Mike Trout

The unanimous choice as the best player of his generation — three MVPs and the purest talent in baseball.

Michael Nelson Trout was born in Vineland, New Jersey in 1991. The Los Angeles Angels selected him 25th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. He became the first player to win the AL Rookie of the Year and finish second in AL MVP voting in the same season (2012). He won three AL MVP awards and finished second in MVP voting six times — a total of nine top-two finishes in MVP voting is unprecedented in the award's history. His career OPS of 1.002 through age 29 was the highest in baseball history by a significant margin. His combination of hitting for power, hitting for average, exceptional speed and outstanding defensive ability in centre field produced WAR totals that analysts consistently identify as the finest of any player in the modern era. He signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension with the Angels in 2019 — at the time the largest contract in professional sports history. Persistent wrist and calf injuries from 2021 onwards limited him to fewer than 50 games in multiple seasons, frustrating what had been tracking as one of the finest individual careers in the sport's history. He is the consensus pick as the best player of the 2010s despite the injury disruption.

Five-tool center fielder with elite power, speed, and plate discipline

Generational talent widely considered best player of his era

• AL MVP 3x (2014,2016,2019)
• AL All-Star 11x
• First Team All-Star 9x
• Silver Slugger 8x