The Battle Between Generational Talents
Lebron Vs. Jordan? Nah man, Trout Vs. Griffey
We all know who Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr are. Trout and Griffey both were drafted in the first round, multiple all star selections ( and both winning the ASG MVP), multiple silver sluggers, and both have received at least 1 MVP. Both were drafted and developed in their respective organizations and both made their debuts at 19 years old. The similarities between these two generational talents is so identical it is almost scary. I believe people automatically assume Trout and Griffey compare that they never actually compare them. In this article I wild a deep dive into their stats and show you just how similar they are and the comparisons between them.
The Eye Test
Obviously, we know Trout isn’t retired; we have enough evidence to know he will be a future Hall of Famer and will go down as the greatest player in our generation (2010s). Trout and Griffey, when debuting, had exceptional speed, contact, base running skills, defense, and power (with more to come). In Mike Trouts rookie year, he set a record for the most WAR for a rookie in MLB history with 10.5 as a 19-year-old, In Ken Griffey Jrs rookie year he had a very respectable 3.3 and had an above average OPS+. A dazzling future for both young stars and more to come as neither were a victim to the “sophomore slump”. In Trouts second full season he compiled 190 hits, 27 Home Runs, 97 RBI, had a OPS+ of 179 and a slash line of .323/.432/.557 with a OPS of .989. Griffey Increased his WAR total by almost 2.0 (5.2), had 179 Hits, 22 Home Runs, 80 RBI, an OPS+ of 136, a slash line of .300/.366/.481, and a OPS of .847 all while not being able to buy an adult beverage.
As it sits right now, Trout ranks in the top 5 for Centerfielders for total WAR and Griffey ranks 6th, Trout is also ahead of Griffey in JAWS (A stat that averages a player's career WAR with their 7-year peak WAR). I personally love this stat because it compares players who are inducted in the Hall of Fame to compare players based on their peak, due to lack of longevity. Mike Trouts Career oWAR (Offensive WAR) is sitting at 86.4, while Griffeys sits at 84.6 (a little ironic), while Trouts dWAR (Defensive WAR) is 2.8, Griffeys is 2.2. I believe Trout will be better than Griffey in the long run. I just see him as a compiler towards the end of his career.
Accolades
Between the two of these players, they both combine for 24 All-Star Games, 16 Silver Sluggers, 4 MVP’s,14 top 10 MVP finishes, and the Major League Player of the year award. Griffey is a 10 time Gold Glove Award winner, while Trout only has the Wilson Overall Defensive Player Award to his name. Trout and Griffey also have 5 combined Most WAR seasons and 12 top 5 seasons, respectively. Ken Griffey is a 3 time Home Run Derby Champion, as most people have probably seen the video of him launching one off of the historic Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse behind right field. Both players share many awards and accolades, Trout leads centerfielder's in Silver Sluggers with 9, while Griffey is second with 7. Griffey is second, tied with Andruw Jones in most Gold Gloves, 1 behind Willie Mays for the most all time. This is a great comparison because it shows that while Griffey, a phenomenal hitter, was also an elite defender, and Trout, setting the record for silver sluggers in a little over half of Griffey's career.
Under The Bright Lights
As we all know, Griffey and Trout have this black cloud hanging over their careers due to lack of postseason accomplishments. Griffey, however, has had the most success between the two. In 1995, the 79-66 Mariners led by Griffey, Randy Johnson, and Edgar Martinez took a potent Indians lineup to a game 6 before losing. In the 1995 ALDS and ALCS combined, Griffey slashed .364/.442/.818 with a 1.261 OPS. Griffey’s cWPA (Championship Win Probability was 20.10 the highest of anyone on the Mariners throughout the postseason. Griffeys cLI (Championship Leverage Index was the highest (225.00), even higher than Edgar Martinez’s game winning double to left field, highlighted by Griffey scoring from first! Griffey also had 2 other “cups of coffee” in the postseason, getting the gentleman’s sweep in 1997, and swept altogether in 2008 with the White Sox. In total for his postseason, Griffey slashed .290/367/.580 with a .947 OPS. Griffey had 20 Hits, 6 Homeruns, and 11 RBI in 18 total postseason games.
