TEMPE, Ariz. — At 8:30 a.m. Monday, two hours before the Angels’ first full-squad workout of 2018, Mike Trout emerged from their Tempe Diablo Stadium clubhouse. He had three stops on his itinerary: an on-camera interview with the team’s television crew, a scrum with five American reporters, and an interpreted session with dozens of members of the Japanese media.
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He was back in the room before 20 minutes had elapsed. Efficient with his words and steadfastly avoiding anything revelatory, Trout said he had a wonderful offseason. He rejoiced in his December wedding to his high-school sweetheart, Jessica. He recounted his role in the recruitment of Ohtani. He celebrated his hometown Philadelphia Eagles’ unexpected rise to a Super Bowl victory. And he acknowledged that the increased expectations for the 2018 Angels, from both their own and outsiders.
That’s almost the extent of it. Before general manager Billy Eppler informed him of the pursuit, Trout had seen only quick clips of Ohtani on social media. He then heard on a Sunday that the Angels had won a spot to pitch the player in a Los Angeles conference room the following day.
Because his wedding would be held six days later in New Jersey, he never seriously considered being there. But he FaceTimed into the meeting. There was no prep or script involved, Trout said. It wasn’t a particularly long conversation. He just relayed what he thought: that he liked the Angels, believed the team could be good, and hoped Ohtani would join him.
Ohtani said later Monday, through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, that he’d rather not comment on what Trout told him that day. Ohtani threw a short bullpen session, Aerosmith’s “Dream On” soundtracking most of it, and he also completed two rounds of pitchers’ fielding practice, a bunting drill, situational hitting and traditional batting practice. He batted in the same group as Trout and Kole Calhoun.
Since he established himself, Trout has made a habit of declaring a skill he’d like to improve upon each spring. He’s resolved to swing at more first pitches, become better at making contact with high fastballs, and steal more bases. His degree of follow-through has varied. In 2018, he said, he’d like to improve his defense. He said he had seen some stuff — Trout required some prodding to remember the word he sought: “metrics” — that indicated there was room to improve in that realm.
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“There are a lot of defensive metrics out there that you want to get better on,” Trout said. “It pops up every once in a while. I’m trying to get better at everything.”
The metrics disagree on Trout’s quality in the field, though none of them rate him among the elite center fielders. Asked how he thought he could improve, manager Mike Scioscia said Trout is “fine” in the field, and noted the “physical wear-and-tear” incurred from years of manning a demanding position.
After Trout talked in the morning, many of the Angels greeted each other for the first time. Holdover reliever Noe Ramirez said hello to new fourth outfielder Chris Young. They played together for the Boston Red Sox. Albert Pujols greeted first baseman Chris Carter, another new arrival.
On his first full day in camp, Andrelton Simmons returned to his norms. He spent all morning in the batting cages. Shohei Ohtani sprayed and toweled off his cleats. Players shuffled out of the clubhouse to film clips for television rights-holder Fox Sports West.
They held a lengthy team meeting and then set off for Tempe’s back fields, cameras following as Ohtani carried his bat bag over his left shoulder.
Notes
Young said he worked out with Justin Upton throughout the offseason, which he said helped convince him to sign with the Angels. The two men are close friends and were first teammates with the 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks. Then 19, Upton stayed with Young when he was first promoted to the big leagues that August. . . . Several Angels asked Mizuhara to complete one grounder pick-up at the end of pitchers’ fielding practice. He did as asked to applause.
(Top photo: Jim Cowsert/USA TODAY Sports)