sign in sign up
<<
Home , Andy Wilkins, Austin Romine, Forfeit (baseball), Los Angeles Angels, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Ilitch

November 14, 2012 Page 1 of 26

Clips (November 14, 2012)

November 14, 2012 Page 2 of 26

Today’s Clips Contents

From the Times (Page 3) , Tigers appear to be a good match

From the (Page 4) Whicker: Cabrera over Trout for MVP is the right call Torii Hunter signs with Tigers

From ESPN.com (Page 7) Source: Torii Hunter to Tigers

From Angels.com (Page 7) Trout adds Heart and Hustle Award to accolades Angels' Witherspoon breaks out in Scorpions' rout

From Fox Sports (Page 12) Sources: Hunter, Tigers reach deal

From SportsIllustrated.com (Page 12) My Sportsman:

From USA Today (Page 14) Hunter kicks off free agency, signs with Tigers

From (Page 15) The Statistical Case Against Cabrera for M.V.P.

From Comcast Philadelphia (Page 18) Trout 'humbled' to win AL Rookie of the Year

From the Press of Atlantic City (Page 19) Mike Trout's rise to stardom has changed lives of family, friends

From MLB.com (Page 23) Hunter agrees to two-year contract with Tigers

From the Vineland Daily Journal (Page 25) Trout 'extremely humbled' to be named top rookie

November 14, 2012 Page 3 of 26

FROM THE

Torii Hunter, appear to be a good match

By Mike DiGiovanna

2:15 PM PST, November 13, 2012

The Detroit Tigers have emerged as the front-runner to sign free-agent Torii Hunter, who reportedly spent Tuesday in Detroit meeting with team officials, who are expected to extend a two-year contract offer to the 37-year-old.

The Tigers, coming off an pennant-winning season, and Hunter, who craves a chance to play in his first after spending the last five seasons in Anaheim, appear to be a perfect match.

Detroit is looking for a corner outfielder, preferably one who hits right-handed, and Hunter is a nine-time winner coming off one of his finest seasons, in which he .313 with 16 home runs and 92 runs batted in and carried the Angels for much of September.

Hunter, who hit second between Mike Trout and last season, would fit nicely in the Tigers’ two hole behind leadoff man Austin Jackson and ahead of , and Victor Martinez, who is expected back in 2013 after missing 2012 because of injury.

Hunter is very familiar with the AL Central, having played his first nine seasons with the , and as an added bonus, Detroit is only a 3 1/2-hour drive from South Bend, Ind., where Hunter’s son, Torii Jr., a high school football and baseball star in Texas, will enroll at Notre Dame next fall.

Detroit’s stiffest competition for Hunter will probably come from the . The , , and have also expressed serious interest.

The Angels made virtually no effort to re-sign Hunter outside of what Hunter considered a “low-ball” offer of $5 million in late September. Hunter has repeatedly said he wants a contract that is “fair,” and he is expected to receive a deal of at least two years and $20 million.

Because the Angels did not extend a qualifying offer, the team that signs Hunter will not have to forfeit a first-round pick, and the Angels will receive no draft-pick compensation for his loss.

November 14, 2012 Page 4 of 26

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Whicker: Cabrera over Trout for MVP is the right call

A great AL MVP debate can be justified either way, but there are more reasons to vote for Miguel Cabrera than Mike Trout.

By MARK WHICKER COLUMNIST THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

This is not an argument about two different visions for the future of our country.

This is not the Big Bang vs. intelligent design vs. evolution.

This is a case of two very different, very extraordinary American League players having two very different, very extraordinary seasons, with one very nebulous and subjective award within each player's grasp Thursday.

There are no wrong answers, or losers, here.

But there is a distinct choice.

Detroit's Cabrera led the AL in home runs, RBI and average and thus became the first Crown winner since 1967.

The Angels' Trout led the AL in runs and steals and captivated the sport with his casual, physical dominance.

The MVP is the Big Dog of individual awards in sports. It often serves as a Hall of Fame deal-breaker.

Yet the word "valuable" restricts it to those whose brilliance made a difference, even though the electors are specifically told that it really isn't tied to team performance.

They decide their own criteria. Yet, in 23 of the past 28 selections, their MVP choice has come from a playoff team.

What else can "valuable" mean? Did Edwin Encarnacion's 42 home runs and 110 RBI change the fate of the 73-89 ?

Isn't it true that the Angels were the sixth seed in the 14-team AL matrix, with their least satisfying season in history when measured against investment and assumption?

Yes, and all of Trout's wonderful work did nothing to change that. They could have laid the same egg without him.

Precedent can be found in 2011. November 14, 2012 Page 5 of 26

Matt Kemp led the NL in home runs, RBI and runs and finished third in . But the Dodgers did not make the show and the Brewers did. Therefore won the trophy.

Not that Trout's indignant defenders lack a case.

The Angels were 80-58 when Trout started. Such a trajectory indicates the Angels might have won everything, had Trout been an Angel on .

But Oakland was 82-48 when Yoenis Cespedes started. And Oakland did win the AL West.

It is also correct that the Angels won one more game than Detroit did (89 to 88) and that Trout had to face the second, third and seventh ranked pitching staffs in the AL (based on ERA) when he played intradivisional games.

Cabrera could feast on the ninth, 10th, 13th and 14th ranked staffs in AL Central play.

Yet Cabrera had 14 hits and 14 RBI in seven games against the A's, hitting .462, and hit .368 against Texas, and actually homered only once in 74 plate appearances against Kansas City.

Trout's superior defense will also be cited, as it should. But the Tigers' fortunes depended largely on Cabrera's ability, and willingness, to play third base, his original position nine years and 50 pounds ago.

Manager was quizzed constantly on that risk in the spring. Then the season began and the issue disappeared, as Cabrera played solidly enough; not , but not either.

By moving to third and risking embarrassment, Cabrera opened a spot for Prince Fielder.

