Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, 2012

Outfielder, Los Angeles Angels

Age:  21 (Aug. 7)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 235

Prior to 2012:

A native of New Jersey, Trout played basketball as well as baseball at Millville Senior High School. Originally a pitcher and shortstop, he moved to the outfield as a senior, when he set a state high school record by hitting 18 home runs. With impressive speed and power, he also developed his talent through the Tri-State Arsenal program. The first overall pick by the Angels in the 2009 amateur draft, Trout started out with the Angels of the rookie-level Arizona League, where he batted .360 with 25 RBIs in 39 games. In 2010 he was with Cedar Rapids of the Class A Midwest League and in 81 games he hit .362 with 19 doubles, 7 triples, 6 home runs, and 39 RBIs along with 45 stolen bases. He was selected as league MVP. He finished the year with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the advanced Class A California League and, over the course of 50 games he batted .306 with another 15 extra base hits. He was recipient of the Topps Minor League Player of the Year award at age 19. Trout was with Arkansas of the Class AA Texas League in 2011 and hit .326 with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases, thus earning Minor League Player of the Year recognition from Baseball America. Trout was called up by the Angels in July and started 32 games. He hit five home runs, including two in one game at Seattle. He started the 2012 season in Class AAA and was called up to the Angels in late April.

2012 Season Summary

Appeared in 139 games

CF – 110, LF – 67, RF – 4, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 639

At Bats – 559

Runs – 129 [1]

Hits – 182 [9, tied with Prince Fielder]

Doubles – 27

Triples – 8 [3, tied with Alex Rios & Jemile Weeks]

Home Runs – 30 [13, tied with Prince Fielder & Albert Pujols]

RBI – 83

Bases on Balls – 67 [14, tied with Jason Kipnis & Austin Jackson]

Int. BB – 4

Strikeouts – 139 [17, tied with Jarrod Saltalamacchia]

Stolen Bases – 49 [1]

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .326 [2]

OBP - .399 [3]

Slugging Pct. - .564 [3]

Total Bases – 315 [6]

GDP – 7

Hit by Pitches – 6

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 7 [8, tied with six others]

League-leading runs scored were +20 ahead of runner-up Miguel Cabrera

League-leading stolen bases were +3 ahead of runner-up Rajai Davis

Midseason snapshot: HR - 12, RBI - 40, SB – 26, AVG. - .341, SLG PCT – .562

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Most hits, game – 4 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 1 on thirty occasions

HR at home – 16

HR on road – 14

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Seattle 8/10

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 347

Put Outs – 340

Assists – 3

Errors – 4

DP - 1

Pct. - .988

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

Silver Slugger

All-Star

2^nd in AL MVP voting (281 points, 6 first place votes, 72% share)

AL ROY Voting:

Mike Trout, LAA: 140 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Yoenis Cespedes, Oak.: 63 pts. – 45% share

Yu Darvish, Tex.: 46 pts. –  33% share

Wei-Yin Chen, Balt.: 2 pts. – 1% share

Jarrod Parker, Oak.: 1 pt. – 1% share

Angels went 89-73 to finish third in the AL Western Division, 5 games behind the division-winning Oakland Athletics while leading the league in batting (.274).

Aftermath of 2012:

Trout followed up on his outstanding rookie season by again leading the AL in runs scored in 2013, with 109 as well as in walks drawn (110) for the third place Angels. He batted .323 with 39 doubles, 9 triples, 27 home runs and 97 RBIs while stealing 33 bases in 40 attempts. He placed second in league MVP balloting once again and started for the AL in the outfield in the All-Star Game. The “Millville Meteor” won his first AL MVP award by a unanimous vote in 2014 as the Angels topped the AL West. Trout contributed league-leading totals of 115 runs scored, 111 RBIs, and 338 total bases. Additionally he hit .287 with 39 doubles, 9 triples, and 36 home runs, although his stolen base total dropped to 16. He was named as MVP of the All-Star Game as well. In 2015 Trout led the AL with a .590 slugging percentage while batting .299 with 32 doubles, 6 triples, 41 home runs, and 90 RBIs. He finished second in league MVP voting. He became a two-time league MVP in 2016 as he hit .315 with 32 doubles, 5 triples, 29 home runs, and 100 RBIs while topping the circuit with 123 runs scored, 116 walks drawn, and a .441 on-base percentage. Trout missed 39 games in 2017 due to a thumb injury but still led the AL with a .442 on-base percentage and .629 slugging percentage as he hit .306 with 33 home runs and 72 RBIs. While still an All-Star and Silver Slugger recipient, he dropped to fourth in league MVP balloting, his first season of not finishing among the top two. He placed second in a 2018 season in which he batted .312 with 39 home runs, 79 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. Trout led the league in walks drawn (122), intentional walks drawn (25), and on-base percentage (.460). A fine center fielder, he committed no errors in 278 chances. For the second occasion in his career he spent time on the Disabled List due to a wrist injury. In 2019 he topped the AL with a .438 on-base percentage and .645 slugging percentage in addition to hitting .291 with 27 doubles, 45 home runs, and 104 RBIs, putting him in line once again for MVP consideration. Thus far in his career, Trout has batted .305 with 1324 hits that include 251 doubles, 46 triples, and 285 home runs. He has further compiled 752 RBIs and 200 stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .419 and slugging percentage is .581. He is an eight-time All-Star and has been awarded a Silver Slugger six times.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.