BOSTON — When the Nationals visited Fenway Park in June,
Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine fawned over Bryce Harper. Nearly two months
later, he shared similar admiration for Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
“You see SportsCenter and whatever the highlights are
and he’s always in them,” Valentine said. “Watching him last night — the first at-bat [a strikeout], I thought ‘Oh well, he’s human.’ After that, he
did things that were really special even though they didn’t show up on the
highlights. He’s a special player.”
Despite striking out in his first at-bat against Aaron
Cook — a rare punchout for Cook — Trout went 2-for-4 with one run in Tuesday’s game, lifting
his batting average to .344. It continues a whirlwind rookie season for the
21-year-old.
Through 100 games this season, Trout has all but locked up the Rookie of the Year award and is one of the top candidates for MVP, launching 24 home runs
and 70 RBIs while stealing 39 bases. He also managed to score 97 runs to ignite
the Angels.
“It’s easy speed,” Valentine said of Trout’s
calling card. “But it hasn’t stood out yet because he hasn’t outrun any
balls. That’s when it starts standing out.”
Trout will have two more games to showcase his speed
against the Red Sox.
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Photo via Facebook/Mike Trout
