Mike Trout burst onto the scene last season for the Los Angeles Angels and rescued them from the horrors of mediocrity in the long grind that is the MLB regular season; the Angels missed the playoffs, but he injected life into the franchise on his way to arguably the greatest rookie campaign in baseball history.
As a reward the Angels gave Trout a raise, but not the amount he was likely seeking; instead of being locked up long-term, Los Angeles renewed his rookie deal increasing his salary to $510,000.
Trout made some noise during the offseason about his unhappiness with the team's refusal to grant him a long-term deal, eventually throwing his hands skyward with really no recourse to fix the situation. "It was one of those things where [the Angels] own you, they can do whatever they want, and you have to accept it," Trout said. "Everyone goes through it. I'm waiting patiently -- my time will come."
Despite having a similarly fabulous 2013 season, there are still no talks. His agent Craig Landis told The Los Angeles Times, "I'll answer one question on contract talks -- there have been no discussions. Obviously, Mike's future is extremely bright. We'll be patient. Mike's a young guy. However it goes, he's going to make a lot of money and be a great player."
Bright is an understatement. This year he's batting .324 while cracking 26 home runs and stealing 33 bases to go with 92 RBI. He's slugging .557, reaching base at a .431 clip, and has scored a whopping 108 runs.
Trout has said he enjoys playing for the Angels, but issued a vague threat insinuating he'd like his salary to match the production sooner rather than later.
"It's about time to start looking for a house," Trout said. "I'm trying to see what direction my career takes me. Do I want to buy a house out here or some other place?"
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