OC Register: Mike Trout says winning is ‘huge’ in determining his future plans, but believes Angels are trying

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — On the verge of finishing what he said was probably his best overall season, Mike Trout heads into a winter with two seasons left that he hopes will end with more than individual performance to discuss.

Asked before Sunday’s season finale how important the chance to reach the postseason is for his future plans, he said it was “huge.”

“You want to be in an atmosphere where (the organization) wants to win,” he said. “I want to come to the ballpark playing for something. That’s everybody’s goal here as a player. You don’t want to come playing for nothing.”

The Angels have reached the playoffs just once in Trout’s seven full seasons, and they were swept in the division series in 2014. This will be their third straight losing season.

Trout, however, was quick to say that he believes that general manager Billy Eppler and the staff have so far made an effort to win, but the team has been derailed by injuries.

“I was really excited coming into this season with all the guys we brought in,” Trout said. “The name of the game is staying healthy. You lose all those guys, you’re going to be in trouble.”

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This winter the Angels are expected to broach the prospect of an extension with Trout, who is signed through 2020, but Trout did not want to address his contractual situation specifically on Sunday.

Speaking in general, though, Trout said he’s enjoyed playing in Anaheim.

“My years here we haven’t been winning, but they’ve been taking care of me,” he said. “I enjoy coming to the ballpark. It (stinks) when it’s September and you’re out of it. But when I was a kid they took a chance on me. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a couple more years and we’ll go from there.”

The Angels could trade Trout before the end of those two years, but Trout — who has a no-trade clause — laughed at that notion. He said “for sure” he expected to be here for two more years.

“They committed to me and I’ve got to two more years,” he said.

Despite the questions about Trout’s future, there are no issues with his present. He once again proved himself to be the best overall player in the major leagues.

“I think this was probably my best overall season, offensively and defensively,” Trout said. “Coming into the spring, I wanted to get better at defense, and the stats show it. You put your mind to something and try to get better each and every day. The hard work I put in early this season and the offseason paid off.”

Trout said in spring training that he was committed to improving his defense, in part because the defensive metrics didn’t paint a favorable picture of his play. He worked specifically on getting quicker jumps and covering more range.

This year Trout is currently at 8 defensive runs saved, up from -6 last year. It will be his highest total in that stat since his rookie year, when the figures were inflated by several robbed home runs.

With reigning Gold Glove center fielder Byron Buxton and previous winner Kevin Kiermaier both missing much of this season with injuries, Trout has a realistic shot to win his first Gold Glove. Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr. is probably his stiffest competition.

“That’s one of may goals in my career, for sure,” Trout said. “I think every outfielder tries to win a Gold Glove. I definitely felt it was one of my better years defensively.”

Trout has already won two MVPs, but winning a third could be difficult even though his season was so good, by his standards.

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Trout comes into the final day of the season hitting .313 with 39 homers, a 1.090 OPS and a WAR — according to FanGraphs — of 9.8.

Boston’s Mookie Betts is nearly equal to Trout across the board, with a .346 average, 32 homers, a 1.079 OPS and a WAR of 10.2. Many MVP voters will favor Betts because his team is headed to the postseason.

Even Trout acknowledged that he could lose to either Betts or Boston’s J.D. Martinez, who has 42 homers and a 1.025 OPS.

“Mookie, you can’t take anything away from  him,” Trout said. “He’s unbelievable. Both those guys in Boston, with Martinez, they are both great people. Their stats are great, but they are even better people.”

 

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