Mike Trout missed Home Run Derby because of manager

While the 2014 Home Run Derby challenge was pretty eventful (though far too long), there was a player noticeably missing from the event. Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout, who is among the American League leaders in home runs didn’t participate.

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So what’s the reason behind it? Was Trout not invited? Did he prefer to sit the night out? Well, according to Mike Trout himself, it was his manager who decided to keep him out of the fan favorite event.

"Trout, 22, left little doubt that his decision reflected the wishes of Angels manager Mike Scioscia. Trout said he would welcome another opportunity to participate.“If I get another chance, and if I said I wanted to do it,” Mike Trout said, “Scioscia would be against it, but he would support it.”According to Trout, Scioscia is concerned that taking so many hard swings in such a limited amount of time could hamper his performance and heighten the risk of injury."

We’ve heard plenty of players who’ve participated in the event blame second half offensive struggles on the Home Run Derby, hinting that the violent swings aren’t accustom to their normal approach and the end results messes up their mechanics.

It’s an understandable sentiment though one which has yet to be proven. Add in that just as many players have experienced solid play after participating in the Home Run Derby and it’s a question mark if such actually does impact the player moving forward.

Regardless, despite not seeing their favorite player on the field, I’m sure many Los Angeles Angels fans were okay with Trout taking the night off.