Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout and famous actor Denzel Washington shared a great moment at this year's All-Star Game.
Trout and Washington bumped into each other in the locker room. Washington exclaimed, "This is Mickey Mantle?" Everyone around, including Trout, burst out into laughter. The two then posed for some pictures shortly after.
“This is Mickey Mantle?!” - Jomboy Media
It was cool to witness two people at the top of their respective professions share a conversation. Trout has established himself as one of the greatest baseball players of this generation. Washington is a multiple award-winning actor who has starred in some of the best-known films.
Denzel Washington was at this year's All-Star Game to present an on-field tribute to Jackie Robinson. Robinson was a significant pioneer in the game of baseball who integrated the MLB back in 1947. Since the All-Star Game was at Dodger Stadium, and Robinson played his entire career for the Brooklyn Dodgers, it was the perfect setting for a tribute to the legend.
"Denzel Washington's tribute to Jackie Robinson before the All-Star Game was absolutely incredible" - Jomboy Media
This exchange between Washington and Trout was entertaining, but it does raise a question: Does Mike Trout's career parallel Mickey Mantle's?
Similarities between Mike Trout and Mickey Mantle
Mike Trout and Mickey Mantle share some pretty similar numbers statistics. Trout plays center field, as did Mantle. Both are/were franchise cornerstones for their respective teams. To make this a fair comparison, let's take a look at Mantle's stats until he reached Trout's current age of 30 years old.
From age 19 to age 30, Mantle hit .309 and slugged a whopping .581, with a 1.010 OPS. He also had 1,821 hits during this span, along with 404 home runs and 256 doubles. He earned 11 All-Star appearances and three American League MVP Awards. He won just one Gold Glove Award because the award was not established until 1957.
Mike Trout, since entering the league in 2011, has a career .303 batting average and slugs .584, with an OPS of 1.000. He has 334 career home runs, 1,495 hits, and 285 doubles. Trout has 10 All-Star appearances, three MVP awards, and eight Silver Slugger Awards. Although his splits are eerily similar to Mantle's, the total numbers do not add up due to time Trout has missed.
"Mike Trout's career OPS is 1.00008." - Codify
The one thing Mickey Mantle does have over Mike Trout is that he won seven World Series championships in that span. While Trout won't achieve that goal, he still has plenty of playing time left. Perhaps one World Series win still awaits.