Mike Trout saw an opportunity recently to bring his Los Angeles Angels teammates a little closer together. To say it did not go according to plan turned out to be an understatement.
The Angels had an off-day in Baltimore on Aug. 3, which allowed Trout to hold a team bonding day at his private golf club in Millville, N.J., with a course designed for Trout by Tiger Woods. Aug. 3 also happened to be the day of the trade deadline, and the Angels wound up being sellers.
Five Angels players were traded at the deadline, and four of them were in attendance at Trout’s golf event and found out they’d been dealt while golfing.
“It seemed like every four or five holes someone was getting the call,” Trout admitted to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Reliever Brent Suter, outfielder Jo Adell and reliever Ryan Zeferjahn were all traded while on the course. Reliever Kirby Yates found out he was dealt while in a car traveling back to Trout’s home after the round was over.
“You were hearing some cheers and some hugs going on throughout the golf course as guys were getting traded,” Adell said. “We got to hole nine and I was pretty much giving out hugs.”
In retrospect, scheduling a golf outing for trade deadline day was probably not a great idea. That said, it’s not as if the Angels get many off-days on the East Coast that would allow them to visit Trout’s golf club. The date was essentially preordained for them.
There was actually some speculation that Trout exerted some influence over which of his teammates got traded. This would serve as pretty solid evidence to back his assertion that was never the case.