And, of the nine men who have won Triple Crowns since 1925, Cabrera is the only left- side infielder.

In the underrated stat (runs plus RBI minus homers), Cabrera leads Trout, 204-180.

Visit any post-game clubhouse and you will hear how opportunity was either cashed by the winners or wasted by the others. That is why it is important that Cabrera had 50 plate appearances with two out and men in scoring position, and drove in 29 runs and hit .420.

Trout had 62 of those chances and hit .286, driving in 16.

And, after Aug. 31, Trout hit a commendable .289 for the desperate Angels with a .900 OPS. November 14, 2012 Page 6 of 26

But Cabrera hit .333 with a 1.071 OPS for the just-as-desperate Tigers, who were three games behind on Sept. 11. On Sept. 30, they were three games ahead, and Cabrera gave them eight homers and 20 RBI during that surge.

Although it seems ludicrous when you compare the numbers, won Triple Crowns in 1942 and 1947 and lost MVP awards to and Joe DiMaggio. Those Yankee players were pennant-winners, and Williams wasn't.

The past three winners (, , ) played on AL title teams and won the MVP award, as did rookie in 1975. Robinson was a unanimous pick, and Yaz got 19 of 20 first-place votes.

If Trout wins this MVP award it will boost baseball, by anointing the next great player. It also will honor one of the best-ever seasons by a 20-year-old (he turned 21 on Aug. 7).

If Cabrera wins the MVP it will repudiate nothing Trout did. It will simply be a case of Affirmed over Alydar, and a reaffirmation of value.

Torii Hunter signs with Tigers

November 14th, 2012, 9:34 am · · posted by JEFF FLETCHER, OCREGISTER.COM

Although it became apparent in the weeks after the season, and especially when the Angels failed to make the qualifying offer to him, Torii Hunter is now officially an ex- Angel.

The popular veteran outfielder agreed to a two-year, $26-million deal with the Tigers today, according to numerous reports. The deal is only pending a physical.

It ends Hunter’s five-year with the Angels, in which he hit .286 with 105 homers and won two Gold Gloves. Hunter was also a popular player in the clubhouse and the community. Mike Trout said how much he would miss Hunter on Monday.

The move makes sense for Hunter because the Tigers needed a corner outfielder, and Hunter was looking for a team that offered him to the chance the play in his first World Series.

Hunter’s son is also signed to play football at Notre Dame, which is a few hours from Detroit.

November 14, 2012 Page 7 of 26

FROM ESPN.COM

Source: Torii Hunter to Tigers

By Jerry Crasnick ESPN.com

Free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter has reached agreement on a two-year, $26 million deal with the Detroit Tigers pending a physical exam, a baseball source said Wednesday.

Hunter, 37, is a .277 hitter with 297 home runs and nine Gold Gloves in 14 seasons with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels.

He hit .313 with the Angels in 2012, but his five-year, $90 million contract expired after the season, and the Angels declined to make him a $13.3 million qualifying offer. That means the Tigers are not obligated to give the Angels draft-pick compensation in exchange for signing Hunter.

The Tigers struck quickly after having Hunter come to Detroit for a visit Monday. They'll plug him into a lineup that includes Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, All-Star Prince Fielder and -DH Victor Martinez, who missed the entire 2012 season with a knee injury.

FROM ANGELS.COM

Trout adds Heart and Hustle Award to accolades

By Mark Newman / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Mike Trout is on a streak and he doesn't see it stopping.

A night after winning American League Rookie of the Year, the Angels received the Players Alumni Association's overall Heart and Hustle Award at its 13th annual Legends for Youth fundraising dinner at the Marriott Marquis. He was chosen from among 30 individual club nominees in electronic balloting by former Major Leaguers representing each club, and he was among several of the nominees on hand as the award winner was kept secret.

On Thursday he is expected to contend along with Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers when the Baseball Writers' Association of America reveals the AL Most Valuable Player Award live on MLB Network. Then he will be among five players up for a new overall "MLB MVP" trophy, given out regardless of league affiliation, as part of MLB.com's 11th annual Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards announced on Dec. 4 at the . November 14, 2012 Page 8 of 26

"Not much of a speech guy so give me a little bit -- I'm going to get used to that," Trout said with signature confidence as he accepted his latest award from presenter Brian McRae. "It's been crazy for me the last couple of weeks. Last night with the Rookie of the Year, had my parents there, celebrated it. Then this award tonight is pretty amazing. I'd like to thank the Alumni Association, players, fans and especially the Angels organization for giving me the opportunity to play this year. I'm just out there having fun.

"I take pride in these awards. I go out there and give 110 percent every time and leave it all on the field. There's only one thing in baseball, and I think it's to win and just have fun."

The Heart and Hustle Award is presented to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of baseball.

Now that he has handily won a rookie award and then followed it up with an overall recognition among veteran candidates, the big question is whether he can trump a Triple Crown winner Thursday.

Trout said in an interview before the dinner that he would vote for himself for MVP if he could. And he actually can with the MLB MVP version, as votes are submitted through Dec. 2 by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans at MLB.com and the Society for American Baseball Research.

"It would mean the world," he said of Thursday's announcement. "It's a dream come true to get to the big leagues, but to win the MVP would mean a lot to me and my family."

Does he expect to win MVP?

"You've got to be confident," Trout said. "It's going to be tough. I'm anxious, nervous, all the feelings you could feel about that. It's going to be fun to watch.

"You look at it as the best all-around player or the best hitter, that's the way I look at it. I think I've got the edge as best all-around player."

Hall of Famer and six-time All-Star Rusty Staub were presented with the Alumni Achievement Award, a lifetime recognition. In giving his acceptance speech, Staub asked if anyone in the crowd -- which was filled with former players -- had stolen 47 bases.

Trout stood up in the middle of the room at his table.

