Mike Trout may have moved to left field, but he has not lost his ability to make spectacular plays in the outfield.
During the top of the fifth inning of Friday’s Los Angeles Angels-Pittsburgh Pirates game, Trout robbed Pirates first baseman Gaby Sanchez of an extra-base hit with a sensational diving catch at the warning track.
Angels starter Jered Weaver threw Sanchez an off-speed pitch that he hit down the left-field line for a likely RBI double. But the ball had some loft, allowing Trout to chase it down. The second-year man laid out with a full-extension, perfectly-timed dive to make the inning-ending catch at the track. It truly was a thing of beauty.
You remember all that talk about Trout being overweight and losing his elite speed? Shoot, watch this play and tell me this guy has gotten slower.
One of the best parts of that video was watching the young fan in the outfield’s jaw drop wide open after seeing that catch:
That’s pretty much the exact same reaction that I had.
Trout went 0-for-4 at the plate in the Angels’ 5-2 loss. He’s still batting .313/.391/.549 with 12 home runs and 16 stolen bases this season. No dropoff for him.
If that catch by Trout looks familiar, that’s because he made one that looked just like it back in April.
