The Los Angeles Angels are off to an 11-19 start to the 2024 season. The Angels offensive production has relied heavily on Mike Trout so far. However, an injury to Trout has made it even more difficult for the Angels to compete on a nightly basis. Trout was off to a strong start in 2024, but his injury will sideline him for a significant amount of time. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called his injury “karma,” for staying with the Angels.
The Angels have developed a reputation for underperforming in Trout’s tenure despite having him and Shohei Ohtani on the team from 2018-2023. Since Trout entered the league the Angels have made the postseason one time.
Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million deal before the 2019 season. Trout’s contract was the first $400 million deal in MLB history. The Angels have not made the postseason since he signed the deal and Trout has missed 249 games in the last three years, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale.
Reactions to Smith’s Comments
Smith has made polarizing comments and takes numerous times throughout his career. His comments about Trout elicited some harsh reactions.
“You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself @stephenasmith,” one fan wrote on X.
“He should have stopped talking about baseball immediately after he did this,” one fan commented under the clip of Smith’s comments on X, referring to a video of Smith bouncing a first pitch in front of home plate.
“I’m fine with less viewership in baseball if it means these people will stop talking about it and asserting their terrible points,” read one comment on X.
“Every time Stephen A Smith talks about baseball it’s literally the worst imaginable take, but this might take the cake as his worst ever,” wrote another fan on X.
“Wow. I’m surprised they even know who Mike Trout is, since all they talk about is Yankees, Lakers, Cowboys. NBA and NFL,” one fan commented on X.
Smith openly criticized Trout for remaining loyal to his contract with the Angels. Trout “suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Phillies and will undergo surgery in the coming days,” according to MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger.
Trout’s Injury and Angels Future
Trput is expected to return in 2024 according to Bollinger. However, it does not change the fact that the Angels are not loaded up to make a World Series run this season or in the immediate future. However, before the season, Trout made clear his intentions about his playing future.
“The easy way out is just ask for a trade,” Trout said, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “There might be a time. Maybe. I really haven’t thought about this. But when I signed that contract, I’m loyal. I want to win a championship here. The overall picture of winning a championship or getting to the playoffs here is bigger satisfaction [than] bailing out and just taking an easy way out. So, I think that’s been my mindset. Maybe down the road if something’s changed, but that’s been my mindset ever since the trade speculations came up.”
Trade speculations about Trout came up after Shohei Ohtani signed his record breaking contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite the injury, Trout is looking to come back and compete.
“It’s tough,” said an emotional Trout on April 30. “It’s just frustrating. But we’ll get through it.”
The three-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star had hit 10 home runs with a .860 OPS in 29 games prior to his injury.
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