"Well, guess what -- I stole 47 bases, too," Staub told him, referring to his career total. Trout actually had a couple of bags more, for a total of 49. Trout also batted .326, hammered 30 homers and drove in 83 runs. When asked what he took most pride in, Trout said it was his Major League-high 129 runs. November 14, 2012 Page 9 of 26

"I take pride in scoring runs as a leadoff guy, getting on base, getting to second, letting the big guys hit me in," he said. "That's one of my goals, to score as many runs as possible to help my team win."

He said this is the kind of November he was hoping for. Where it goes next, no one knows.

"Coming into the year, for me personally, I wanted to be the best player in the league," he said. "That's one of my goals. To be in this discussion at the end of the year, it's pretty cool.

"I look back at it, but you got to be confident in your abilities. I knew I had it in me. There is still work to be done. We fell short and didn't make the playoffs, so we have to try harder next year."

Trout said he texted fellow teen sensation of the Nationals on Monday, when they each won their respective league's Rookie of the Year Award.

"He's been playing with all this pressure on his back since he was 15 years old," Trout said. "To go out there and do what he's done at such a young age, it's pretty incredible. You see the last year, our one goal coming out of that was both being in the big leagues the next year, and we both accomplished it."

Not bad for someone who easily led the Majors in with a 10.7 mark and says he still doesn't know what exactly WAR is all about.

"Coming into the year, I really didn't know what WAR was," he said. "I kind of don't know what it is now. I know it's wins above replacement or something, right? I really don't pay attention to that stuff. Just go out there and play, and if it's over 10, I guess that's great, that's what people say."

Jamie Moyer, who last April became the oldest player ever to win an MLB game, was given the Brooks Robinson Community Service Award, largely due to the work that his Moyer Foundation has done over the years with its Camp Erin program to help bereaved youth.

Speaking of that award's namesake, Robinson was unable to attend the dinner for which he is so closely known by many these days. His wife, Connie, was ill so he stayed home to tend to her.

November 14, 2012 Page 10 of 26

Angels' Witherspoon breaks out in Scorpions' rout

Outfield prospect, working on footwork at plate, delivers bases-loaded

By Danny Wild / MLB.com

Travis Witherspoon has been on a mission to improve his plate mechanics in the Arizona Fall League. And while the numbers may not look great, he's staying upbeat.

"It's definitely been a learning and a positive experience," said Witherspoon, the Angels' No. 7 prospect.

The 23-year-old has been working on shortening his stride to the ball in hopes it will make him a more complete hitter.

"As I start to play more, I'm getting more comfortable with it," he said. "It's a game of adjustments, and I'm just making small adjustments here and there and I'm going to take that with me into ."

Everything lined up for the outfielder with the bases loaded in the first inning Tuesday afternoon at Salt River. Blue Jays right-hander was on the mound, trying to survive his worst inning of the fall when he was pulled in favor of White Sox prospect Salvador Sanchez. That's when Witherspoon dug in.

"I just wanted to continue to take the life out of them, score as many runs as we can," Witherspoon said. "I wanted to get a good pitch and drive in the extra run."

Witherspoon helped cap the Scorpions' seven-run outburst when he ripped a three-run double and scored on a by Yankees' No. 5 prospect Slade Heathcott. He added a single in the fifth and knocked in fellow Angels prospect with another base hit in the seventh, finishing 3-for-5 with four RBIs in Scottsdale's 13-6 win.

The bases-loaded double was big for the 2009 12th-round pick, who entered Tuesday's game with only five RBIs in 19 AFL games. His numbers over the summer began to dip following a promotion to Double-A, and that's when Witherspoon began to look at his approach.

"I decided I needed to change," he said. "I've been working on it since [Double-A] and I've had my ups and downs, so I'm trying to figure out what works best for me."

Witherspoon had two hits in his previous nine games and collectd most of his RBIs on Oct. 27, when he homered and drove in three runs. The three-hit effort raised his average 29 points to .214.

"It felt good. It's always good to get that first hit out the way, it makes the game go by easier," he said. "I've been working on a few adjustments at the plate and it showed off today, so that's a big thing." November 14, 2012 Page 11 of 26

Scottsdale's big first inning set the tone. Heathcott led off with his first Fall League homer and the Giants' , who stole home on Monday, walked and scored on a balk by Tepera. Adalberto Santos (Pirates) and Heathcott added RBI singles as Scottsdale batted around.

"It's always good to jump on the team in the first and take the air out a little," said Witherspoon. "We just rallied a little, came out ready and energized and put a couple runs together."

Cowart doubled to begin the seventh and Witherspoon pulled a two-out single to left to produce the Scorpions' 11th run.

"Early in the game, they were busting me in hard, so I was looking for something out over the plate I could extend my hands on," he said. "Fortunately, I got good wood on it and was able to shoot it through the infield."

Witherspoon led the Angels' organization this year with 34 steals across two levels. A League All-Star, he batted .268 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs, although he hit .202 with Double-A . The speed has remained in Arizona -- he's 6-of-7 in attempts -- but he's drawn only six walks and struck out 26 times in 20 games.

The Angels, optimistic Witherspoon can continue to develop, would like to see him rely less on pulling the ball. He hopes his footwork is the answer.

"I've implemented the small stride and it helps me stay through the ball and hit it where it's pitched," he said. "During the season, I'd put my foot down early and I'd spin off the ball. I decided I'd need to make the adjustment and it's paid dividends. I've tried to feel more comfortable with it."

Witherspoon likely will begin 2013 back at Arkansas unless he can impress scouts enough to move up to Triple-A Salt Lake. Either way, he's ready for the challenge.

"I feel really confident, I like where I'm at," he said. "I'm always trying to get better, so I'm going to go to Spring Training and keep impressing and do what I do and we'll see what happens. I'm gonna go out there and play the game hard and see what happens."

