Will Mike Trout Be the Best MLB Player Ever?

Mike Trout has been making waves in Major League Baseball for as long as he has been in the league, often being considered one of the best players in the league throughout his career. But it is worth asking at some point if Trout can become one of the best players of all-time given how much better he has been than a lot of his peers so far.

Heading into the 2019 season, Trout has racked up a career WAR of 64.3, which puts him in a tie for 144th place in MLB history despite the players ahead of him on that list having played more years than his eight. Trout could easily play another 16 years given how much longer players are playing these days, and could challenge Babe Ruth for the highest WAR of all-time, with Ruth's 182.5 being well ahead of anyone else who has ever played the game.

In a more concrete statistical sense, Trout is on pace to have an incredible career. He is already 10 home runs from being at 250, halfway to the 500 home run mark that many consider to be worth an automatic entry into the Hall of Fame. Combine those power numbers of 30 home runs per year with his career batting average of .307, and you have a player whose offensive numbers are an anomaly.

If there was a knock against Trout in his bid to become one of the best players ever, it is the lack of postseason success that he's experienced to this point in his career. Statistically, Trout should have had some measure of playoff success by now, which has been proof that baseball is the consummate team sport. And it isn't considered likely that Trout and the Los Angeles Angels will win in the postseason this year either.

According to 2019 MLB betting odds on bet365, the Angels are at +5000 odds to win the 2019 World Series. Despite having the combination of Trout and two-way playing sensation Shohei Ohtani, the Angels aren't considered to have enough firepower to get through an American League West that is currently led by the Houston Astros instead.

But all hope isn't lost for Trout, as he could leave the Angels in the near future to be a part of a winning club. He has been recruited by members of the Philadelphia community, from new Phillies acquisition Bryce Harper to celebrities, to join a now-exciting Phillies team. If he were to jump ship, he could have a better chance to compete for titles, to check the box that has so far eluded him in his quest to be one of the best ever.

It will be interesting to see if Trout can continue on his torrid pace and get himself into a position to truly be considered one of the best players of all-time. Some playoff success will be required, but his numbers will definitely speak for themselves regardless of his ring count when all is said and done.