Buster Olney blogs about Mike Trout becoming the youngest AL player to hit for the cycle and says that we could be looking at a battle between Miguel Cabrera and Trout for the AL MVP.
What a difference one offseason can make.
On May 22, 2012, the Cleveland Indians found themselves atop the American League Central, sporting a surprising 23-18 record. Today, the Indians again sit in first place with an equally surprising 26-18 record.
But the Indians are a completely different team in 2013.
They’ve been the best story in the AL this season. Outside of the New York Yankees' cast of reclamation projects, the Indians arguably have been the most fun team to watch in the league. New manager Terry Francona has injected the franchise with his positive energy and motivational skills. His championship-winning background earned him instant respect and credibility, from the players all the way to the front office. Teaming with general manager Chris Antonetti and president Mark Shapiro, the trio did a good job of addressing most of the team's needs.
So it is nearly June, and the Indians lead the division favorite Detroit Tigers by a game and a half. Indians fans should enjoy it while they can. Despite the team being significantly better than last season’s squad, it simply does not have enough starting pitching to keep pace with the Tigers in the AL Central. And without some extra pitching help, the Indians can’t even be considered a legitimate wild-card contender.
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With contending clubs such as the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox running into injury problems with their bullpens, one expectation is for them to hit the trade market and seek such a fix. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com asked one executive how that market is looking: "Non-existent," was part of the response.
Part of the reason for a slim-or-none market is that it's May, and with two Wild Card berths in each league, more teams are still within shouting distance. The Braves, however, are in the market for a southpaw, with both Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty out for the year with torn elbow ligaments.
Possibilities include Scott Downs of the Angels and Mariners' southpaw Oliver Perez, both of whom are set for free agency following the season. White Sox lefty Matt Thornton could also be available if the White Sox fail contend beyond the All-Star break.
Part of the reason for a slim-or-none market is that it's May, and with two Wild Card berths in each league, more teams are still within shouting distance. The Braves, however, are in the market for a southpaw, with both Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty out for the year with torn elbow ligaments.
Possibilities include Scott Downs of the Angels and Mariners' southpaw Oliver Perez, both of whom are set for free agency following the season. White Sox lefty Matt Thornton could also be available if the White Sox fail contend beyond the All-Star break.
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Trout aims high by looking low
May, 22, 2013
May 22
1:59
AM ET
By ESPN Stats & Information | ESPN.com
Trout became the sixth-youngest player to hit for the cycle, notching a single, double, triple and home run in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Let’s run through our collection of notes on Trout’s big day.
The history
The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that Trout is the youngest American League player to hit for the cycle, and the youngest player with one in either league since another phenom, Cesar Cedeno of the Houston Astros, hit for the cycle at age 21 in 1972.
Trout and Alex Rodriguez are the only 21-year-olds in AL history to hit for the cycle. Trout is 25 days younger than Rodriguez was when he hit for the cycle for the Seattle Mariners in 1997.
Trout is also one of only three players in that same span to hit for the cycle in a game in which he also drove in five or more runs and stole at least one base.
The two instances happened more than 80 years ago: Babe Herman for the 1931 Brooklyn Dodgers and Tony Lazzeri for the 1932 New York Yankees.
This was the seventh time someone has hit for the cycle in Angels history, the first since Chone Figgins had one in a loss to the Texas Rangers in 2006. Trout is the sixth different Angels player to hit for the cycle. Former Angels infielder and manager Jim Fregosi had two of them.
It marked the second straight season that a player hit for the cycle against the Mariners. Aaron Hill did it for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.
Trout’s hitting
Trout entered the day hitting .278 for the season. He’d raised his batting average 17 points in May, but was 1-for-12 in his previous four games, and 1-for-9 on pitches in the lower half of the strike zone or below it.
That’s unsual because that’s the area in which Trout thrived last season.
Trout was the best hitter in baseball when at-bats ended in pitches to that area last season, leading the majors in all three slashline stats (.360/.394/.608). His 21 home runs were tied for seventh-most in the majors.
Until Tuesday, Trout hadn’t had that kind of magic, with a .259 batting average against those pitches.
But Tuesday may have cured what ailed him. All four of his hits came against pitches in the lower half of the zone, or just below it, including the final hit, a home run on a pitch that wasn’t even knee-high.
Mike Trout became the first player born in the 1990s to hit for the cycle in the Angels' 12-0 win over the Mariners.
Mark Mulder, Jon Sciambi and Aaron Boone discuss Mike Trout's outstanding evening in which he hit for the cycle and drove in five runs.
Mike Trout hits for cycle, collects 5 RBIs as Angels drub Mariners
May, 2, 113
May 21
10:07
PM ET
Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, Josh Hamilton celebrated his 32nd birthday with a homer and a triple, and Howie Kendrick also went deep in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Trout, last season's AL rookie of the year and MVP runner-up, became the sixth player in Angels history to complete the cycle and the first to do it since Chone Figgins on Sept. 16, 2006, at Texas.
After taking a called third strike his first time up, Trout reached on an infield single in the third inning, hit an RBI triple in the fourth and added a three-run double in the sixth before homering in the eighth on a 2-0 pitch from Lucas Luetge.
Chat wrap: Cubs, Rivera, surprises, more!
May, 21, 2013
May 21
4:05
PM ET
By
David Schoenfield | ESPN.com
One reader called it "epic." I don't know about that, but it was a two-and-a-half hour marathon chat session
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
ESPN MLB analyst Curt Schilling covers the Dodgers' struggles, Albert Pujols, the Cardinals' sustained success, the Yankees' surprising start and more.
Eric Karabell and David Schoenfield break down the top hitting duos in baseball.
TEAM LEADERS
| BA LEADER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Howie Kendrick
|
|||||||||||
| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| HR | M. Trumbo | 10 | ||||||||||
| RBI | M. Trout | 34 | ||||||||||
| R | M. Trout | 31 | ||||||||||
| OPS | M. Trout | .931 | ||||||||||
| W | J. Williams | 3 | ||||||||||
| ERA | J. Williams | 2.53 | ||||||||||
| SO | C. Wilson | 50 | ||||||||||