A Major League Baseball superstar will likely be out of action for a while. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Angels announced Mike Trout was placed on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 right calf strain. The team also said Trout could miss six to eight weeks.
This setback is a big blow for a team that is looking to make a run at the AL West title. So far this season, Trout has been one of the league’s best players, posting a batting average of .333 while recording a .466 on-base percentage and AL-best .624 slugging percentage over 36 games through Monday. The injury occurred when Trout was running the bases on a popup to Cleveland Indians shortstop Jared Walsh on Monday. He needed to stop after reaching third base and then returned to the home dugout.
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“When I put my head down, I thought I got hit by the ball,” Trout said when talking about the injury. “I thought I got hit by like a line drive. … And then I got to the bag and then I said, ‘Man, something’s not right.’ And then I felt a pop and then I went down to the tunnel, made sure it wasn’t my Achilles, so I mean, I guess if there’s any positive coming out of it, it’s that it wasn’t my Achilles because that’s what scared me when it first happened. It was just a freak thing.”
Trout has had his share of injuries, but if he is out six to eight weeks, that would be one of the longest in his career. The last time he missed a significant amount of time was in 2017 when he suffered a thumb injury and was sidelined for 46 days.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “Obviously, you never want to hear that about any of your players, especially a player the caliber of Michael. So the way I’m looking at it is this, that other guys are going to get the opportunity right now to help us ascend into this race properly, and by the time Mike gets back, you’re ready to go and really be fresh into August, September into the playoffs.”
Trout, who will be 30 in August, has put together a Hall of Fame career. He is a three-time AL MVP winner who has been named to the All-Star team eight times. In his career, Trout has recorded 1,415 hits, 310 home runs and 815 RBI’s with a .306 batting average.
