Mike Trout 2012 season in review

Angels’ rookie center fielder Mike Trout will finish the 2012 campaign this afternoon in Seattle. The 21 year-old enters play ranked in the A.L. Top 5 in several offensive categories including, average (.324, 2nd), runs scored (129, 1st), stolen bases (49, 1st), slugging percentage (.561, 3rd) and on-base percentage (.397, 3rd). Following is a statistical glance at his 2012 campaign…

FIRST MAJOR LEAGUER EVER TO…

• Steal 45 bases, score 125 runs and hit 30 home runs in a single season.
• Hit .320 or above with 30 HRs and 45 SBs in a single season.

ELITE COMPANY…

• Trout has joined Ted Williams, Mel Ott and Alex Rodriguez as only players to hit .320 or above with 30+ HRs during their 20-year-old seasons.
• He is vying to be one of only five players in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) to score at least 130 runs in less than 140 games: Al Simmons – 152 runs in 138 games in 1930, Rogers Hornsby – 133 runs in 138 games in 1925, Joe DiMaggio – 132 runs in 138 games in 1936 and Jimmie Foxx – 130 runs in 124 games in 1939.
• At 21, he is the youngest player to steal 40 bases in a season since Ty Cobb in 1907.

KNOW THIS…

• Trout is the first player to hit .320+ with 30 HRs, 125 runs since Albert Pujols in 2005.
• With his 25th home run of the season on August 29, became the youngest player in MLB history to have a 25 HR/40 SB season.
• Successful in 49 of 53 stolen base attempts this season (92.5%)…Since 1920, only two other players have held better stolen base success rates in a single season (min 50 attempts): Max Carey – 96.2% (51/53) in 1922 and Jimmy Rollins – 94.0% (47/50) in 2008.
• Hit .353 with 18 HRs and 31 stolen bases thru July, joining Rickey Henderson (.352, 16 HR, 47 SB in 1985) as the only two players in Major League history to hit .350 or above with 15+ HR and 30 or more SB before August 1st.

ROOKIE RECORDS…

• First rookie ever with a 30 HR/40 SB campaign.
• Three runs shy of tying Joe DiMaggio’s A.L. rookie runs record (132).
• One of six rookies to hit .320 or above with 30 or more home runs: Hal Trosky - .330, 35 HR in 1934, Albert Pujols - .329, 37 HR in 2001, Ted Williams - .327, 31 HR in 1939, Tony Oliva - .323, 32 HR in 1964 and Walt Dropo .322, 34 HR in 1950

SABERMETRICS…

• Posted 10.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) this season…Only three other players in MLB history posted a better WAR at age 25 or younger: Babe Ruth – 11.6 in 1920 (25 years old), Lou Gehrig – 11.5 in 1927 (24 years old), Mickey Mantle – 11.1 in 1957 (25 years old), Mickey Mantle – 11 in 1956 (24 years old)…The last center fielder to post a WAR 10.5 or above was Willie Mays with a 10.9 in 1965.

DEFENSE…

• Robbed J.J. Hardy of a homer on June 27 at Baltimore, stole one from Gordon Beckham at Chicago (AL) on Aug. 4, snatched another from Miguel Olivo vs. Seattle on Aug. 11 and pilfered one from Prince Fielder to end a game on Sept. 8 vs. Detroit…One of four players since 2004 to have four home run robberies in a season, joining Nook Logan (2005 Tigers), Gary Matthews Jr. (2006 Rangers) and Adam Jones (2009 Orioles).
• According to FanGraphs, has saved 22 runs on defense this year which ranks fifth in the Majors.

MISC. NOTES…

• Before his callup on April 28, the Angels posted a 6-14 record, ranking 28th in the Majors (tied with Kansas City) and were averaging 3.7 runs per game…From April 28 on, the club is 83-58, tied for first the best record in the A.L. and averaged 4.9 runs per game.
• Named the American League Rookie of the Month in May, June, July and August…Was the first rookie to ever win the award in four consecutive months and first to receive the honors four times in a season since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001…Named A.L. Player of the Month and A.L. Rookie of the Month for July, the first A.L. position player ever to win the awards in the same month.

***Mike Trout’s 2012 rookie season summary is ultimately achieved due to timeless research provided by Fox Sports West, Elias Sports Bureau, STATS LLC, ESPN Stats & Research, baseball-reference.com, retrosheet.org and Major League Baseball.