The Washington Nationals will be starting off a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium on Friday.
First pitch is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET.
The showdown is very exciting because it means that two of the best hitters in baseball, Mike Trout and Juan Soto, will be facing each other.
Yesterday, Trout tweeted the word “Anaheim” with several planes.
Soto quoted his tweet with an encouraging message: “Let’s have some fun!”
Let’s have some fun ☄️☄️ https://t.co/goUIVFDRSZ
— Juan José Soto Pacheco (@JuanSoto25_) May 6, 2022
Fun is the reason why every player should be involved in baseball: it is a game, perhaps the greatest game of all, and everyone should enjoy it.
There may not be a player who has more fun than Soto on a baseball field.
Two Intense Competitors
You can tell he enjoys his at-bats: he loves competing, and he lets the world know it.
This year, however, Soto hasn’t quite produced like we know he can.
He hasn’t been bad by any means (it’s hard to call a .927 OPS bad) but his true talent is a little closer to 1.000.
He has six home runs, compared to just seven RBI due to some bad situational hitting.
It should correct itself over time, and Soto, who owns a solid .271/.417/.510 line, should be among the league’s elite in no time.
On the other hand, Trout started the season firing on all cylinders.
He is, without a question, the best hitter MLB has seen since he made his debut in 2011.
At the moment, before Friday’s game, the former MVP and Rookie of the Year is slashing .316/.447/.671 with six dingers, 19 runs, and 11 RBI.
That’ll do.
The Angels and Nationals have different realities, but that doesn’t make the Soto-Trout matchup any less interesting.
NEXT: Juan Soto Owns A Bizarre Stat So Far In 2022