Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout keeps playing at a really high level.
It’s too bad that his team, currently fourth in the AL West with a 52-72 record, can’t provide him with a strong supporting cast for him to make the playoffs and compete consistently.
As an individual producer, however, Trout is among the best players in the history of the game.
A good way to measure offensive performance without handling stats that are too complicated is OPS.
The formula is simple enough: on-base percentage plus slugging percentage.
It’s a perfect stat because it encompasses a hitter’s ability to get on base and to hit for power, all in the same number.
When it comes to OPS, Trout likes four digits.
“Mike Trout’s career OPS is back to 1.000,” Codify Baseball reminded us all via Twitter.
Mike Trout's career OPS is back to 1.000. 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/pTlYvHXs6c
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 25, 2022
The Best Of His Generation
Before Thursday afternoon’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Trout had a career slash line of .303/.416/.584 with 336 home runs, 1,024 runs scored, 870 RBI, and a 1.000 OPS.
99 percent of hitters in MLB would dream of putting that slash line over a full season.
Trout is in another league, though.
To put Trout’s 1.000 OPS in perspective, let’s examine the list of players with enough plate appearances with a four-digit OPS.
Eight players in the history of the game have at least a 1.000 OPS: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Rogers Hornsby, and Trout.
That should tell you everything you need to know about what Trout is achieving: he is joined by six guys who built their careers before 1950; and Bonds.
Only time will tell if he will be able to maintain that number when he retires, but there is no question Trout is the best player of his generation.
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