Millville’s Mike Trout loves returning home

Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Mike Trout has been acknowledged as the best player in Major League Baseball for several years. He has won three MVP awards and finished runner-up four times.

Trout, who turns 31 on Aug. 7, is already a sure-fire Hall of Fame player.
He has accomplished everything in the game except an extensive playoff resume.

Trout has only been to the playoffs once, in 2014 and the Angels were swept in three games by the Kansas City Royals.

For all he has accomplished, Trout still gets excited about coming home to play the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Growing up in Millville, Trout would often make the estimated 44-mile ride to see the Phillies play.

This past weekend Trout returned to Philadelphia to face the Phillies and even though the Angels were swept and Trout went 0 for 11, he said after Sunday’s 9-7 loss that he enjoyed coming back.

It was his first time playing in Philadelphia since 2014, and Trout couldn’t hide his enthusiasm upon returning.

In fact, after playing at a game at Yankee Stadium, last Thursday night, Trout rode home to Millville to spend the night.

On Friday he took care of some business in Millville.

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“I went fishing with my son and got a haircut,” Trout said.

A while back, many local fans wished Trout would one day be able to frequently fish in Millville during the baseball season. Yet in 2019, two seasons from free agency, he signed a 10-year, $363 million extensions with the Angels, in addition to the two years that had remained on his contract.

Trout liked where he was and agreed to sign a long-term extension, much to the chagrin of the Phillies fans. Still, he has never wavered in his devotion to Millville.

Now, at least, the trips back to Philadelphia and Millville during the baseball season will be more frequent.

Beginning next season, MLB teams will play each other every year. For a team in the American League like the Angels, it means they will come to Philadelphia every other year.
“I am looking forward to that too, it is always good to come back to the East Coast,” Trout said. “Good to sleep in your bed sometimes.”

He is also proud of his roots in Millville and South Jersey. Trout does his best about keeping up with his old high school in a variety of sports.

He is a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan and season ticket holder and has been known in the fall to attend Millville football games as well.

Trout has brought so much attention to South Jersey with his success as a nine-time All-Star, something he is proud of.

“Just to be able to put South Jersey sports, really New Jersey sports in general on the map, to show the whole country, the whole world, that we can play too,” he said.

He was asked on Friday to describe Millville, a place that remains dear to his heart.

“It’s a small town, a lot of great people, just a small town and I love going back,” he said. “I can go to Wawa or Applebees or Texas Longhorns or Jim’s Lunch or Flightline, I can name all these restaurants. They just welcome me, I just feel like a regular person.”

Is Mike Trout a regular person?

“I don’t get bothered,” he said. “People come up to me and say ‘what’s up’ and congratulate me on my accomplishments but it means a lot for me to go back.”
 

Author: Marc Narducci