How good has Mike Trout been?

By Gary Hill

On August 7, 1991 Ken Griffey Jr. was batting third in the order against the Oakland A’s. Griffey went 1-3 with a run and a walk on the day as Bob Welch pitched the Athletics to a 6-1 win. He was already in his third season as a pro as a 21-year old hitting .327 with 22 homers 100 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. What else happened on August 7, 1991? Mike Trout was born. Trout celebrated his 21st birthday a handful of days ago and his massive output this season has memories of the very young Griffey flooding back. Trout has had a ridiculous year so far-.345 batting average 20 homers 60 RBIs 36 stolen bases .409 OBP .597 SLG 1.005 OPS. He has vaulted himself into American League MVP contention as he plays with the AL Rookie of the Year award already tucked into his back-pocket. Trout is on pace for a truly historic season. How good has it been? Let us look at the best seasons in baseball history for position players 20 years of age or younger. We will use WAR (Wins Above Replacement) provided by baseballreference.com as the comparative measure.

This list tells you all you need to know about the season Trout is having. Six of the ten other players listed are already in the Hall of Fame soon to be joined by Griffey. Two players are still active. Vada Pinson is the only player on the list who will not be making the Hall of Fame with any sort of certainty. He had a solid career and spent 15 years on the ballot before falling short.

No matter what happens the rest of this season, however, he has already earned a place on my coveted All-Fish Team. Here is the lineup:

CF Mike Trout
2B Bobby Sturgeon
LF Tim Salmon
RF Kevin Bass
1B Mike Carp
3B Mike Fischlin
DH Lip Pike
C Lefty Herring
SS Chico Salmon

SP Warren Spahn
Catfish Hunter
Steve Trout
Harry Slippery Eels
Dizzy Trout