Mike Trout is on an absurd tear at the plate in which he has belted 11 home runs in his last 13 games, but he proved on Tuesday night that he is capable of changing the game on defense, too. There was one play in particular that helped the Los Angeles Angels preserve an early lead, and Trout seemed quite proud of it.
With the Angels leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Corey Seager lined a base hit to center field and Max Muncy tried to score from second base. Trout made an absolutely perfect throw home to gun him out.
A perfect throw by Mike Trout
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/b35yRDICpO
— ESPN (@espn) July 24, 2019
As Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com pointed out, Trout’s throw home was clocked at 98.6 mph by Statcast. It was tied for the third-hardest throw from the outfield this season and was Trout’s hardest since Statcast was introduced in 2015. When Trout caught wind of that, he immediately began bragging to his teammates.
Mike Trout found out in the dugout that his outfield assist was thrown 98.6 mph, which is probably his hardest ever. He started bragging about it immediately. "He came *quick* and let me know that," Angels RF Kole Calhoun said.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 24, 2019
Trout still couldn’t get enough of the feat after the game, and he told reporters he planned on calling former Angels pitcher Garrett Richards to let him know.
Mike Trout said he would be sure to let Garrett Richards know he threw a ball 98 mph from the outfield. It was the hardest throw he’s made since tracking began in 2015
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 24, 2019
It was already hard to believe that Trout is doing things at the plate this year that he has never done before in his remarkable career, but he seems even more pumped about that 98.6 mph throw. While belting homers is second nature to him at this point, gunning guys out at the plate doesn’t come quite as easily.
