'I was trying to take him deep': Trout gives Betts scoop on the Shohei AB

Fear not baseball fans; Mike Trout finally talked about that at-bat.

Prior to the finale of the Angels’ two-game series against the Dodgers, Trout made an appearance on Mookie Betts’ show on Bleacher Report, “On Base,” where the two had a wide-ranging conversation that touched on a plethora of topics, the biggest one being Trout’s at-bat against Shohei Ohtani in the World Baseball Classic finale.

Trout said that he began to think about the at-bat the inning prior, with his main thought being, “I’m going to get [Ohtani] here.”

And while Trout and Ohtani had played together for five seasons prior to the at-bat, Trout said it was his first time facing the two-way phenom.

“I only see him from behind,” Trout chuckled.

From there, Trout and Betts talked about the at-bat as a whole. Trout said that he stepped up to the plate with the mentality that he needed to hit a home run (the bases were empty after Betts hit into a double play in front of Trout).

“I think it might have messed me up because it took me out of my approach, but there was one thing on my mind,” Trout said. “I was trying to take him deep.”

Trout said the only other time he went up to the plate looking to hit a home run and was successful was when he hit for the cycle in 2013.

Trout also said he “missed some pitches [he] should have hit,” one of which was Ohtani’s 1-0 fastball that was 100 mph down the middle of the plate. But obviously there were no gimmes in that at-bat.

“Oh, he’s nasty,” Trout said in reference to Ohtani.

That strikeout closed out Ohtani’s fantastic World Baseball Classic, during which he went 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA and 11 strikeouts on the mound to go along with a .435/.606/.739 slash line and four doubles and a home run in the batter’s box.

Trout said that he and Ohtani haven’t talked about the at-bat yet, saying that the duo is likely to “let it ride.”

That wasn’t the only time Ohtani came up in the conversation, as Betts also asked Trout how much money he thinks Ohtani could net in free agency.

Trout wasted no time responding.

“I think 5 or 6 [hundred million],” Trout said. “That’s a lot of M’s.”