Does Mike Trout Want to Win Enough?

Can we have a hard conversation about Mike Trout? Because, you know, this:

I think we all know that JoeBlogs is unapologetically Mike Trout Country. Could not love the guy more. And yet… several years ago, when Mike Trout signed that long-term contract with the Angels, a baseball executive I like and respect very much called and basically said this: “Nobody who cares about winning would have signed that deal.”

I fought back pretty hard that day. I said that Trout’s loyal. I said that Trout is a fan of baseball history and wants to be a one-team player. But the executive repeated himself in clear-as-bell terms:

“ANYONE WHO CARES ABOUT WINNING WOULD NOT HAVE SIGNED A LIFETIME DEAL WITH THE ANGELS.”

Shohei Ohtani is out. Mike Trout remains. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Well, that was 2019. And in the years that have followed,