Mike Trout: Angel in Right Field
It finally happened. After years of speculation and too many years cut short due to injury(ies), future Hall of Famer Mike Trout is moving out of center field.
As you may recall, when Trout made his major league debut in 2011 at age 19, he played ten games in left field, and thirteen in each of center and right.
In 2012, he started 29 games in left (108 in center, none in right). In 2013, he started 40 games in left field and another 108 in center. The last time Mike Trout donned a glove and jogged out to play anywhere other than up the middle was on September 2, 2013, when he played seven innings in left field against the Rays at The Trop.
However, after missing 382 games over the past four seasons, after losing his place as the best player in the game, after his team suffered its worst season in franchise history (99 losses), and not having had a winning season since 2015, the Angels have decided that a change is in order. Trout, general manger Perry Minasian, and manager Ron Washington all discussed the matter and decided that for the health of their star that he would get the majority of his reps on the right side of the outfield, with an occasional stop in center field, and also some days as the team’s designated hitter.
Of the meeting, Trout was quoted as saying: “It went great and we just threw everything on the table, as in, what’s best for me, body-wise, to keep me on the field.” Ironically, Trout’s move to right gives Jo Adell yet another chance to prove that he is the player that the Angels hoped he would be when they drafted him with the tenth pick in the 2017 draft.
With Trout now becoming the everyday right fielder, he is clearly the best player in the team’s 64-year history to play that position. Or is he?
When the Los Angeles Angels debuted in 1961, Albie Pearson was their first right fielder. He slashed .288/.420/.400 that season, with seven home runs, 41 RBI, and a total of 31 extra base hits. Not exactly the prototype corner outfielder, but he did lead the Angels right fielders with 3.2 bWAR.
You may have missed or forgotten this, but Tony C. – Tony Conigliaro – started in right field for the Angels on Opening Day in 1971. After playing six years in Boston – he missed the entire 1968 season recovering from a Jack Hamilton fastball to the eye that nearly killed him – Conigliaro caught on with the Angels and played 74 games for them in 1971, hitting four home runs and driving in 15.
Bobby Bonds was an Angel in the outfield in 1976 and 1977. In the latter season he slashed .264/.342/.520, with 37 home runs, 115 RBI, 41 stolen bases (just shy of a 40/40 season*), which led to a 136 OPS+.
*In 1973, Bonds came this close to MLB’s first 40/40 season, slugging 39 homers and stealing 43 bases.
“Disco” Danny Ford was out there in 1979 and 1981.
In 1982, the original “Straw that Stirs the Drink” – Reggie Jackson – came to Anaheim on a very unique contract. He signed a four-year, $3.6 million deal, with a bonus of 50¢ for each fan in attendance beyond 2.4 million. When the Angels drew 2.8 million, Jackson earned an additional $200,000. In five seasons in Southern California, he hit 123 homers and drove in 374 runs, with a 114 OPS+. Suffice it to say, Jackson’s Hall of Fame plaque has him in a Yankees – not an Angels – hat.
Following in the Yankee footsteps was Dave Winfield. He patrolled right field in 1990 and 1991. His time in Anaheim was unremarkable, but when he left for Toronto in 1992, he came in fifth in MVP voting. He went into the Hall of Fame with a Padres hat.
One of the most beloved Angels came next. He played for the club for the entirety of his 14-year career, with nearly all of it in right field. Tim Salmon hit 299 home runs, drove in 1,016, with a career OPS of .886. He won Rookie of the Year in 1993, a Silver Slugger award in 1995, and had two Top-10 MVP finishes. He may be best remembered for the two-out, two-run homer he hit in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 2 of the 2022 World Series to give the Angels a 11-9 lead over the Giants.
Following Salmon was the one player who entered the Hall of Fame wearing an Angels cap: Vladimir Guerrero. From 2004 through 2009, Vladdy roamed right field and crushed any pitch thrown in the vicinity of home plate. In those six seasons, he slashed .319/.381/.546, with 173 homers, 194 doubles, and a 141 OPS+. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on his second ballot.
Borderline Hall of Famer Bobby Abreu played right field for the club from 2009 through 2011. But his time there was not that interesting.
Torii Hunter played center field for two-plus seasons in Anaheim, and then moved to right. He left the Angels after five seasons and finished his career in right field for the Tigers and then the Twins.
When Josh Hamilton came to the Angels on a 5-year, $125 million contract in 2013, he played 83 games in right, but was traded to the Rangers after two lackluster years.
Cole Calhoun became Anaheim’s primary right fielder in 2014. In six seasons he had a perfectly pedestrian 104 OPS+, with 132 home runs and too many dirty uniforms to count.
Now here in 2025, right field for the Angels will be covered by the team’s all-time leader in home runs, walks, runs scored, OPS, and bWAR. He claims to be in good shape and excited about the new opportunity. Interestingly, he stated his first thought when he made the move to the right was former teammate Torii Hunter, who will be in Angels camp as a guest instructor.
Left field, center field, right field, and/or DH, it doesn’t matter. When Mike Trout enters the Hall of Fame five years after he retires, he will be wearing an Angels hat, making him the second Halo to do so.
PLAY BALL!!
