March 27, 2017

March 27, 2017 Page 1 of 16 Clips (March 27, 2017) March 27, 2017 Page 2 of 16 Today’s Clips Contents FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3) Watch Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw lead off MLB's 2017 ad campaign Albert Pujols is taking care to ensure he stays in Angels lineup Angels let victory slip away vs. Royals FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 6) Angels' Garrett Richards hoping '85 percent mindset' can be key to a healthy, successful season Mike Trout stays hot but Angels fall to Royals FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 8) Efficiency key for Richards' successful return Winter additions calculate to better defense Marte, Trout double in loss FROM CBS SPORTS (Page 12) Mike Trout came up with a great idea to help MLB umpires in spring training FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (Page 13) The New Testament: An oral history of Mike Trout's greatest moments to date March 27, 2017 Page 3 of 16 FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES . Watch Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw lead off MLB's 2017 ad campaign By Bill Shaikin Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw as the faces of baseball? Trout, the Angels’ center fielder and two-time American League most valuable player, and Kershaw, the Dodgers’ ace and three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, are the first two players you see in the commercial spot that launches the 2017 Major League Baseball advertising campaign. The spots are designed to showcase “the suspense, twist and turns and must-see moments that can be recapped, teased and talked about like a season of the most entertaining show on television,” according to the league. MLB is expected to formally release this spot on Monday. “This season on baseball, Mike Trout goes to work,” the spot starts, as viewers see Trout grimacing through a workout routine that includes lifting a tire. “Clayton’s mad, and he’s throwing like it,” the spot continues, as viewers see Kershaw firing a fastball for which the radar gun reading is “DANG.” The spot features some of baseball’s brightest young personalities, including Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs, Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox, Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros and Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians. However, the first face viewers see is that of a grizzled veteran: beloved Angels athletic trainer Rick Smith, in his 40th season on the team’s training staff. Albert Pujols is taking care to ensure he stays in Angels lineup By Pedro Moura Albert Pujols is 37 and about to begin his third season after an off-season spent recovering from surgery. His life has become an annual cycle of playing through pain, recuperation, and convincing himself he might someday feel great again. “I feel better,” Pujols said over the weekend at Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the Angels are wrapping up spring training. “I don’t feel 100%.” Halfway through his 10-year contract with the Angels, he underwent December surgery on the plantar fascia in his right foot. He beat the prognosis, began playing in games March 10 and has hit .323 with two home runs in the Cactus League. Asked whether he retained hope of reaching 100% this season, Pujols said it was his goal. March 27, 2017 Page 4 of 16 “I’m pretty excited with where I’m at right now, I can tell you,” the Angels designated hitter said. “I’m putting good swings on the ball. Timing-wise, it’s not there, but we’ve got still a handful of games here before the season starts. Sometimes it’s just one at-bat when it clicks, for me.” Pujols’ pregame hitting routine remains the same as it has always been in spring training. “Why would you fix something that’s working?” he said. He has adjusted his weightlifting regimen, he said, reducing the sheer weight and adding plyometrics, aiming to reduce his risk of another injury. “This game is already hard. Imagine playing it with injuries,” he said. “Unfortunately, the last couple years, that’s how I’ve been. The thing is that you can’t prevent injuries. All you can do is just work yourself and train yourself. But then after you cross that white line, man, eventually, injuries happen.” The Angels’ general stance is that Pujols is an asset playing first base, but more so at the plate, and starting him at first base threatens his utility as a hitter. That’s why he played a career-low 28 games at first last season. That approach will be challenged in the season’s first week, when the Angels open in Oakland. In recent seasons, Pujols has played the field more there than in other cities because of the batting-cage arrangement at the old ballpark. Getting to them requires a trek from the visiting clubhouse, making designated hitting an unpleasant experience. Pujols said he felt good enough to take the field during that four-game series, but stopped short of committing he would. He received new orthotics for 2017 that he has broken in this spring. By now, he’s used to the process, although his foot did flare in pain when he used a set that were not properly prepared last August. “Remember, anytime you do any work on your feet, your feet change, so I can’t now be using the same orthotics that I used last year,” he said. “You have to mold yourself pretty much every year because the shape of your foot’s not the same.” In September, before he knew he’d need surgery, Pujols said he did not heed the aches and pains of his body enough. He also expressed doubt he’d ever do so. “It’s hard for me now to try to switch that, because that’s how I grew up,” he said then. He hit 31 home runs and drove in 119 runs last season, and he was proud of those figures. But his .780 on-base-plus-slugging percentage was nearly the worst of his career, second only to his injury-shortened 2013. He knows his rate statistics could improve if he rested more often. “It is important, man,” Pujols said of occasional sitting. “One day is worth 10 days, like 10 good days. But it’s just so hard when you have eight guys out there and you feel so guilty when you know you can be March 27, 2017 Page 5 of 16 out there. Even if you know you’re not 100% that day, when you care so much about something. And I care about this organization. I care about winning a championship for the city of Anaheim. “Sometimes that drives you even when your body’s telling you that you need it, because your brain is saying, ‘I want to be out there with my guys.’ ” He was then asked what the long-term solution might be. “I don’t know,” Pujols said. “We’ll see how it feels during the season and go from there.” Short hops In a back-field game Sunday at the Angels complex, right-hander Garrett Richards threw six innings against Colorado Rockies minor leaguers. He did not walk anyone and threw 69 pitches. His fastball was most often clocked at 94 mph. The Angels informed Richards he’ll start Friday in the Freeway Series, which makes Matt Shoemaker their presumed but unconfirmed choice for the coveted opening-day start. “I’m not the only one that doesn’t know what’s going on. We’re all kind of up in the air," said Richards, the club’s 2016 opening-day starter. "Everything’s a secret." .. .On Sunday evening, the Angels held a meeting to discuss the composition of their roster. Angels let victory slip away vs. Royals By Pedro Moura The Angels lost, 8-7, to Kansas City on Sunday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. They took the lead in the fifth, then ceded it in the ninth and are now 16-13 in the Cactus League. Royals 8, Angels 7 AT THE PLATE: Yunel Escobar singled and Mike Trout doubled to produce a first-inning run, and the Angels rallied for six runs in the fifth. They strung together four singles, a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and then a three-run double by Jefry Marte. … Escobar and Trout logged two hits apiece. … Catcher Martin Maldonado struck out in his lone at-bat and has hit 4-for-40 this spring. All four of his hits have been singles. He has worked five walks. ON THE MOUND: Right-hander J.C. Ramirez cruised through his first three innings before encountering trouble in the fourth. There, he yielded two singles and two homers for four runs, and another run in the fifth on back-to-back doubles and a hit-by-pitch. He said he went away from his fastball during his second time traversing the Royals’ order, and he regretted the decision. … Among relievers, right-hander Yusmeiro Petit recorded four outs without allowing a run, right-hander Jose Valdez gave up one run in his inning, and right-hander Austin Adams threw a scoreless inning. … Minor league right-hander Justin Anderson blew the save in the ninth. EXTRA BASES: Albert Pujols stole second base amid the Angels’ fifth-inning rally. Royals second baseman Raul A. Mondesi gave him a hug at the base. … The Angels on Sunday reassigned infielder Matt Williams March 27, 2017 Page 6 of 16 to minor league camp. Their roster stands at 40 men. Fifteen must be removed in the next week, but most of the extras will travel to Southern California for the Freeway Series that begins Thursday.

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