Mookie Betts: Any player would want to be Mike Trout

Mookie Betts hit three home runs against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, but the Boston Red Sox outfielder took time following the contest to tip his cap to Mike Trout.

"He's a great player and I think everybody loves watching him play," Betts said in a discussion with Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "He plays the game the right way and he plays it in an exciting way.

"I think we're both team-oriented in that we do the things we do to put our teams in position to win. I think any player would want to achieve what he's achieved and be recognized as one of the best to play our game."

Meanwhile, the Angels star echoed similar sentiments back to Betts.

"He makes hard contact a lot and he's very consistent," Trout told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "I follow him throughout the year. I root for him. And obviously you see what he can do (Tuesday) night."

Trout later heaped more praise upon Betts by saying "Mookie's up there with the best."

At 26 years old, Trout owns a .305/.410/.566 career slash line, with 207 home runs and 167 stolen bases. Over the course of 942 games, Trout has been worth 56.1 WAR, recently surpassing Jeff Kent who played 2,298 career games. Despite playing in only his eighth season, Trout sits 140th all time by WAR among hitters.

Aside from winning American League Rookie of the Year in 2012, Trout has won a pair of MVP awards in 2014 and 2016; the most recent of which Betts was the runner-up.

The Red Sox took the first game of the three-game series in Anaheim by a score of 10-1.