Heathcott finished 4-for-5 as Scottsdale totaled a season-high 19 hits. Santos had three RBIs and Yankees catcher knocked home two runs. Indians starter T.J. House (3-1) allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over five innings for the win.

Andy Wilkins (White Sox) homered for Salt River, while Tepera (1-2) recorded two outs and was charged with six runs on three hits and three walks.

November 14, 2012 Page 12 of 26

FROM FOX SPORTS

Sources: Hunter, Tigers reach deal

By Ken Rosenthal

The first big free agent is off the board.

Right fielder Torii Hunter reached agreement Wednesday with the Detroit Tigers on a two-year contract, according to major-league sources.

The deal, pending a physical, will give the American League champions a new No. 2 hitter, boosting an offense that will receive an additional lift next season if Victor Martinez makes a successful recovery from knee surgery.

In that scenario, the Tigers’ first five hitters would be center fielder Austin Jackson, Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, first baseman Prince Fielder and Martinez.

Hunter, 37, batted .313 with an .817 OPS for the Los Angeles Angels last season, contributing 16 homers and 92 RBI. He was particularly effective in the No. 2 spot, batting .343 with an .854 OPS in 381 plate appearances.

The Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and were among the other teams interested in Hunter.

Detroit offered Hunter not only a championship-caliber team, but also geographic appeal — Hunter’s son, Torii Jr., is a high-school senior and has committed to play football at Notre Dame. Detroit is approximately a 3 1/2-hour drive from South Bend, Ind.

The Tigers will not lose a draft pick for signing Hunter. The Angels declined him to make him a one-year, $13.3 million qualifying offer, enabling Hunter to be an unrestricted free agent.

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

My Sportsman: Mike Trout

By Ben Reiter

Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 3. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer.

It is not at all difficult to make a quantitative argument that Mike Trout, the rookie centerfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, ought to be SI's Sportsman of the Year for 2012. His numbers, most of which he compiled before he turned 21 years old in August, were remarkable enough to stagger absolutely everyone who cares about such things; November 14, 2012 Page 13 of 26

proof that there is at least one piscine phenomenon in the world that can lead the statistical community's traditionalists and its progressives to lay down their rods in awe.

He batted .326, he hit 30 home runs with 83 RBIs, he scored a league-leading 129 runs and he stole a league-leading 49 bases on 54 attempts. According to the website Baseball Reference, his Wins Above Replacement (10.7) was the best for any player since -- his veins pulsing with performance enhancing drugs -- posted back-to-back seasons of 11.6 in 2001 and '02. Had the Angels not dallied until late April in calling him up from Triple-A, Trout's WAR might well have exceeded 12.1, placing him in the company of one other man: . Had the Angels not dallied, they might well have made the playoffs, and who knows where Trout would have taken them from there. (On Monday, Trout was the unanamous pick as the youngest AL rookie of the year winner.)

I believe that now and then an athlete emerges from a season with numbers so extraordinary that he or she could be named Sportsman of the Year based upon them alone, and that such is the case with Mike Trout in 2012. But anyone who watched Trout play this year, for any length of time, knows that the strength of his candidacy extends far beyond his virtually unprecedented statistical résumé.

You couldn't help but take notice of his talents -- his ludicrous speed, his precocious strength -- but what was truly special about him was something more than that, something more rare. It was the relentlessness with which he deployed his gifts, and the sheer and obvious pleasure he derived from deploying them. His exploits not only amazed us. They seemed to amaze him, too, in a way that was entirely genuine.

Watching Trout play was like being treated each night to the best moment of every superhero movie, the montage that always comes, ten or so minutes in, in which our protagonist first comprehends the potential of his newly acquired powers, and then starts to test himself, before any villain has arrived, merely to see what he can do. Can he propel himself almost entirely over an outfield wall to steal a away from a batter, who has already begun to trot? Yes, he can. Can he generate a run for the Angels by virtue of only his fearless aggressiveness on the base paths, without the luxury of a hit? He can do that too. What's next?

Mike Trout in 2012, in other words, was the embodiment of joy and of possibility, and for many people the experience of watching him play was not just intellectually satisfying -- so that's where those numbers come from -- but deeply emotional, too. Professional scouts are paid to dispassionately analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the hundreds of players they watch each year, but every one I talked to about Trout this season couldn't help but describe not just what he made him think, but what he made him feel.

"He plays the game like everybody remembers playing it when they were a kid - he just enjoys it," said one, in a feature about Trout I wrote for SI.com in July.

After that story was published, I received an e-mail from a man whose father was dying of cancer. Each night this summer, father and son would watch Trout play for the Angels on TV, the father outside on his deck, soaking up as many twilights as he had left, the son November 14, 2012 Page 14 of 26

at home. Afterwards, they would call each other. They would talk about whatever absurd feat Trout had pulled off that evening, and how the joy with which he had done it had reminded them of their own love for baseball, and of the connection it had given them during their time together. More often than not, the man wrote, they would cry.

Mike Trout was only just a rookie, and he in all likelihood has plenty of time left to have all sorts of awards bestowed upon him, a future Sportsman of the Year among them. But you never know what can happen. There is no reason to wait. He is, at 21, not just a young athlete who has the potential for greatness within him. He is one who is already, simply, great.

FROM USA TODAY

Hunter kicks off free agency, signs with Tigers

By Bob Nightengale

Free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter agreed to a two-year, $26 million contractWednesday with the Detroit Tigers in the biggest free-agent signing so far this offseason, an official with direct knowledge of the negotiations told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized.

Hunter, 37, who spent the last five years with the Los Angeles Angels, rejected overtures from seven other teams to sign with the Tigers, replacing in the starting lineup.

Hunter, who scheduled a visit last weekend with the Tigers on Tuesday, was overwhelmed by Tigers owner , president David Dombrowski and Jim Leyland in his afternoon meeting. He informed the Tigers at the meeting's conclusion that he wanted to immediately sign with the Tigers, and if they met his demand, he'd sign without talking further to any other clubs.

The Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves were also heavily in the mix when Hunter chose the Tigers, but each were balking at giving him a two-year deal.

November 14, 2012 Page 15 of 26

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Statistical Case Against Cabrera for M.V.P.

By NATE SILVER

On Thursday, the American League will announce the recipient of its Most Valuable Player award. The winner is likely to be Miguel Cabrera, the Detroit Tigers star who won the league’s triple crown by leading in batting average (. 330), home runs (44) and runs batted in (139).

It might seem as if these statistics make Cabrera, the first triple crown winner in either league since 1967, a shoo-in for the M.V.P. But most statistically minded fans would prefer that it go to another player, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels.

The argument on Trout’s behalf isn’t all that complicated: he provided the greater overall contribution to his team. Trout was a much better defensive player than Cabrera, and a much better base runner. And if Cabrera was the superior hitter, it wasn’t by nearly as much as the triple crown statistics might suggest.

It is an argument enabled by the improved ability to measure different elements of the game – defense, , and situational hitting – that were once weak points of statistical analysis.

Take Trout’s base running, for example. The “” paradigm is sometimes associated with de-emphasizing the value of the stolen base. In large part, this is because being hurts a team about twice as much as a successful stolen base attempt helps it. Thus, a player who steals 20 bases, but who was caught stealing 10 times, provides little added benefit to his club.

But this wasn’t a problem for Trout, who was successful on 49 of 54 stolen base attempts, one of the highest percentages ever for a player who attempted to steal so many times.

Trout, with his speed, aggressiveness and good judgment on the bases, was also able to help the Angels in other ways, such as by scoring more often from second base when one of his teammates got a base hit. With the more detailed data available on everything that happens on the field, it is now possible to quantify these contributions as well.

Over all, Trout contributed about 12 additional runs on the basepaths when compared with an average runner. The bulky Cabrera, by contrast, cost the Tigers about three runs on the bases.

Trout is also the much better defensive player. Major League Baseball now records in detail exactly where each batted ball is hit. The best systems for measuring defense rely on this physical evidence, rather than pure statistical inference, in order to see whether a player makes more or fewer plays than his peers at the same position. November 14, 2012 Page 16 of 26

One of these systems, Zone Rating, estimates that Trout saved the Angels 11 runs with his defense in the outfield. Cabrera, a clumsy defender at third base who is more naturally suited to play first base, cost the Tigers 10 runs with his.

Between his defense and his base running, therefore, Trout was about 35 runs more valuable to the Angels than Cabrera was to the Tigers. By contrast, the 14 additional home runs that Cabrera hit (44 against Trout’s 30) were worth about 22 extra runs for the Tigers, based on measures that convert players’ contributions to a common scale.

Didn’t Cabrera also hit for a higher batting average? Yes, but barely: he hit .330 against Trout’s .326. And Trout had the slight edge in on-base percentage, .399 to .393.

Trout also made his offensive contributions in a more difficult ballpark for hitters. Detroit’s once had a reputation as a ’s haven, but that has not really been true since the Tigers moved the fences in before the 2005 season.

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, instead, is more pitcher-friendly, measuring 387 feet to the left-field power alley, one of the deepest distances in the majors.

Although there are statistical formulas to adjust for these “park effects,” it is now also possible to measure the impact of ballpark dimensions through a visual inspection of the data.

Of the 159 home runs hit at Comerica Park this season, for example, about 20 or 25 were not hit deep enough to leave the field at , according to ESPN’s Home Run Tracker. Another 15 or 20 would have been borderline cases.

Angel Stadium is shallower in straight center field, making up for much of the difference, but since most of Cabrera’s home runs came to the power alleys, playing in Anaheim would likely have hurt his statistics on balance. Trout, who hits to all fields, is less sensitive to his ballpark, and had slightly better overall numbers than Cabrera in road games.

What about Cabrera’s superior R.B.I. total? Isn’t that evidence that he helped his team when it had the most on the line?

In general, the consensus among statistical analysts is that the best hitters in the clutch are simply the best hitters over all. With the possible exception of a few outlying cases, most players’ statistics in clutch situations are similar to their overall batting statistics over the long run.

Even if one believes this, however — that there is little predictive power in clutch hitting statistics — one could nevertheless form a coherent argument that they deserve consideration in the retrospective evaluation of players, such as in determining who had the more valuable season. A still counts more than a solo home run. November 14, 2012 Page 17 of 26

Cabrera, in fact, was a very good clutch hitter in 2012, hitting .356 with nine home runs and 89 R.B.I.’s with runners in scoring position. Trout, by contrast, had 53 R.B.I.’s with runners in scoring position.

But much of the difference simply reflects the fact that Cabrera hits third in the , and had more opportunities to hit with runners on base. His 89 R.B.I.’s with runners in scoring position came in 205 plate appearances, a rate of 0.43 R.B.I.’s per opportunity. Trout’s 53 R.B.I.’s came in just 135 opportunities, since he is the Angels’ leadoff hitter. That yields a similar rate of production: 0.39 R.B.I.’s per plate appearance with runners in scoring position.

Furthermore, leading off the inning, as Trout frequently did, represents a sort of clutch situation of its own. Advanced statistics have validated the conventional wisdom that getting the leadoff hitter on base greatly increases a team’s chance of success: a plate appearance to lead off the inning is more than twice as important as one with two outs but nobody on base.

Trout was very good when leading off the inning, hitting .339 with a .398 on-base percentage. (He also stole 16 bases with nobody out.) Cabrera hit .301 with a .342 on- base percentage in leadoff situations. That counteracts much of the advantage from Cabrera’s superior performance with runners on base.

In fact, there are now systems, like Win Probability Added, that measure all aspects of clutch performance in a comprehensive way. They account not just for the number of runners on base and the number of outs, but also the and the inning. A grand slam when a team trails by three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth turns a near-certain loss into a win, giving a player maximal credit by this system. A grand slam when a team already leads 7-0 gets little credit, since the game is already in hand.

