard said.
So is Trout, who has been the energizer the Angels were hoping for when they called him up from the minors on April 28. He's still a work in progress, but since he became the team's everyday center fielder and leadoff hitter, Trout has been a whirlwind of speed, aggressiveness and daring.
He wants to turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He's a threat to steal a base at any time. He knows how to work counts and doesn't fear striking out.
Rather than try to rein him in, the Angels would prefer to let him go, believing he'll become a smarter risk taker as he gains big-league experience. He's only 20, and these things take time.
"This guy's got a special talent," Scioscia said. "He'll mold it himself as he understands the league and learns a little more. But he needs to get out there and run. He's like a mustang. He needs to be out there running, and we want him to keep doing it."
After going hitless in his first seven at-bats following his call-up, Trout is batting .338 with nine extra-base hits and 13 runs scored. In the Angels' 7-2 win over the Padres on Friday night, he was 3 for 4 and reached base four times on a walk, infield single, RBI triple to left that didn't even draw a throw to the bag and another single. His triple drove in Angels pitcher Jered Weaver, who singled earlier.
Asked if he was worried Trout might pass him on the bases, Weaver smiled and said, "I would've needed eyes in the back of my head to watch him. He's a tremendous talent."
The victory was the Angels' third in four games and left them with a 10-7 record this month — hardly worth toasting but a sign they finally might be rising to a higher level after their ugly April start.
Trout deserves some credit, but so does Mark Trumbo, who drove in a run with a double to extend his hitting streak to nine games and has 15 hits in his past 26 at-bats. And so does Weaver, who rebounded from his worst outing of the season to pitch seven innings and earn his seventh win.
Trout acknowledges he's much more relaxed this season than he was in 2011, when his promotion from the minors caused a stir. He was just 19 years old and already had been chosen minor league player of the year by Baseball America. In his big-league debut, he received a rousing ovation from the Angel Stadium crowd.
Now, in some ways, he has the look a veteran — or at least someone who feels at home in a big-league clubhouse.
"It was definitely a whirlwind when I got called up the first time," he said. "I didn't know what to expect, and I was playing like every third day. I definitely feel more comfortable now and I'm getting my chance to go out there and have some fun. That's the big thing — go out there and have some fun and not try to do too much, just get on base."
Trout has three home runs, but he doesn't keep track of his statistics, nor does he care to think about numbers. Ask him how many homers he thinks he can hit once he matures as a hitter and he shrugs. He doesn't know.
"He probably could generate that power now because he's already strong enough, but he knows that he doesn't need it to be part of his game right now," Eppard said. "He needs to be a polished hitter and learn this league and what (opposing pitchers) are trying to do to him so that when he's 24, 25 — it's amazing to be able to say that, right? — those line drives are going to be homers."
Eppard, who was hired this week to replace the fired Mickey Hatcher as hitting coach, spent eight seasons in the Colorado Rockies system before joining the Angels in 2002. Eppard worked with Matt Holliday when Holliday, now with the St. Louis Cardinals, was on his way up.
"I had him when he was 19, and I think Trout's better," Eppard said. "He's more polished, has a better idea of being able to use the whole field and going about his work. Holiday was obviously a tremendous hitter while Trout's a more well-rounded player."
The thing is, the Angels believe he'll get better. He's better now than he was last season, and he'll be better next year.
"We're seeing him get comfortable in the big leagues," Scioscia said. "You're seeing his skills. Mike's aggressive, and he fits right in with these guys."
Or maybe it's the other way around. Maybe the Angels are fitting in with him.
