Mike Trout is an Angel For Life

Mike Trout is the greatest baseball player of all time. The Millvile, NJ superstar is still fairly young (only 27 years old), but in his eight-year pro career he has already put up numbers almost good enough to take him to Cooperstown. By the time he retires, he will undoubtedly be the greatest player to ever swing a bat.

And today the greatest player in the world has reportedly agreed to the largest pro-sports contract ever, making him a Los Angeles Angel for life.

BREAKING: Star center fielder Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are finalizing a record-breaking 12-year contract worth more than $430 million, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Details: https://t.co/bROnnC11Uh

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2019

Several superstar players have agreed to incredibly large contracts this offseason. After finishing the 2018 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, former Orioles shortstop Manny Machado signed a 10 year, $300M deal with the San Diego Padres. Next, the Colorado Rockies reached an agreement with their All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado, penning an 8 year, $260M deal. At the time of signing, it was the highest annual average value (AAV) for any position player ever. Finally, Bryce Harper signed a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Harper was the most talked about free agent all offseason, and his 13 year, $330M deal was the largest contract in MLB history, breaking Giancarlo Stanton’s 13 year, $325M record with the Miami Marlins.

With two years remaining on Trout’s 6 year, $144.5M contract with the Los Angeles Angels and no other free agent giants left unsigned, Harper’s record looked secure until 2021. While there had been rumors of Trout receiving an extension before becoming a free agent (to avoid competing offers), most people expected a deal to be made after the 2019 season.

Instead, the Angels shocked the world with a 12 year, $430M contract that shatters all that came before it, and for good reason. He is unquestionably the best player in the game today, and probably ever. Here are the 2018 statistics for Machado, Arenado, Harper, and Trout:

The table is sorted by OPS+, which adjusts a player’s OPS by the ballparks they play at. Clearly, Trout blew the competition out of the water. He led every statistic except for RBI, and played the least amount of games. What about their career averages? Here are the same players with 162 game averages:

This table is also sorted by OPS+, and Trout still leads every major statistic except for RBI. Most notably, he is consistently an 8 WAR player.

But this is just a small sample size, even if all four of those players were all-stars last season. How does Trout really compare to all of MLB?

• 2012 AL Rookie of the Year (by unanimous vote)
• 7x All-Star
• 2x All-Star MVP
• 2x AL MVP (unanimous winner in 2014, finishing top two 6 of last 7 years)
• 6x Silver Slugger
• Led AL in WAR 4/8 seasons, 6th highest active career WAR total
• 5th best active career batting average
• Led AL in OBP last three years, second highest active career OBP, 23rd highest ever
• Highest active career slugging percentage, 11th highest ever
• Highest active career OPS, 9th highest ever
• Highest active career stolen base percentage, 9th highest ever

Mike Trout is really, really, really good. Now his contract will reflect that. It is the largest pro-sports contract ever (excluding Floyd Mayweather’s deal with Showtime, but that figure has not been publicly released). It is also the highest AAV for any baseball player ever. The total value of $430M is:

• 30% larger than Harper’s deal (the previous MLB record)
• 28% larger than Kevin Garnett’s career earnings of $334.3M (the most in NBA history)
• 73% larger than Peyton Manning’s career earnings of $248.7M (the most in NFL history)
• 115% larger than Wayne Gretzky’s career earnings of $200M (the most in NHL history)

It should be noted that Trout’s new deal is actually for 10 years, $360M. It also restructures the remaining two years on his contract bringing the total guaranteed money to $430M over 12 years from now. Still, the $360M is larger than any single MLB, NBA, NFL, or NHL contract ever.

With a 12 year commitment (with a full no-trade clause, no opt-outs), Trout will be 39 when he becomes a free agent again. After a 20 year career at his current pace, he will have:

• 3,620 hits (would be 5th highest today)
• 2,420 runs (most ever)
• 740 home runs (3rd most)
• 1,980 runs batted in (8th most)
• 6,760 total bases (2nd most)
• 160.75 wins above replacement (3rd most)

Obviously, that kind of consistent production for 12 more years is unlikely, but if he can do even a fraction of that, he will go down as one of, if not the, greatest player ever. Even better, the Angels farm system is currently ranked seventh overall, with nothing but a bright future ahead. Trout’s contract almost certainly marks the end of large free agency moves this season. Time to sit back and wait for Opening Day.