Mike Trout made his Yankee Stadium debut last night, but the 20-year-old phenom had taken at-bats in The Bronx even before becoming an Angel.
“I had showcases in both the new Stadium and the old one,” Trout said before leading off for the Angels in last night’s game. “My junior and senior years [in high school].”
Trout, a Millville, N.J., native, made enough of an impression with the Yankees in high school they sent scouts to talk to him and he believed there was a possibility he might wind up in pinstripes.
“I was an East Coast kid and I thought I had a chance if I slipped to them,” Trout said before going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases in last night’s 6-5 Yankees victory. “They had a pretty high interest in me.”
Instead, Trout — who grew up idolizing Derek Jeter despite being a Phillies fan in southern New Jersey — wound up being selected by the Angels with the 25th pick in the 2009 draft.
It has worked out pretty well for the Halos.
Trout became the first rookie in American League history to lead the league in both batting average (.341) and stolen bases (26) at the All-Star break.
He made the trip to Kansas City as an All-Star for the first time, and wound up spending time with Jeter.
“He plays the game the way I want to,” he said of the shortstop, which is the position Trout played until his senior season in high school.
“I ate lunch with him in the clubhouse and then when I got in the on-deck circle, I looked over in the dugout and Jeter and Adam Dunn were thumping their chests,” Trout said. “I thought, ‘Do I have something on my shirt?’ But [Jeter] asked if I was nervous.”
Trout admitted he was somewhat nervous when he soaked in the atmosphere, but he has shown an ability to handle pretty much everything that has been thrown at him after a brief call-up last season during which he hit .220 in 40 games.
“Last year, I got out of my approach and tried to hit too many home runs,” Trout said. “[Manager Mike] Scioscia has me in the leadoff spot, where I’m more comfortable. My swing is the same. It’s just that last year I tried to hit the ball so hard to make an impression and it didn’t work out.”