It is the biggest contract in sports history, breaking the record of the one signed by the other contender for the title of "best player in baseball," Bryce Harper, with the Phillies, $330 million over 13 years.
Trout is 27 years old, just entering his prime, has already made 7 All-Star teams, and won 2 American League Most Valuable Player awards. But, as good as they have been, neither he nor Harper has ever played on a team that has won a postseason series.
The Phillies are clearly going for it, as Harper is far from their only big acquisition. The Angels? Since his debut in 2011, they've usually been good, but have only made the postseason once, winning the American League Western Division title in 2014 (his 1st MVP season), and they got swept in the AL Division Series. So he's going to go into his 28th birthday without ever having played in a winning postseason game -- something glaring given that, each year, 10 out of 30 teams make the Playoffs.
Angels owner Arte Moreno can afford to build a winning team around Trout. But since buying the team in 2003, when they were coming off the only Pennant they've ever won in 58 seasons, and were defending World Champions, they've made the Playoffs 6 times in 16 seasons (not a bad ratio), but only won 2 Playoff series and 3 ALCS games (not good).
If Trout was looking for money, he got it. If he was looking for security and stability (Harper's reason for seeking a 13-year deal), he got it. But if he was looking for his best possible shot at winning... Well, Moreno has tried, just as the Angels' original owner, legendary entertainer Gene Autry, did, but it didn't work out for him.
This morning, shortly after the deal was announced, someone on Twitter wrote this:
A reasonable aging curve for Trout's age 27-38 seasons has him putting up about 85 WAR over the next 12 seasons (that's Chipper Jones's career on top of what Trout's already done). So even at $430M the Angels are still only paying about $5M per win.
I remember, when I was a kid, reading about Mickey Mantle, and he said, "My dream was to have a big WAR. The World Series didn't matter."
Actually, no, I don't remember that. The Mick didn't say that. No player said that. And no fan dreamed of Wins Above Replacement, either. We dreamed of actual wins.
By the time he was the age that Trout is now, Mantle had already won 7 Pennants and 5 World Series -- as many as Derek Jeter did in his entire career.
True, some athletes hang on long enough to finally win one late. In baseball, we have the examples of Jackie Robinson and several other members of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, Warren Spahn with the 1957 Milwaukee Braves, Al Kaline with the 1968 Detroit Tigers, Jim Kaat with the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals, Dave Winfield with the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays, Wade Boggs with the 1996 Yankees, Roger Clemens with the 1999 Yankees, Randy Johnson and Mitch Williams with the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, Ivan Rodriguez with the 2003 Florida Marlins, Carlos Beltran and Justin Verlander with the 2017 Houston Astros, and perhaps others that I'm overlooking.
But we also have examples of all-time greats who never make it. Ty Cobb was 0-3 in World Series. Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Gwynn were 0-2. Ted Williams and Barry Bonds were 0-1. Ernie Banks and Ken Griffey Jr. never made it to one.
Trout has the talent. In Moreno, he has an owner ready, willing and able to spend. Will Trout and Moreno have the luck necessary to put a title run together? We shall see.
But winning matters. WAR is just a number, one which suggests a player's winning value, but doesn't actually predict it.
Or, to put it another way: WAR! Huh! Good God, y'all! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
*
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 2, this Thursday night, at 8:00, a friendly against Ecuador at Orlando City Stadium.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 4, Saturday night at 7:00, away to Orlando City (same stadium).
Days until the Yankees' 2019 Opening Day: 9, a week from this Thursday, home to the Baltimore Orioles. A shade over 2 weeks. Come on, Brian Cashman: Sign Dallas Keuchel!
Days until Arsenal play again: 13, on Monday, April 1, at 3:00 PM New York time, home to Newcastle United. The Gunners are clinging to 4th place in the Premier League, 1 point behind arch-rival Tottenham, and have advanced to the Quarterfinal of the UEFA Europa League.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 13, on Monday night, April 1, against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, at the Prudential Center, in the regular season home finale. The Devils are not scheduled to play the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, again during the regular season.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 28, on Tuesday, April 16, at Yankee Stadium II. Just 4 weeks.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 32, on Saturday night, April 20, against the New England Revolution, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, June 8, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington.
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 80, on June 7, in France. A little over 11 weeks. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions, but has struggled in its warmup friendlies and in the recent SheBelieves Cup, drawing with Japan and England before beating Brazil, while England beat Japan and Brazil to win the Cup.
Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 102, on June 29. A little over 3 months.
Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as both Premier League matches, and a League Cup match, have been played this season. The next season starts on August 10, which is 144 days from now, but the PL never puts a Derby on the opening weekend. The Gunners and Spurs usually play each other in N5 in October or November, and then in N17 (presuming Spurs finally get that new stadium open by then) in February or March.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 165, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. A little over 5 months.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, which would be 171 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and its arch-rivals, Old Bridge, will no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. That game will now be played earlier in the season, but we don't yet know when. And it will be under a new head coach, because Bob Molarz, in charge for the last 6 seasons, has resigned.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 256, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 8 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 274, on December 18, 2019. Under 9 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 308, on January 21, 2020. About 10 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 493, on July 24, 2020. Under a year and a half, or a little over 16 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 595, on November 3, 2020. Under 2 years, or under 20 months.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 656, on January 3, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 22 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 673, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or 22 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,053, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 35 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,343, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 years, or 44 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.