According to this measure, Trout was actually slightly more valuable than Cabrera as an offensive player, considering the timing of his contributions. Add in his defense and base running, and it isn’t all that close a call.

It may seem hard to argue against a player who won the triple crown. But Cabrera’s numbers, while worthy of an M.V.P. award in many seasons, weren’t historically great. His batting average, R.B.I. and home run totals would also have qualified for the American League’s triple crown in 2008. Before that, however, you would have to go back to 1972 to find a year in which his numbers were good enough to lead the league in all three categories.

There is also the fact that Cabrera’s Tigers made the playoffs, while Trout’s Angels did not. But the Angels won more games (89) than the Tigers (88), missing the playoffs because they played in a harder division. Trout, moreover, began the year in the minors; the Angels went 81-58 in games in which he participated, equivalent to their winning 94 games over a full season.

Still, the real progress in the statistical analysis of baseball is in the ability to evaluate the contributions that a player makes on the field in a more reliable and comprehensive way. November 14, 2012 Page 18 of 26

Perhaps 10 or 20 years ago, when evaluations of base running, defense and clutch hitting were murkier, stat geeks would have argued that Cabrera deserved the M.V.P. on the basis of the hard evidence.

Now that some of the “intangibles” have become measurable, we know that Trout did more of the little things to help his team win.

It’s the traditionalists who are using statistics in a way that misses the forest for the trees.

FROM COMCAST PHILADELPHIA

Trout 'humbled' to win AL Rookie of the Year

By MIKE BURKE

MILLVILLE, N.J. -- When Mike Trout became the youngest American Leaguer to win Rookie of the Year, he didn't go out and celebrate the way you might expect.

"No, I actually went to the gym," Trout said.

The 21-year-old centerfielder became the first unanimous selection for the AL award since the Rays' in 2008 and only the eighth overall.

"It’s an incredible honor for me, I’m extremely humbled to get this award," Trout said Tuesday at a press conference at the Millville Thunderbolt Club. "It means a lot to me, my family, the town Millville, just putting them on the map. Coming from a small town as you see going out there and proving some people wrong."

The Millville, N.J. native finished his phenomenal rookie season hitting .326 with 30 home runs, 83 RBIs, 27 doubles, eight triples and 49 stolen bases despite spending most of April in the minors.

He finished the 2012 season with a 10.7 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), the highest ever for a rookie and 20th highest in major-league history. However, he admits that even he doesn't necessarily understand what it means.

"This is the first time I actually heard about it this year," he said. "I really didn’t pay attention to it. About midway through the year they started bringing it out to me and saying I was pretty high. I still haven’t figured out what it meant."

Despite spending his summers , Trout plans to buy a house of his own next offseason somewhere in South Jersey. November 14, 2012 Page 19 of 26

"L.A. is great, but for me I’m a weather guy," he said. "It’s pretty funny -- I like to come back and see a little snow, see a little rain. In L.A. you get 75 degrees and sunny every day. It’s great baseball weather, but in the offseason I like to come back and hunt and fish, and I like being in the weather."

He also likes the quiet.

"I’m going to stay around here," he said. "It might not be downtown Millville, but it’ll be around this area. It’ll probably be back in the woods somewhere. I like to keep my privacy."

Not that he minds some attention.

"I go right down the street to the Cumberland Mall, I go to a Texas Roadhouse or a Longhorn and walk in and everybody -- all eyes are on you," he said. "It makes you feel good inside."

For now, Trout is living at home with his parents Jeff and Debbie, who know there's a silver lining should their son choose to move to L.A.

"If he moves out to California," Debbie said, "it's a great place to visit."

But they're certainly happy to have him home.

"We're ecstatic and we're proud of Mike," Jeff said, "not only as a player but as his mother always says, 'He's a great player, but he's a better person.' "

FROM THE PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY

Mike Trout's rise to baseball stardom has changed lives of family, friends

By JASON MAZDA, Staff Writer

Mike Trout played for Millville High School in 2009.

He took mid-terms, went to prom and rode the team bus to fields all over South Jersey. His most memorable home run was against Oakcrest.

Three years later, Trout takes chartered flights. He plays in and . His most memorable plays are chronicled on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” And today, he’s expected to be named the American League Rookie of the Year.

Despite all that, the 21-year-old Los Angeles Angels center fielder has not changed in the past three years, those close to him say. He still lives at his parents’ home in Millville. November 14, 2012 Page 20 of 26

But Trout’s success has led to unique experiences for people around the area with unique connections to the megastar.

Former coaches and teammates at Millville have experienced the life of a celebrity during trips this summer. Former high school opponents proudly tell the story of the day they turned a on Trout or hit him with a pitch. And those who share his last name — related or not — are almost celebrities themselves.

“What’s neat about it is you realize how fortunate we were,” said longtime Millville baseball coach Roy Hallenbeck. “Because had Mike gone to another school, he’d still be where he was, and some other coaching staff would be going to the All-Star game and going to California. So we were pretty lucky that (Trout’s parents) Jeff and Deb settled in Millville and brought their kids through the system.”

Drawing a crowd

Hallenbeck took his family — wife, Kim, and children Kevin, 11, and Megan, 9 — to Los Angeles twice this summer to see Trout. They also went to the All-Star game in Kansas City, Mo.

The kids got to stand in the Angels’ family area after one of the games and see players such as nine-time All-Star Albert Pujols walk by.

When Hallenbeck went to dinner with Trout’s family, it felt like old times — until people started coming over to ask for autographs and pictures.

“I never thought I’d be at an All-Star game and then sitting at dinner afterward with an All-Star and having other All-Stars come over to the table and say hello,” said Hallenbeck, 41, of Millville. “I mean, as a baseball fan, you just sit there and shake your head and try to figure out what’s going on. How did we end up here?”

