Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout quietly having great season

Most of the attention that Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout has received this season has been due to his troublesome back.

His back issues aside, Trout has become overshadowed over the past couple of seasons. Shohei Ohtani has overtaken him as the Angels’ biggest star. This season, he is an afterthought as Ohtani continues to perform at a historic pace, the Angels are once again out of the postseason picture, and Aaron Judge captures the imagination. Trout? He is yesterday’s news.

Mike Trout having another stellar season for Los Angeles Angels

Yet, if one looks beyond Judge on the home run leaderboard, a familiar face is in second. Trout has belted 38 homers, second in the American League. That mark is all the more impressive when one realizes that he has played in just 113 games this season as he missed just over a month from mid-July through mid-August.

Despite that missed time and his chronic back issues, Trout is posting another excellent season. He has a .275/.360/.617 batting line in 472 plate appearances, hitting 38 homers and 24 doubles entering Thursday. That performance may not be enough to win the MVP, but another top five finish is not outside the realm of probability.

This may be due to Trout’s continued greatness. It is something that baseball fans have just become used to, that when he is on the diamond, he will put together the type of numbers that will put him amongst the best in the game year in and year out.

The same can be said of his career at this point. We have become numb to Trout’s accomplishments, to the point where the fact that he has more bWAR than the likes of Rod Carew, Johnny Bench, and Derek Jeter is almost a footnote in history. Trout’s impressive career is almost underrated at this point.

Mike Trout is having yet another impressive season on the diamond. Despite his strong showing, the Los Angeles Angels star is flying under the radar.