ANAHEIM -- Angels superstar Mike Trout reached 1,000 career RBIs in style, as he absolutely crushed a two-run homer a Statcast-projected 443 feet to center field to reach that mark on Sunday against the Mariners.
Trout had been stuck at 999 RBIs since Wednesday but demolished a four-seam fastball from right-hander Logan Gilbert for a two-run blast to give him 1,001 career RBIs while helping the Angels to a 4-1 win in the series finale at Angel Stadium. Trout gave a postgame speech to his teammates in the clubhouse and closer Kenley Jansen also spoke up about how impressive an accomplishment it is for Trout.
“It’s pretty cool,” Trout said. “It takes your teammates to get on base to accomplish that. After the game, that was one of the things I pointed out. None of these accolades are possible without my teammates. So it's been fun.”
Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, became the ninth active player to reach the milestone, joining Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Santana, Giancarlo Stanton, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.
He also became the third Angels player to reach that mark with the franchise, joining Garret Anderson (1,292) and Tim Salmon (1,016).
“When guys played here so long and what they mean to the organization, it's pretty special to be part of that group,” Trout said. “They had unbelievable careers in an Angels uniform. And when you're in the same conversation with them, it's pretty special.”
It was Trout’s 19th homer of the year and No. 397 for his career. He’s aiming to become the second active big leaguer with more than 400 homers, joining Stanton. The 15-year veteran already holds the franchise record for homers, surpassing Salmon’s 299 in 2020.
“It’s amazing,” said interim manager Ray Montgomery. “What an accomplishment. Just think about the body of work and what he's done. It's quite an honor. It's fun to watch him every day.”
It was fitting that Trout’s homer came against the Mariners, a team he has dominated through his illustrious career. He’s the all-time home run leader against Seattle with 55 and also has the most career total bases against them with 441 and runs scored with 147.
“That was awesome,” said center fielder Jo Adell, who robbed J.P. Crawford of a homer in the sixth. “He couldn't have drawn it up any better, him putting a big-time blast out like that to center field. I’m just really honored that I started my career here … and seen the evolution of him. He’s an unbelievable talent.”
Veteran Kyle Hendricks, who gave up one run over six-plus innings to get the win, marveled at Trout’s accomplishment and said Jansen put it in perspective with his speech after the game with Jansen also picking up career save No. 465.
“A thousand RBIs is so freaking much, man,” Hendricks said. “Just to be able to see that in person is so cool as a baseball fan. Like Kenley said, it’s rare to play 10 years and this is like getting 100 every year for 10 years. It’s crazy.”
Trout, 33, has been relegated to designated hitter duty since May 30 after missing a month with a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee. He tried participating in pregame outfield drills after the All-Star break but had to shut it back down after feeling discomfort in New York earlier this week. Trout, though, said he feels good enough to stay in the lineup and doesn’t want to take time off to let it heal.
“The last few days, it's been achy a little bit so just slowing some things down a little bit,” Trout said. “I’m still trying to get back out there for sure. It's just when I ramped up the intensity it became more sore. So just trying to stay in the lineup.”
He’s still aiming to return to right field before the end of the season but will remain the club’s primary DH until he’s ready to resume outfield drills. Trout has batted .237/.361/.470 with 19 homers, seven doubles and 47 RBIs in 80 games, including 55 as the DH. It was just his second homer in 10 games since the All-Star break but it was a good sign that he’s starting to find his swing again.
“I felt really good before the break,” Trout said. “Came back, felt OK. I think when the lower half is working properly that’s when everything's in place.”