Now Mike Trout himself has weighed in on the mini-controversy about him and Commissioner Rob Manfred.
On Tuesday, Manfred talked about the league not marketing its stars better and said that Trout was partially to blame for the issue because of a lack of interest.
“Mike’s a great, great player and a really nice person, but he’s made certain decisions about what he wants to do and what he doesn’t want to do, and how he wants to spend his free time and how he doesn’t want to spend his free time,” Manfred said, via ESPN. “That’s up to him. If he wants to engage and be more active in that area, I think we could help him make his brand really, really big. But he has to make a decision that he’s prepared to engage in that area. It takes time and effort.”
A day later, the Los Angeles Angels responded by defending their superstar. In their statement, the Angels called Trout “an exceptional ambassador for the game” and “perfect role model.” They also praised him for prioritizing his personal life over his self-commercialization.
Later in the evening, Trout responded with a very Mike Trout statement. It was simple, to the point, and encouraged everyone to get back to focusing on baseball.
Statement from Mike Trout: pic.twitter.com/qM7h2SXoPB
— Angels (@Angels) July 19, 2018
Trout has avoided controversies throughout his career, so it’s no surprise he’s doing so here. If you’re looking for drama with Mike Trout, you’re just not going to get it.
