Mike Trout (32, LA Angels), the best player in the major leagues, showed strong expectations ahead of his first World Baseball Classic (WBC). Trout will captain the US team at the WBC in March. .
Trout said in an interview with MLB Network on the 11th (local time), “It is very exciting and at the same time humble to wear the ‘USA’ mark on the chest of a uniform.”
Trout won the Rookie of the Year in 2012 and the MVP in 2014 and quickly emerged as the best player, but he has never had WBC experience. He said that the 2021 competition was not held due to Corona 19, and the 2017 competition was agonized until the end, but in the end, he did not participate.
Trout had to watch America’s first championship win on TV and regretted his decision not to attend. In an interview with the MLB Network, he said, “I had no choice but to watch the players play on TV,” and “an opportunity came again.” When asked how he was preparing for the tournament, he replied, “There is not much difference, but compared to previous years, I have been doing a lot of batting training since the offseason.”
MLB.com reported that Trout was far from winning in the league, so this WBC, representing the United States, could be more special. Trout played 12 seasons as a center fielder for only one team, the Los Angeles Angels, and won three MVP awards and nine Silver Slugger awards, but has never had World Series experience. His only appearance in the postseason was in 2014. Trout appeared in three games that year and went 1-for-12. I was aiming for the championship trophy that I had never had before at the WBC. The United States is regarded as the strongest candidate to win this tournament. The team was built with the best players, including Trout, Clayton Kershaw (35), Mookie Betts (31, LA Dodgers), and Paul Goldschmidt (36, St. Louis). Trout also expressed his strong will early on, saying, “If you don’t win, you will fail.” 안전놀이터
The pitching battle between Trout and teammate Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels) is also attracting attention. When asked if he could tell his teammates about Ohtani’s weaknesses, Trout laughed and said, “I’ve only seen Ohtani throw from the center field position, so I’m not sure what to say.” He has no weaknesses at bat,” he replied. Trout’s USA and Ohtani’s Japan could face off in the semi-finals of the tournament. “The best players in the world play against each other on the big stage,” Trout said. It is a confrontation that everyone wants to see,” he said, expressing his confidence, saying, “There are many strong teams, but the best players in the United States also come out.”