Mike Trout is an above-average hitter in literally every count
![ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels at bat against the Seattle Mariners in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 29, 2020 in Anaheim, California. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Angels won 16-3. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels at bat against the Seattle Mariners in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 29, 2020 in Anaheim, California. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Angels won 16-3. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/5f6fb8e23df9d9626f31a4e71db4c073b55d8c951ad55e3568b855f5a0bea6fa.jpg)
Mike Trout is nearly unstoppable at the plate.
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is only 29 years old and has already won three American League MVP Awards. He has finished second in the voting four times and also has a Rookie of the Year trophy to his name.
Trout also averages a WAR over 7.0 annually and is no stranger to leading the league in more than one offensive category per season. He is one of the toughest outs in baseball and one stat shows how pitchers never get an advantage over him.
Mike Trout is hitting .294/.385/.647.... in plate appearances where he falls down 0-2 in the count
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) September 15, 2020
Mike Trout is too dominant to get an advantage over
Trout’s career slash line is .305/.418/.583 for an OPS of 1.001. That is for his career! He also already has 301 home runs and has 16 in only 166 at-bats this season.
All this success may come as a surprise to more casual MLB fans. The Angels have made one postseason appearance since Trout arrive in 2011 and that was a sweep in the 2014 ALDS at the hands of the Kansas City Royals.
So for all of his heroics, Trout has 12 postseason at-bats to his name. The Angels are 20-29 entering play Wednesday so that limited action will remain until 2021.
That does nothing to take away from Trout’s dominance. Fans can argue subjectively about who the best players are in the game. The numbers, including his 0-2 count hitting, objectively prove why Trout could already be in the Hall of Fame if he retired at 30.
The key now is building a winner for Trout to play on as his career hits its second half. The alternative is a situation like we have seen with Albert Pujols, where he makes a fortune to be on a team fighting just to finish .500 every season.
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MLB pitchers likely already know all the splits for Trout. There may not be a secret to stopping him throughout an entire game other that simply getting lucky.