Listen, we know it's tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn't easy. It's okay, though, we're going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
★★★
That Mike Trout guy is pretty alright at baseball. The raving is usually for his bat -- he is hitting .300/.389/.575 for a 172 OPS+ that’s somehow better than his career figure -- but his glove is exceptional, as well. The Yankees were reminded of this on three occasions on Monday, as Trout robbed Chris Young of not one, but two deep outfield hits in left center with leaping grabs. Then, just because, he chased down a ball in right center later on to make it three quality plays in center. We know you’re straight edge, C.J. Wilson, but that shouldn’t stop you from buying Trout a beer as thanks for saving you on three occasions in one game. Or, you know, whatever it is Trout wants as payment for his general awesomeness.
Trout also made sure to show Young how you’re supposed to hit the ball to deep center, as he smacked a solo homer there, basically to the same place as Young’s deep outs, just a little bit further to where he couldn’t be robbed. You won’t see it in the video linked above, but Trout also added a stolen base to the mix, his ninth of the year, though it didn’t end up leading to a run. Trout can’t do everything by himself, you know.
Performances like this are such the norm for Trout that it’s easy to lose sight of how special he is. We’re so focused on the even newer and younger players -- Hi, Joc Pederson -- that it’s easy to miss things like Trout besting his already impressive career work, or Trout cutting down on his strikeout rate, or the fact he’s still just 23 and maybe hasn’t even entered his career peak yet. Keep paying attention, though, because they just don’t make ‘em like Trout very often.
- The former home of the Eugene Emeralds, Civic Stadium, has gone up in flames. It was an historic ballpark, one of just 12 wooden ballparks left in the country, and it was in the process of being converted for things like soccer and children’s sports.
- The Phillies introduced Andy MacPhail with a press conference on Monday, and kept bringing up sabermetrics in the process.
- Angels’ general manager Jerry Dipoto and Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia are once again at odds, and again it’s because Scioscia isn’t utilizing scouting data prepared by the front office.
- In case you didn’t click on this the first time around, Joc Pederson is two homers away from the record for rookie dingers before July.
- Here are four lessons to learn from Matt Duffy, a player who doesn’t make sense.
- An Ichiro Suzuki reunion with the Mariners is a thing that continually comes up, especially with the Marlins falling out of the race. Should Seattle try to acquire the outfielder? Well...
- The Brewers are not showing any urgency for rebuilding in the month before the trade deadline.
- How different would Mets history be if they had signed Vladimir Guerrero back in 2004?
- The Josh Donaldson trade was something of a head scratcher even before the third baseman went off to the Blue Jays, but there are those who still think it was the right move.
- The Astros signed one of their first-round picks, high school outfielder Daz Cameron, son of former big league centerfielder Mike Cameron.
- Let Jose Tabata be a warning at the trade deadline for teams yearning for other clubs’ prospects, or clinging too much to their own.
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