BRIEF:
Q&A
GREGFIUME/MLBPAVIAGETTY IMAGES
O
UTFIELDERMIKETROUT,momDebbie,
dad Jeff, brother Tyler and sister Teal
drive 125milesnorth from theirMillville,
N.J., home toupstateSecaucus on June9, 2009.
Major LeagueBaseball’splayer draft isheadquar-
tered here in theMLBNetwork’s Studio42. First
pick of the day: Stephen Strasburg, pitcher. The
seventhpick isannounced: “Mike… .”But it’sMike
Minor, a college pitcher. Eighth pick: “Mike … .”
This time, it’s Mike Leake, another pitcher. The
anxiety grows. On it goes. Finally, the 25th pick:
“Mike… Trout” to the Los Angeles Angels of Ana-
heim. A smart or risky pick of a 17-year-old high
school senior?Cut to2012:Calledup
in late April from theminors, Mike
Trout hits .326with 30 home runs,
steals49bases,becomesanAll-Star,
breaks the team’s record for runs
scored in a season, places second
in the vote for the league’s Most
ValuablePlayer and is a unanimous
choice — the youngest in history,
in fact, at age 21 — for the Jackie
Robinson Award as the American
League’sRookieof theYear.
AMERICANWAY
:
Last year was
like one highlight after another
afteranother.Whichwas themost
memorablemoment foryou?
MIKE TROUT:
I’d have to say the
All-Star Game. You’re out there on
the field and you’rewatching these
guys youwatchedas akid, andyou
suddenly realizeyou’reoneof them.
Itwas thegreatest all-around expe-
rience for me, to be a part of that.
And then towin the Rookie of the
Year award later, it’s all beenpretty
incredible.
AW
:
It wasn’t that long ago that
youwere a kid. You’repractically
still akid. Howdidyoumanage to
get this far inyourcareer this fast?
MT:
I played a lot of sports growingup. Baseball
was the one I found that I could compete in. My
parents were such a big influence. We were all
jumpy every time aMike got called at the draft.
Mydadplayedball—hegot draftedby the [Min-
nesota]Twins.Hepushedme,whether itwas just
playing“flip”orgivingmeadvice, so I couldbe the
best I couldbe.Off the field,mymomandhedid
everythingpossible to keepmyheadon straight.
I’m sure itmust havebeen stressful, the timeand
money they sacrificedonme.
AW
:
Andnowyou’re teammateswithAlbertPu-
jolsandJoshHamilton, twoof the
biggestnames in thegame.
MT:
Oh,man. That’s soamazing. Al-
bertPujols isanawesomeguy.Early
in the season, when he was strug-
gling, hewas still exactly the same
person he was later, when he was
hitting great. He never got down.
That was a great example for me
of how to be. Josh Hamilton, well,
as you probably know, he is a fun
guy towatch. I’m glad he’s with us
rather than against us now. We’d
be in theoutfieldwhen Joshwould
come tobat, and I’d talk to [former
teammate]ToriiHunterandsay, “We
can’t let this guy get one past us.”
But sometimes hewould. He’s just
that good.
AW
:
Sowhatnext?Howdoyoutop
lastyear?
MT:
Idon’tknow. Justkeepbanging
away, Iguess. Seewhathappens. To
winaWorldSeries is thebiggoal for
all of us. I’m young, but I’m just as
hungry forachampionshipassome
of the veteran guys are. I won’t say,
“I’m young. I’ve got time.” I want us
towin now because that’s whywe
play thegame.
LeagueofChampion
Rookieof theYear
MIKETROUT
hasearnedhiskeep.Nowhe
wants toearnaWorldSeries ring.
Getting
toKnow
Mike
Trout
MUSICYOUWOULD
BRINGALONG
FORALONGFLIGHT:
I’ma country-music
guy. JasonAldean.
LukeBryan.
MOVIEYOUCOULD
WATCHAGAINAND
AGAIN:
HappyGilmore
.
Itmakesme laugh
every time.
MEALYOUWOULD
ORDER IFYOUCOULD
ORDERANYTHING:
Surf and turf. Lobster
for sure.
PLACEYOUHAVEN’T
BEENTOYETBUT
WANTTOSEE:
Paris
SOMEONEYOUHOPE
TOMEET INPERSON:
Hmmm, that’s agood
question. I need to
thinkabout that. I don’t
know. TomHanks?
30
APRIL 01, 2013
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
