Mike Trout Q&A: Angels superstar breaks down his up-and-down offensive start

ANAHEIM, Calif. — So much of the national conversation surrounding Mike Trout has little to do with baseball. Will he request a trade? Why can’t the Angels build a playoff team around him? Can he stay healthy? All fair topics.

But on the field, Trout’s 2024 season has been worthy of the same attention. He leads the majors with 10 homers, and his five stolen bases in April are more than he’s recorded in any full season since 2019. It hasn’t been all perfect, though. His .230 batting average is very low by his standards. And Trout is just 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position.

Trout spoke with The Athletic on Friday. He broke down his offense. He delved into his up-and-down comfortability in the batter’s box. He talked about improving on fastballs, hitting too many balls, getting called out by manager Ron Washington and how he feels about those who doubt him.

Below is the full Q&A.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. 

You said the other day that you’ve had times where you feel really comfortable in the box. And a lot times where you haven’t. Is that a product of the pitcher or strictly just how you feel?

Just how I feel personally. With hitting, there’s a feeling. You’re always trying to get that feeling, obviously. For me personally, it’s all in my setup. Whether it’s weight where I start, weight front side and back side, to get to where when I do my gather and load, it’s in the right spot. And when it’s right, I feel like my old self. When it’s wrong, you see a lot of foul balls. It’s a lot of pitches that you usually don’t swing at. It’s kind of like — I love it. Because the grind is always real. People don’t see — obviously the hits and homers and everything — but putting in at-bat after at-bat after at-bat together is the ultimate goal. For a long stretch. I do want to ride that feeling for as long as you can.

Do you feel like that feeling has been more up and down than typical?

I think just going off the season so far, I think something clicked in Miami. And then I kind of lost that feeling a little bit when we went to Boston. That two-week period where I was feeling really good. And then I don’t know if it was just the off day. Hitting’s crazy. You realize, you look at video, you’re going good. And then you look at some video — you feel like you’re doing the same exact thing every time. But sometimes your body just does something that you don’t see, unless you look at the video.

Your whiff rate on fastballs is just 19.2 percent. That’s way down from the last few years, where it was more of an issue. Was that an area of focus for you?

I think it comes to realizing that when I’m in a good spot to get my swing off, my normal swing, I hit those pitches. And when I’m not in a good spot, I swing under them. When I’m really good, my bat path, my swing is really short and quick. I can get to the balls up. I can get to the balls down. And if I get off track a little bit, that’s when my swing gets long. When I don’t have that tight swing feeling, the bat dips a little bit, and that’s why I’m under everything.

Pitchers have attacked you the same way for a long time. Fastballs up. Do you feel like you’re making it harder for them to do that now? Have you seen teams throwing high fastballs even more recently?

The last few years, they’ve been doing the same thing. The biggest thing for me — if you look at my career, I’m a good low-ball hitter. I think when they throw something down there, for me personally, I can’t miss that pitch. When I feel like my swing is quick and I can get a swing off and my head’s not moving, I feel like I can hit anything.

You’ve been hitting the ball in the air a lot more. Your ground-ball rates have plummeted. What’s behind that?

Mike Trout hits his 10th home run against the Orioles on Wednesday. (Kiyoshi Mio / USA Today)

It’s funny, people say that. People were asking me about this. I think there’s nothing approach-wise I’m doing differently. I think it’s when my swing gets longer, and I don’t have that full load and feel like I’m real connected. I feel like my barrel and my bat starts to drop a little bit, and that causes the balls to get under a little bit and get in the air.

So you’re not trying to do that at all?

No. I think I’m just trying to barrel the ball. I’m not trying to hit the ball in the air.

The other night, after you struck out looking against Craig Kimbrel to end the game, manager Ron Washington said he wished you’d have swung.

I think going back, that at-bat specifically, I was in a spot where obviously, where looking at it now, I’ve got to do whatever I can to swing the bat. I felt where it was slowly progressing that game where I was like, ‘Something isn’t feeling right.’ Sometimes, from me, you’ll see the check swings. That’s when something is a little off and I’m not recognizing the pitch and my head’s moving.

Beyond that, though. It’s pretty rare for a manager to suggest you should have done something differently. Is that something you appreciate?

He’s right. Everybody holds (themselves) accountable in that clubhouse. He was exactly right. You have to put the ball in play. Obviously, I wasn’t going up there trying not to swing. It was tough for me to pick up the pitches. It’s a grind of hitting that I think people don’t realize. You’re constantly trying to get that feeling every at-bat.

You said before the season that people were writing you off a bit, and that you welcome it. The fact that you’re having this start, do you feel like you’re proving people wrong?

Mike Trout has his 9th home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/rkiNeQwAYF

— MLB (@MLB) April 24, 2024

I’ve always, for me personally, I know when I’m out there, I can put up numbers. The biggest thing is just being consistent. If I’m in a good spot at the plate, and I’m healthy, I feel great, I can put up numbers against anybody.

Your runners in scoring position numbers have been one concerning area (2-for-22). It’s a small sample, clearly, but I’m curious about your perspective on it?

There’s a handful of at-bats where I’ve had chances to drive runs in. And I didn’t come through. It’s the beginning of the season. Obviously, you want to drive in runs every time. I think you go back to the feeling thing, feeling good in those moments, that’s big for me. I know it’s a small sample size. I know at the end of the year, the numbers will be there.

You said the other night that you hate the word “mechanics” in the context of hitting. Why is that? 

It’s feeling. Mechanics is more like stuff with your hands. Starting higher, lower. For me, it’s more feeling as in, like, weight. And small movements pre-pitch. As in my setup. If I’m in the right setup to be hitting, I can just do my natural swing and go from there.

Now that you’ve gotten more stolen bases under your belt, how does it feel? Are you surprised at all by the success?

I know there was going to be opportunities for me to get stolen bases. I think there’s a lot of chances out there. The guys that are quick to the plate are going to be tough. There’s guys that have the high leg kick that just pitch like that, and you can get them easy.

Beyond people kind of doubting you, has it been tough the last few years to keep getting questions about health and everything happening off the field?

I don’t read any of that stuff. I try to enjoy life as it is. I’m in a great situation at home. I try to block out the noise as much as I can. Obviously, you’re going to see stuff on TV and stuff. I think if you keep that tunnel clear, with the path and a goal in mind, that’s good.

The Orioles optioned MLB’s top prospect, Jackson Holliday, on Friday. You’ve been in that position. Great young player who was sent back to the minors. What would you say to him?

Looking back on what I went through, it kind of helped me. Obviously, I didn’t want to get sent back down. But when I did get sent back down, I kind of knew what to expect when I got the call back up. Because you know he’s going to get called back up. I think slow the game down. Play freely. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. That’s all big stuff. He’s (20) years old. He’s a young kid. It’s all a big learning curve for him. He’s going to have an unbelievable career. Everybody can see it. For him, it’s just a learning curve for him.

(Top photo: Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)