Bobby Fabrizi had a similar experience when he and three other former Millville teammates — Efren Fernandez and brothers Jon and Dan McMahon — spent nine days in Los Angeles in July. They got to go on the field before one of Trout’s games and hang out with him around town.

“It’s weird just to see people go crazy over seeing him,” said Fabrizi, a 22-year-old who works as a mason and is a mixed martial arts fighter in the Cage Fury Fighting Championships. “We joke with him all the time about stuff like that.”

Back home, Trout has gone hunting, fishing and golfing with his high school buddies. He’s just a regular guy — albeit a guy whose major-league salary allows him to do things such as pay off a bet to a friend who swam around a pond at White Oaks Country Club in Newfield.

“When he’s around here, it’s just like any other time,” Fabrizi said.

Stories from the past November 14, 2012 Page 21 of 26

Trout’s impact isn’t limited to those who get to spend extended amounts of time with him.

Former Mainland Regional High School pitcher Mike DeCicco still tells the story of when he hit Trout with a pitch in 2009. The 20-year-old Northfield resident even wrote about it in a blog, “The Line Drive.”

“Usually everyone thinks it’s a great story,” DeCicco said.

DeCicco admits he hit Trout on purpose out of frustration. At the time, a fight almost broke out. But DeCicco eventually became one of Trout’s biggest fans, purchasing a minor-league TV package to follow him from the start of his pro career.

This summer, DeCicco went to an Angels-Padres game in San Diego. He got there two hours early.

“I was thinking about what I would say to him if I saw him in the outfield, if I was going to say, ‘Yo, man, I hit you!’” DeCicco said. “All my friends and my dad were like, ‘You’ve got to say something. Give him your card.’ But I didn’t say anything. I said a little shout-out, like, ‘From leading off for the ’Bolts to leading off for the Angels.’ But that was it. I was too scared.”

Vaughn Champion, an 18-year-old Galloway Township resident, still tells the story of the day he helped turn a double play on Trout — believed to be the only one Trout hit into in his senior year.

Trout is one of the fastest players in the majors, but Hallenbeck said that in high school, “No one was even close.”

A freshman for Absegami at the time, Champion said Trout hit “probably the hardest ball I’ve ever fielded in my life.” Champion flipped it underhand to Billy Guerro at second, and Guerro completed the relay to first to get Trout.

“It’s definitely crazy because so many things go on in your high school career, and just one moment can stick out like that,” Champion said.

The stories get better the farther away they are told. Champion is a freshman on the Wagner College baseball team in Staten Island, N.Y. DeCicco is a junior at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and briefly played for the club team there.

“Some people are amazed I even played against Trout, let alone turned a double play against him,” Champion said. “It’s something that I’ll always feel good about telling people, that I played against Mike Trout, because not many people can say that they played against guys that are in the major leagues, let alone as good as he is.”

Name’s the same November 14, 2012 Page 22 of 26

One former Millville softball star has never even met Trout, but she gets asked about him constantly.

Kristin Trout, a three-time Press All-Star, said her grandmother has told her they are distantly related to Mike. He was three years ahead of her in school.

“I remember the first time was in fifth grade and somebody asked me,” said Kristin, now an 18-year-old freshman at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa. “At that time, I didn’t even know who he was. And they were like, ‘Oh, he’s your brother?’ And I was like, ‘No. I don’t even know who Mike Trout is.’”

Kristin said it used to get on her nerves sometimes. But not anymore.

“When I was younger it did, because he wasn’t as big,” she said. “But now that he’s older and I’m older, it’s really cool, I guess.”

It’s even cooler for his actual brother.

Tyler Trout, a 24-year-old law student at Rutgers-Camden, has gone to see Mike play at places such as Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. Next year, he plans to go see the Angels at .

“It’s crazy in that I get to do things and experience things that I never thought I’d be doing, so rapidly and so quickly,” said Tyler, who has developed quite the following on because of his brother, with nearly 2,800 followers.

Tyler said the one experience that stands out above the rest was at a private breakfast during the All-Star game festivities for all the players and their families.

“Having (Atlanta Braves star) come up to the table with his kids and say, ‘Mike, I just have to meet you. My kids have to meet you.’ It’s those experiences that are surreal,” Tyler said.

At least Jones talked to the right Trout. Tyler said he gets confused for his brother frequently, including recently when they went to Atlantic City to celebrate the birthday of Trout’s girlfriend, Jessica Cox.

“It was really late at night,” Tyler said. “We had just got off one of the tables on the casino floor, and somebody came running up to me, ‘Congratulations! Really nice to meet you!’ This, that and the other. And I’m looking at him, and I’m really not sure what’s going on because Mike was actually standing two feet from me. He was literally right next to me. And the guy’s sitting there and he’s talking to me.”

Tyler doesn’t mind, though. If someone confuses him for Mike, he politely corrects them. If they want to talk about Mike, he usually obliges, no matter how busy he is.

“It’s kind of like an honor that they’re following him,” Tyler said. November 14, 2012 Page 23 of 26

Early signs

Even for those closest to Trout, it’s hard to believe sometimes how quickly it all happened.

Hallenbeck remembers him as a freshman, when Trout moved to second base because Tim Ahlquist was entrenched at shortstop for Millville.

“The only thing that really jumped out then was how fast (Trout) was,” Hallenbeck said. “He was just a little contact guy. He wasn’t very big.”

Eventually it became apparent that Trout was good enough to play in college. He committed to East Carolina University.

ECU coach Billy Godwin went to one of Millville’s games and watched along with several major-league scouts as Trout hit an inside-the-park homer on a ball that landed in front of the center fielder.

