Another Milestone (yawn) Approaches for Mike Trout

19 Sep 2016 03:50

Mike Trout is a few "Mike Trout" games away from notching his second 10-WAR season. Combined, the rest of major league baseball – that is, every player currently on a major league roster – has zero (apologies to Bryce Harper, who amassed 9.9 WAR last year).

Mike Trout turned 25 last month. A giant table then, in his honor, listing the 25-best seasons of the last 25 years, as ranked by WAR. Trout should breach the top-10 again by season's end.

Rk	Player	WAR	Year	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Barry Bonds	11.9	2001	36	153	476	129	156	32	2	73	137	177	35	13	3	.328	.515	.863	1.379
2	Barry Bonds	11.8	2002	37	143	403	117	149	31	2	46	110	198	68	9	2	.370	.582	.799	1.381
3	Cal Ripken	11.5	1991	30	162	650	99	210	46	5	34	114	53	15	6	1	.323	.374	.566	.940
4	Mike Trout	10.8	2012	20	139	559	129	182	27	8	30	83	67	4	49	5	.326	.399	.564	.963
5	Barry Bonds	10.6	2004	39	147	373	129	135	27	3	45	101	232	120	6	1	.362	.609	.812	1.422
6	Alex Rodriguez	10.4	2000	24	148	554	134	175	34	2	41	132	100	5	15	4	.316	.420	.606	1.026
7	Sammy Sosa	10.3	2001	32	160	577	146	189	34	5	64	160	116	37	0	2	.328	.437	.737	1.174
8	Bryce Harper	9.9	2015	22	153	521	118	172	38	1	42	99	124	15	6	4	.330	.460	.649	1.109
9	Barry Bonds	9.9	1993	28	159	539	129	181	38	4	46	123	126	43	29	12	.336	.458	.677	1.136
10	Larry Walker	9.8	1997	30	153	568	143	208	46	4	49	130	78	14	33	8	.366	.452	.720	1.172
11	Albert Pujols	9.7	2009	29	160	568	124	186	45	1	47	135	115	44	16	4	.327	.443	.658	1.101
12	Ken Griffey	9.7	1996	26	140	545	125	165	26	2	49	140	78	13	16	1	.303	.392	.628	1.020
13	Barry Bonds	9.6	1996	31	158	517	122	159	27	3	42	129	151	30	40	7	.308	.461	.615	1.076
14	Adrian Beltre	9.5	2004	25	156	598	104	200	32	0	48	121	53	9	7	2	.334	.388	.629	1.017
15	Mike Trout	9.4	2016	24	139	485	110	156	30	4	27	89	97	10	25	5	.322	.439	.567	1.006
16	Mike Trout	9.4	2015	23	159	575	104	172	32	6	41	90	92	14	11	7	.299	.402	.590	.991
17	Alex Rodriguez	9.4	2007	31	158	583	143	183	31	0	54	156	95	11	24	4	.314	.422	.645	1.067
18	Alex Rodriguez	9.4	2005	29	162	605	124	194	29	1	48	130	91	8	21	6	.321	.421	.610	1.031
19	Craig Biggio	9.4	1997	31	162	619	146	191	37	8	22	81	84	6	47	10	.309	.415	.501	.916
20	Alex Rodriguez	9.4	1996	20	146	601	141	215	54	1	36	123	59	1	15	4	.358	.414	.631	1.045
21	Mike Trout	9.3	2013	21	157	589	109	190	39	9	27	97	110	10	33	7	.323	.432	.557	.988
22	Albert Pujols	9.2	2008	28	148	524	100	187	44	0	37	116	104	34	7	3	.357	.462	.653	1.114
23	Barry Bonds	9.2	2003	38	130	390	111	133	22	1	45	90	148	61	7	0	.341	.529	.749	1.278
24	Scott Rolen	9.1	2004	29	142	500	109	157	32	4	34	124	72	5	4	3	.314	.409	.598	1.007
25	Ichiro Suzuki	9.1	2004	30	161	704	101	262	24	5	8	60	49	19	36	11	.372	.414	.455	.869

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/12/2016.

Trout's career has essentially been one long milestone to this point, so marking another 10-WAR season probably doesn't warrant a plaque in his personal trophy room (though there's plenty of room where his multiple MVPs should be). But it does give us an excuse to reflect on a fascinating list.

Bonds, of course, takes three of the top-five spots by virtue of the greatest hitting peak in baseball history. Ripken (#3) in 1991 produced perhaps the best all-around season ever for a shortstop -- one needs to travel back to 1908 to find another 11+ WAR season at the position (Wagner, obviously). Ripken, Adrien Beltre (#14) and Scott Rolen (#24) can claim the best defensive seasons on the list, while no player generated more value on the basepaths than Trout in 2012 (Trout's 2012 season probably qualifies as the most "well-rounded" on the list--he was an elite hitter, defenderand baserunner). Between them, Bonds, Trout and Alex Rodriguez claim 14 spots on the list; A-Rod's switch to third base from shortstop in 2004 likely cost him at least two additional 10+ WAR seasons (without the extra credit for positional adjustments).

It should bring no small measure of delight that Ichiro Suzuki's 2004 campaign (eight home runs … in this company) makes the list.
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Photo Credit: Keith Allison CC BY-SA 4.0

Another Milestone (yawn) Approaches for Mike Trout

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