ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout's speed has never been questioned, but now the Angels have proof that their rookie outfielder is blessed with inordinate speed.
When he put down a bunt in the third inning Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins, Angels third-base coach Dino Ebel timed him going from home plate to first in 3.53 seconds.
That's crazy fast.
"I knew he had a good time down there, but when I came in and even checked it on the video, it was like, yeah, it's legit," Ebel said. "It was 3.53. He laid down a nice bunt down the third-base line."
On a full swing, right-handed batters average about 4.3 seconds to first base. Manager Mike Scioscia said Trout, a right-handed hitter, has been timed as fast as 3.8 seconds.
Trout, who was called up from the minors last Saturday in the hope he could give a boost to a struggling offense, said he was aware of his time, but he wasn't too impressed.
Asked if he knew what his fastest time was, he said, "That's probably it. I don't really look at that stuff. I get random numbers, but you never know if they're accurate."
Trout came to the plate after Angels catcher Chris Iannetta drew a leadoff walk from Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano. He put down a perfect bunt near the third-base line and took off.
"Scioscia was like, ‘If Iannetta gets on, get the bunt down and try to get a base hit out of it,' " Trout said. "That's the key. You try not to place it too close to the line, but I got a good pitch to bunt and put it in the right spot."
The rest was pure speed, and it paid off. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Alberto Callaspo, and Trout later scored on a Torii Hunter single.
Funny thing is, he still might not be the fastest player on the team. Outfielder Peter Bourjos is said to have considerable speed, although the two have never held a match race to see who's fastest.
Who would win if they did?
"We'll never know," Trout said, smiling.
