There shouldn’t be a scarier sight for an MLB manager than facing his star player suiting up for another team.
In this case, Los Angeles Angels skipper Phil Nevin is about to experience that fear.
The Angels are facing the United States World Baseball Classic team on Thursday.
Can you guess who is playing for Team USA?
Yes, you guessed it: Angels star Mike Trout is not only playing for his country, but he is also the captain of the team.
Asked about how he would pitch to Trout in the exhibition game, Nevin gave a hilarious response.
Phil Nevin, on how the #Angels will pitch to Trout today:
“Away.”
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) March 9, 2023
He said the Angels would be pitching him away.
Not because he is a particularly vulnerable hitter on pitches on the outer part of the zone, but because he couldn’t live with himself knowing that an inside pitch injured his best hitter.
He also doesn’t want to get beat on an easy pitch to one of the greatest players in the game today.
That’s life in spring training and exhibition games: sometimes you will be facing some of your own, and you will want to keep them healthy because the regular season is Nevin’s priority in this case.
While Shohei Ohtani is the most fascinating player in the game right now, Trout is perhaps more important to the franchise because he is the one signed for the long-term.
He had a fantastic season last year, with 40 home runs and a .999 OPS in just 119 games.
He has lost a step while fielding and running, but he is as good as ever with the bat.
If he has a long-term injury, the Angels’ postseason hopes would be slim to none.
NEXT: Shohei Ohtani Proves He Can Rake In Any Uniform
