Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout is the Russell Westbrook of Baseball
By Jason Evans
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook are more alike than you may think.
In the NBA, if you land that one alpha dog star and you surround him with the right pieces, including a pretty good sidekick, you can do some damage. What if you’re an alpha without a ton around you? Well, in the NBA you can still make the postseason. Just ask the Oklahoma City Thunder who have Russell Westbrook. In baseball, if you have one alpha and not mot much around him, you are the Los Angeles Angels.
With Mike Trout being sidelined for the next six to eight weeks after having thumb surgery, on top of injuries to guys like Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Yunel Escobar, their fate is more than likely sealed this season.
Trout and Westbrook are two of the best in their sports. Trout is probably the best player in the game while Westbrook is top five if not at minimum a top 10 player in his. They also have many other things in common.
First of all, take a look at their rosters. Trout leads the Angels in WAR at 3.6. Second on the team is Andrelton Simmons at 1.5, Trout leads in slugging at .742. Next is Simmons at .405. Trouts WRC+ is 215. Next is Cameron Maybin at 112. By the way, league average is 100. Let’s take a look at the Thunder last season. Westbrook led the team in points with 31.6. Next was Victor Oladipo at 15.9. Westbrook also led the team in rebounds and assists per game. His PER was 30.6. Next was Enes Kanter at 23.6. League average was 15.
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They are also doing things that we’ve never seen in their respective sports. No one in baseball history had ever finished in the top two of MVP voting each of their first five years until Trout did it. Westbrook recorded more triple doubles last season than anyone in league history and could very well end up with his first MVP Award.
You can also make the case their front offices haven’t done enough to support them. Back in 2014, the Los Angeles Angels won 98 games, but lost in the division series to the Kansas City Royals. The Angels, however, sank so much money into guys like Albert Pujols, but more harmfully, Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson who didn’t produce and were injured. Combine that with a lack of a farm system to develop extra talent and the loss of draft picks due to those signings and you have the team that they have now. A team built around Trout and extra pieces you hope can provide punch along with an aging Pujols.
In Westbrook’s case, the team dealt James Harden for 50 cents on the dollar, dealt Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant left to go to the Thunder’s biggest rival in the Golden State Warriors. Harden and his Houston Rockets beat the Thunder in five games in the first round this past year. The Thunder weren’t willing to push that bottom line quite enough in order to get the team over the top for a championship after their loss to the Miami Heat in the finals back in the 2011-12 season.
Westbrook has a player option for 2018-19 or he can be a free agent after the season if he exercises it. Trout can become a free agent after the 2020 season. Neither team could get fair value if they ever traded them, but neither may be able to build a championship caliber team with them as the main piece, because they aren’t able to get enough around them.
You may hear the comparisons of the Cleveland Cavaliers losing LeBron James or the New England Patriots losing Tom Brady with Trout getting hurt, but they are wrong. The more accurate comparison for Trout is Westbrook.