Mike Trout Talks Hitting

Mike Trout has been one of the best hitters of his generation, if not one of the best in baseball annals. Now 35 years old and in his 16th major league season — all with the Los Angeles Angels — the pride of Millville, New Jersey has left the yard 424 times while logging a 163 wRC+ over 7,765 plate appearances. A 12-time All-Star and three-time MVP, he has been awarded nine Silver Sluggers.

When Trout arrives in Cooperstown — already with 90.2 WAR, enshrinement is basically a fait accompli — he will do so as a slugger who embraced a relatively straightforward approach. Much like his longtime contemporary Bryce Harper, who was featured in our Talks Hitting series back in May, Trout is steadfastly old school in the batter’s box. It’s hard to argue with the results. While no longer in his prime — not even legends can defeat Father Time — he is undeniably an all-time great.

Trout sat down to talk hitting prior to Tuesday’s game at Fenway Park.

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David Laurila: How much have you changed as a hitter since signing your first professional contract?

Mike Trout: “I’m pretty much the same guy. I try to keep it that way. If you look at when I was younger — high school to early in pro ball — it’s pretty much the same now. I mean, there have been tweaks here and there. It might look a little different, but I feel like I’m the same hitter.”

Laurila: Can you elaborate on “might look a little different?”

Trout: “Subtle differences in my setup. The main thing is my contact points, and you probably wouldn’t see much difference there, but the setup is what gets you to that spot. That’s what I’m working on during the times I’m trying to figure stuff out.”

Laurila: Is that basically a feel thing?

Trout: “It’s all feel. I can go in the cage and put more weight on my front foot, or put more weight on my back foot, put more weight on my heel. That will get me to where it feels right. I know when it’s right. I know my swing.”

Laurila: A veteran hitter recently told me that he has needed to make adjustments due to the fact that he is no longer as young as he once was. His body has changed. Have any of your adjustments, subtle as they might be, come as a result of aging?

Trout: “I wouldn’t say that. Again, it’s more just a feel thing. My first couple of years, the feel was there more often than it has been the last five. Maybe that has something to do my lower half, or the knee injury. I can’t really pinpoint what it would be, but people could say that [it is age related]. Sure.”

Laurila: You mentioned contact point. Are you generally trying to catch the ball more out front?

Trout: “No. I catch the ball deep. But there are adjustments, because each year you find out where they are going to pitch you. Personally, I don’t really have to know how they are going to pitch me, although I do know how they’re going to pitch me. I know that they’re going to throw me fastballs up. If I’m in a good spot at the plate, I won’t swing at that ball up. But if I’m looking up, I’m going to swing; I’m going to chase it. You know what I’m saying? If I’m in a good spot, with my right approach, I’m going to lay off that pitch.”

Laurila: It’s been well chronicled that elevated fastballs are how pitchers like to attack you. That said, a lot of hitters struggle with that pitch…

Trout: “No doubt.”

Laurila: Have you had different approaches toward that over the course of your career?

Trout: “No, I’ve always… the biggest thing for me is that I’m obviously a good low-ball hitter. If you’re not hitting to your strength, there’s an issue. If you start chasing the ball up, and you’re not hitting the ball down, where does that get you? So, I’ve always told myself, and I’ve always felt, that if I’m in a good spot at the plate — my body is in a good position to get off a good swing — I will lay off the ones up and hit the ones down hard.”

Laurila: This is a three-game series, so you’re probably going to face six or eight different pitchers. Are you going to approach them mostly the same way, or do you more put guys in buckets?

Trout: “I’ll pretty much approach them the same way. We’ve got lefties tonight and tomorrow, and I don’t really know who I’ll see out of the bullpen, but… I mean, the approach for me is really about where my swing is timing-wise. If I’m staying up the middle to right-center, and if I’m a tick late, I just move my sights a little bit. That gets me on time.”

Laurila: Jake Burger used the term “buckets” when I talked hitting with him. He said that he typically approaches sinker-slider pitchers differently than guys who throw a lot of four-seamers and curveballs.

Trout: “Yeah, some stuff works for guys. For me, it’s about keeping it simple. If I overevaluate things, or overthink things, that gets me in trouble. Bad things happen.”

Laurila: It has been said that you can’t think and hit at the same time. Even so, a hitter needs to go pitch-by-pitch, which requires a certain amount of thought. Right?

Trout: “I mean, I’m always looking for one pitch. I’m looking for a fastball. If I’m on time for the heater, I can react to the offspeed.”

Laurila: Hitting analytics have obviously become a big part of the game. How much have you delved into that?

Trout: “People have asked me about that: What are your thoughts on analytics? I don’t mind analytics, but I think if you’re trying to be a robot up there, trying to get a chart to be exactly the way you want it, that can get you in trouble. When you’re going good, you can see what your numbers are, and when you’re going through a little bit of a struggle, you can look at that stuff and figure out, ‘OK, this is where I might need to make an adjustment.’ That’s fine. But again, if you’re up there trying to be a robot, it’s not going to work.”

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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Pete Alonso, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Jake Burger, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Max Clark, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Bryce Harper, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Walker Jenkins, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Shea Langeliers, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Dillon Lawson, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Kevin McGonigle, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Paul Molitor, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., James Tibbs III, Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Ryan Waldschmidt, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis