Lindbergh: What’s left for Mike Trout to conquer?
From SABR member Ben Lindbergh at The Ringer on August 7, 2019:
On Tuesday, Mike Trout’s last day as a 27-year-old, the Angels center fielder went 1-for-3 with a walk and a 412-foot home run. It wasn’t surprising to see Trout filling every line next to his name in the box score, because almost everything he accomplished on Monday bolstered his stats in a category in which he’s previously led the league.
Scoring two runs? Trout has led his league in runs scored four times. Driving in a run? He led his league in that once and is currently leading it again. Amassing five total bases? Trout led the league in total bases in 2014. Drawing a walk? He already owns three AL walk titles, and as of today he’s in line for a fourth. He also struck out twice on Tuesday, and he once led the league in that too. The only outcome he managed on Tuesday that he hasn’t led his league in is homers, but his 38 this season give him six more than his closest AL competitor.
Trout’s contribution on Tuesday was worth 0.1 WAR at FanGraphs, where he leads the majors by more than a win, with 7.6 on the season. He also leads the majors in Baseball-Reference WAR and Baseball Prospectus WARP, and he surpasses several Hall of Famers in career WAR(P) every month. For once, though, let’s not fixate on Trout leading the world in WAR. Let’s talk about Trout leading the league in almost everything else.
Read the full article here: https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2019/8/7/20757809/mike-trout-home-runs-league-leader-stats
Originally published: August 7, 2019. Last Updated: August 7, 2019.