“He walks past,” Hallenbeck said, “and he’s shaking his head. And we’re like, ‘What’s up, Billy?’ He’s like, ‘(Shoot), that’s the best high school player I’ve ever seen. He ain’t coming to East Carolina.’ He says, ‘I’ll see you later.’ He went in his car and went home.”

FROM MLB.COM

Hunter agrees to two-year contract with Tigers

Deal worth $26 million as Detroit locks up biggest need with early signing

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- For every year the Tigers make a late strike on the free-agent market, there's a year when they move significantly and early. With Torii Hunter, the Tigers have clearly made this year the latter.

In fact, with an agreement for a two-year contract worth $26 million, Detroit filled what arguably was its biggest need with the first major free-agent signing of the offseason.

A source confirmed the deal, first reported by Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network and FOXSports.com, pending a physical. The Tigers have an organizational policy of not commenting on contracts before a physical has been passed. November 14, 2012 Page 24 of 26

Hunter not only fills the corner-outfield spot that stood as the lone void in the Tigers' lineup, he provides Detroit with the right-handed bat it conspicuously lacked throughout the 2012 season in its struggles against left-handed pitching.

Add in Hunter's proven value batting second in a batting order -- he goes from hitting between the Angels' Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to slotting between Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera -- along with his smart baserunning and still-standout defense, and there's plenty to like for the Tigers in the deal.

Instead of going for the superstar on the market -- fellow free-agent outfielder , who was speculated to go to Detroit in the wake of last winter's mega-signing of Prince Fielder -- team president/general manager and his staff went for the guy who was the best fit, and he didn't hesitate.

Hunter visited Detroit on Tuesday and left in the evening, reportedly without an offer in hand. The deal came together quickly Wednesday, fulfilling Hunter's statement Monday that he wasn't going to wait around to pick a club.

In that sense, the move felt a little like Detroit's signing of Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit two years ago, both of which occurred by Thanksgiving weekend. They weren't the superstars on that market, but they ended up helping lead the Tigers to the postseason.

While Hunter gets a multiyear contract that will bring him just shy of his 40th birthday, the Tigers get the future flexibility to mix top prospects Avisail Garcia and Nick Castellanos into their outfield. Garcia was a postseason hero for Detroit at age 21, while Castellanos knocked on the door of a September callup at age 20.

Both could benefit greatly from working with Hunter, whose impact was credited by AL Rookie of the Year and MVP candidate Trout for helping him adjust so quickly to the big leagues.

Hunter finished up a five-year contract with the Angels this past season with one of his best campaigns in years, batting a career-best .313 with 24 doubles, 16 home runs, 92 RBIs and nine steals in 10 tries. His walk-to- ratio and power numbers declined, but his timely hitting was unmistakable.

Just as important for Detroit, he batted .340 against left-handed , by far the highest mark over a full season in his career.

November 14, 2012 Page 25 of 26

FROM THE VINELAND DAILY JOURNAL

Trout 'extremely humbled' to be named top rookie

Millville phenom 'anxious' for MVP announcement

By Josh Friedman

MILLVILLE — On the night Mike Trout was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in June 2009, the wide-eyed teenager who hadn’t even graduated yet from Millville High School made a familiar stop home after his national television appearance at the MLB Network studio in Secaucus.

He found a raucous celebration with friends and family waiting for him at the Thunderbolt Club.

Three and a half years later, the 21-year-old returned to the familiar digs at the club Tuesday. This time, he arrived as one of the premier players in his sport, just one day after unanimously winning the American League Rookie of the Year title.

“It means a lot,” Trout said of the support from the community. “Growing up here, and driving down the street and seeing where I used to play Little League, and then coming back home and seeing signs up and seeing my name all over the town, and like I said being recognized, it means a lot to me.”

After compiling one of the best seasons by a rookie in the history of Major League Baseball, Trout became just the 18th Rookie of the Year winner to ever receive every first-place vote for the award, which is selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Trout this year batted .326 with a Major League-best 129 runs scored and 49 stolen bases, and became the first player ever to record at least 30 homers, 40 swipes and 125 runs scored in a single season.

The season caught the attention of many in the baseball world, but Trout felt proud to that he gave his hometown something to cheer for.

“It’s an incredible honor for me, extremely humbled to get this award, means a lot to me, my family, the town, Millville, just putting them on the map,” he told reporters during a news conference at the Thunderbolt Club. “I’m from this small town as you see, going out there and proving some people wrong that East Coast, (we) can go out there and play as well.”

Trout could give Millville even more to celebrate Thursday when the AL Most Valuable Player is announced. He and Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who won the AL Triple Crown by leading the league in homers, RBIs and runs scored, are the top candidates. November 14, 2012 Page 26 of 26

“I’m pretty anxious to see how it’s going to turn out,” Trout said. “I talked to my agent, talked to a couple guys. The race is pretty close right now, and I know that they selected after the year so the votes are in, but it’s going to be fun. I’m anxious, nervous. Coming into the year, to have your name in the final list of the MVP at the end of the year, it makes you feel good.”

If Trout had a vote, he said, “I’m not going to vote for anybody else, so I would definitely vote for myself.”

Whether he wins or loses, he’ll still have the support of the community, which he said means a lot to him.

“I just want to thank them for sticking with me,” he said. “I was just trying to make a name for the town and I just started my career four years ago, and it’s been like a blink of an eye. (There’s) still a long road ahead and just want to thank them for being out there supporting me.”

Trout said he gets constant phone calls and texts throughout the season.

“(They) say, ‘Hey, I’m watching your game tonight,’” he said. “(A) lot of people bought the MLB package, and probably about 85 percent of the town has that package now (and they’re) watching me play. It’s pretty cool.”

It’s no wonder that he has become a huge celebrity in town.

“It’s been a crazy year and a crazy ride for me,” Trout said. “As I go right down the street to Cumberland Mall, you go to a Texas Roadhouse or a LongHorn (Steakhouse) and walk in, and all eyes are on you. It makes you feel good inside, and it’s been fun so far.”