Wednesday Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, often compared to the old school baseball players of yesteryear, expressed that he prefers his sport not change its traditions and veer in the direction that Bryce Harper advocates for in his recent ESPN interview.
The 2014 American League MVP offered his thoughts at spring training in Goodyear, Arizona, where Trout said: “I just keep it the same… I don’t try to show anybody up. Whatever somebody else does, that’s what they do.”
Trout’s comments hit a different note than Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper who recently said that he prefers to change how baseball is perceived. Harper said in the interview that players should be able to show emotion and “celebrate their sport” without having to worry about being “drilled in the teeth with a fastball.” Harper referred to the MLB as “tired” and players showing exuberance will help energize the game.
Trout tends to agree more with Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage. The “Goose” called Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista a disgrace for flipping his bat aggressively after hitting a home run during the fifth game of the 2015 ALDS. “Bautista is a f—ing disgrace to the game,” he raged. “He’s embarrassing to all the Latin players, whoever played before him. Throwing his bat and acting like a fool, like all those guys in Toronto.”
As for the Angels centerfielder he prefers to remain humble, which was how Trout’s parents raised him, he told the Los Angeles Times. “We mess around in the cage,” the four time All Star admits, where some bat flipping occurs. “During the game, I just hit the ball and go…. I try to respect the game. I go out there and play.”