Mike Trout breaks silence on MLB lockout, blames Rob Manfred

Mike Trout slams MLB and Rob Manfred for locking players out, canceling games.

Major League Baseball players have had enough.

After the league’s announcement Tuesday, via puppet-commissioner Rob Manfred, that the first two series of the 2022 regular season would be canceled and Opening Day delayed indefinitely, players took to social media to voice their anger, sadness, and every other emotion this three-month lockout has bred.

If you’re wondering exactly how much damage this lockout has done to the already-fraught relationship between the owners and players, it’s bad enough that Mike Trout, baseball’s typically-affable superstar, has weighed in. He didn’t mince words, either:

Mike Trout speaks out about MLB lockout, Rob Manfred

It’s a strong statement from the generational talent who typically sticks to statements at the plate, in the form of decimating home runs. Speaking of which, angering guys who hit baseballs 400+ feet and guys who throw baseballs 100+ mph seems like a risky strategy.

“Rob,” of course, is Manfred. Trout opted for the first-name route rather than go by Marcus Stroman’s new nickname for the universally-despised commissioner:

Trout’s usual Twitter activity consists of his favorite things: family, weather, and sports, especially baseball. Scroll through his tweets and retweets, and you’ll see hundreds of nice messages from Angels fans, and he actually takes the time to respond, especially to messages from families with young kids.

His priorities stand in stark contrast to those of the league owners and commissioner whom Trout called out in his tweet. Despite their PR pandering, the owners have made it clear that they do not care about the game, the players, or the fans. If they did, there would be no lockout, minor leaguers would be paid a living wage, salaries would increase to align with inflation and increased revenue, ballparks would be affordable, et cetera.

Trout is one of the richest players in baseball, but he’s not a billionaire; that title belongs to each MLB team owner. But as he says in his statement, the players of today need to get this CBA right for the “next generation.” He’s not fighting for himself; he doesn’t need to. The billionaire owners, on the other hand, are only fighting for themselves.

For anyone who’s paying attention, it’s not hard to see which side deserves the public’s support.