Showalter on walking Trout 4 times Tuesday: 'I don't want to watch him hit'

Mike Trout may be the best player in baseball, but Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't about to join his fan club.

On Tuesday night, Showalter robbed Los Angeles Angels fans of the chance to watch their franchise icon swing the bat by intentionally walking Trout three times in five plate appearances (he also took a fourth walk that was unintentional). In what was perhaps the ultimate sign of respect, Trout's four walks were the only bases on balls allowed by Baltimore in the game, which the Angels eventually won 3-2.

And Showalter was perfectly happy to listen to the boos reign down from the stands of Angel Stadium as Trout took his bases on Tuesday, knowing his Orioles pitching staff - which entered Wednesday's game having allowed 40 home runs while sporting a collective ERA of 4.84 - would not have to be victimized by the bat of Trout.

"I'm sorry for the fans," Showalter told Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports about intentionally walking Trout. "I know they want to watch him hit. I don't want to watch him hit."

To be fair, Showalter's probably seen enough of Trout by this point. Although the Orioles and Angels don't play each other often, given the unbalanced schedule, Trout has caused a lot of headaches in Baltimore over the years. In 46 career games against the Orioles (entering Wednesday), Trout's hitting .280/.365/.566 with 15 home runs, 28 RBIs, and five doubles.

But this kind of strategy should be expected from Showalter, who's no stranger to avoiding big bats with no regard for the paying customer. Back when he was managing the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998, Showalter stunned everyone by intentionally walking future home-run king Barry Bonds with the bases loaded in the ninth inning.

Showalter did not go back to the intentional walk on Wednesday, letting Dylan Bundy face Trout in the first inning - a move he's probably regretting now, as the 26-year-old made the Orioles pay by launching a moonshot to left field to pull into a tie for the MLB home-run lead.