Trout: Missing playoffs every year 'weighing on me'
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is sick of watching the Major League Baseball playoffs from his couch.
"It's definitely weighing on me," Trout said Monday, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. "I hear it every year. The only way to change that is get to the playoffs."
Since Trout made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2011, he's played in a grand total of three postseason games - all losses in 2014. The Angels have now missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons.
Trout, who signed a 12-year, $430-million extension ahead of the 2019 campaign, has been almost universally considered the best player in baseball throughout his MLB career.
He's won three AL MVP awards and finished second in voting on four occasions. He owns a career .304/.418/.582 slash line with 302 home runs, 798 RBIs, and 201 stolen bases in 1,252 games. Trout's an eight-time All-Star and won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2012.
And yet, the postseason has proved elusive despite some major acquisitions in recent years like inking third baseman Anthony Rendon to a seven-year, $245-million contract after the 2019 campaign and signing two-way Japanese star Shohei Ohtani in late 2017.
Trout says it's time for everything to come together so the Angels can play in October.
"I'm tired of hearing, 'Hey Mike, is adding this guy or that guy gonna get you to the playoffs?'" he said, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
L.A. hasn't made any blockbuster additions this offseason but completed some smaller moves, including inking lefty Jose Quintana to a one-year contract and swinging trades for closer Raisel Iglesias, right-hander Alex Cobb, shortstop Jose Iglesias, and veteran outfielder Dexter Fowler.
The key, for Trout, is making sure everyone is on the same page.
"We're trying to make the postseason. If that's not the mindset, you shouldn't be there," he said, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.