This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ANAHEIM -- Angels superstar Mike Trout is heading to Phase 2 of the 2025 All-Star Game balloting.
Trout, an 11-time All-Star and three-time American League MVP, is among the top five vote-getters in the AL outfield. Yankees superstar Aaron Judge was the overall top vote-getter in the AL for a second straight year, giving him an automatic spot on the AL roster as a starter in the All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 15.
Trout ranked fourth, garnering 1,383,606 votes, while Detroit’s Riley Greene received 2,332,378 and Javier Báez got 1,585,554. Cleveland’s Steven Kwan is fifth with 1,207,419 votes.
With Judge automatically receiving a spot in the AL’s starting lineup after leading all players in votes during Phase 1, these four will compete to nab the two remaining starting outfield spots for the AL as Phase 2 begins on Monday and runs through Wednesday.
Trout, 33, is aiming to be an All-Star again after not being selected for last year’s Midsummer Classic because of a torn meniscus in his left knee suffered in late April. It snapped a streak of 11 straight All-Star Game selections for Trout (not counting the 2020 edition canceled by the pandemic). He’s looking to be the 12th player ever with 11 career fan elections.
Trout is the active leader among all Major Leaguers in total All-Star Game selections with 11. He’s also just one of nine players to be elected by the fans as a starter for 10 straight seasons, joining Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Cal Ripken Jr., George Brett, Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, Ozzie Smith and Wade Boggs. The only others to do it all with one club are Ripken, Brett and Griffey Jr.
Trout, though, hasn’t played in an All-Star Game since 2019, as he missed it in ’21 because of a calf strain, in ’22 because of a back injury and in ’23 because of fractured hamate. But he won All-Star Game MVP honors in both 2014 and ’15, and is a career .412 hitter with two homers, two doubles, a triple and four RBIs in seven All-Star Games.
Trout has again dealt with an injury this season, missing a month with a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee sustained while running to first base on April 30. He’s been relegated to designated hitter duty since his return on May 30, but he is hopeful to return to right field once the soreness in his knee subsides. Trout was moved from center to right field this season in an effort to keep him healthy.
“I got to just go through a stretch where it feels good,” Trout said. “And go out there and do some more of the work and see how it goes.”
Trout is slashing .229/.341/.438 with 12 homers, two doubles and 29 RBIs in 54 games this year. He’s also hit .291/.426/.407 with three homers, one double and 11 RBIs in 25 games since his return from the IL. Trout has long preferred being in the field over serving as DH, but he has found a better routine.
“I like being engaged,” Trout said. “It’s a little different not having defense on your mind. But I’ve just been trying to stay loose and hit in the cage.”
The Angels have gone 15-10 in the 25 games since Trout rejoined the club and it’s helped keep them in contention. Acting manager Ray Montgomery, who is filling in for Ron Washington as he recovers from a health issue, recently praised Trout for his impact on the lineup.
“It’s immeasurable,” Montgomery said. “Just the fact that he's here and participating and what he brings to the lineup. We know what it's like to game plan for somebody like him. I think it just rubs off on everybody.”