OC Register: Angels issue statement supporting Mike Trout after Commissioner Rob Manfred’s marketing comment

[AngelsWin.com]

The Angels issued a statement Wednesday praising star outfielder Mike Trout for “prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion”, apparently in response to comments from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at his annual All-Star Game news conference.

In response to questions about Trout’s national profile and baseball’s attempts to market him, Manfred said: “Player marketing requires one thing, for sure: the player. You can not market a player passively. You can’t market anything passively. You need people to engage with those to whom are trying to market in order to have effective marketing.”

The Angels issued the following statement, without specific attribution to anyone in the organization:

Today, the #Angels released the following statement on OF Mike Trout: pic.twitter.com/xFLURtZ4bT

— Angels (@Angels) July 18, 2018

Trout has said at every opportunity that he has no interest in marketing himself or becoming anything more of a celebrity than he is. He is trying to win a World Series and be the best player in the world, obviously with more success at the latter than the former, though no fault of his own.

ln the American League clubhouse before Tuesday night’s All-Star Game, Trout said he’s open to having the conversation about raising his profile.

“I haven’t thought about what more I can do,” he said. “There’s a time and place to sit down and talk about it. I pick and chose the endorsements and do all that in the winter.”

Sign up for Home Turf and get exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.

He did make one decision to slightly increase his visibility, agreeing to wear a microphone in the field for part of the All-Star Game.

“They asked if I’d like to do it and I thought it would be cool,” he said.

Trout has twice declined opportunities to play in the World Baseball Classic, and he has never participated in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game.

“I’d rather just have that night with my family, spend time with them,” Trout said last week. “I just want to relax and enjoy the day. Just watch it… I just never had any interest in doing it.”

Staff writer Jeff Fletcher contributed to this report.

Related Articles

• Angels’ Mike Trout is a star among All-Stars again, while Ross Stripling’s night ended badly
• Whicker: 60 facts about 30 MLB teams at the break
• Rob Manfred: The marketing of Angels’ Mike Trout starts with Trout
• Rob Manfred: The marketing of Angels’ Mike Trout starts with Trout
• Former teammate of Angels’ Tyler Skaggs hoped for All-Star Game reunion

View the full article