The Angels of Anaheim
Over six days, I saw five games in four ballparks on a trip through Southern California and Monterrey, Mexico. My first stop was Angels Stadium in Anaheim. As interested as I was in the Angels of Anaheim, I was most interested in finally seeing Mike Trout. Trout is considered the best player on the planet and I have barely seen him play. Marketing Mike Trout How could a devoted baseball fan, not see the game’s greatest player? Baseball has a series of problems marketing stars like Trout: Tim Clayton/ Sports Illustrated Timing He plays on the west coast, so many on the east coast are asleep when he is playing. Availability MLB relies on local television to broadcast each team's games. Fans can subscribe to see any game, and there is also the MLB Network. However, there still is the timing issue. Moreover, the casual fan is not a subscriber, so they will not be exposed to his greatness. Of course, post season play would increase the player's exposure. Unfortunately, the Angels have not been in the playoffs in a while. Opportunity It's not a sure thing that a specific player will have the chance to do something memorable. Other sports benefit because their stars have constant chances to display their skills. In comparison, a baseball player comes to the plate only four or five times per game and at specified intervals. Exhibiting his defensive prowess is limited because it requires a ball hit in his vicinity. Baseball is Difficult You expect failure in baseball. Consider that a measure of excellence is to bat 300. The "300 batting average" sounds much better than "30% hitter," however, the terms are synonymous. The sad fact is that fans can turn in to watch a celebrated player and he will fail. In Trout's case, if you watched all his 4,822 plate appearances ; you would have seen him make 2,761 outs That is not what the uninitiated would consider exciting. With that said, Trout does so many things well. If you keep your eyes on him, you will be amazed by the way he attacks the game. He brings everything to his hitting, running and fielding. If you focus on Trout, you'll see something you'll remember for years to come. Needless to say, one of my goals on this journey is to see as much of Mr. Trout as possible. Mike Trout - a Primer The 25th Pick My take on Mike Trout is that he snuck up on the casual fan. He was the 25th draft pick in 2009. Not first, not second - 25th! Why so low? One theory is that he's from New Jersey and as such considered a risky choice. Northern players don't play as much winter ball, and thus they are lesser known AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Many teams missed him. A quick review of the list of players drafted before Trout shows a few all-stars. Stephen Strasburg was 1st, Aaron Crow 12th, A.J. Pollock 17th, and Shelby Miller…