Mike Trouts Postseason experience has been brief to say it in a nice way. In 2014, The Angels who sported a 98-64 record, and a rotation led by Jared Weaver and C.J Wilson fell to the Royals in a 3 game sweep. In that postseason, Mike Trout slashed .083/.267/.333 and a OPS of .600. Trout had 3 walks and 1 hit in the 3 games, the one hit, a homer. His cWPA was -1.6, and he has not been back to the playoffs since.
Both Trout and Griffey had the opputurnity to play under the brightest lights, for Team USA. Griffey played for Team USA in 2006 and absolutely mashed, in 6 games Griffey slashed .524/.583/1.048 with a 1.631 OPS. Griffey had the 3rd most home runs in the tournament with 3 and logged 10 RBI along with it. The 2006 WBC roster included stars like Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, and Joe Nathan just to name a few. Team USA went 3-3 and did not make it to the second round unfortunately.
Trout on the other hand, was the captain for Team USA in 2023. In 2017, Team USA shocked the world by winning the whole tournament as the presumed underdogs. This team rostered the likings of Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Christian Yelich, and Buster Posey. In 2023, Team USA had a certain excitement around it that had not been seen. This team was destined for another championship, the 2023 team rostered some of todays stars like Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker, Will Smith (C), Trea Turner, and the Team USA captain, Mike Trout. Trout was named Team USAs captain by Manager Mark Derosa and helped “recruit” some of todays stars for the team to try and repeat. Trout in 7 games slashed .296/.406/.556 with a .962 OPS, smashing a homer and 7 RBI’s. Trout led Team USA to a game in the finals which set up on of them most Hollywood scripted endings, Trout Vs. Ohtani. Unfortunately, Trout struck out and Team USA lost but after the game Trout said he “liked the feeling” and wanted to feel it more. This was one of the most exciting baseball series and hopefully Trout will play in it in 2026.
Doctor Visits Because of Stitches
Everyone knows Griffey was destined for greatness, and even though he finished 58th all time in career in WAR, was a first ballot Hall Of Famer, and finished 7th all time in career Home Runs it makes you think what could have been if he could have stayed healthy. Griffey was placed on the injured list 12 times in his career and only played in 130 games or more 10 of his 22 seasons, not counting 1994 (because of the player strike and the season ending on August 11). The injuries started in 1995 when Griffey was only 25 years old, on an amazing catch, Griffey slammed into the wall on a game in May, breaking his wrist and missing almost 3 months recovering. In 2000 near the end of his 5th straight season of 140+ games, Griffey tore his left hamstring in early September. Griffey would only bat 3 more times the rest of the year. In 2001, with the hamstring still nagging, Griffey would only play 111 games ending the 5 straight years of 140+ games a year stretch. In that 5 year stretch, Griffey smashed 249 homers, 844 Hits, 141 Doubles, a 148 OPS+ in 2912 At Bats. Griffey from 2001 to 2006 would play as few as 50 games dealing with a torn knee tendon, torn ankle tendon, torn hamstring, and a dislocated shoulder. In 2007-2008 Griffey would play in 140+ games in back-to- back years at 37 and 38. In the 2007 season, Griffey missed the final 2 weeks because of a high groin strain and was sidelined the final 2 weeks. He clubbed 30 Homer Runs and 93 RBI with a 119 OPS+. In 2008, Griffey ended the year on a Chicago White Sox team trying to push for a World Series but fell short in the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays. Griffeys final 2 years were spent with the team that gave him his first chance the Seattle Mariners. He was a well below average hitter registering a 97 OPS+ in 2009 and a 30 OPS+ in 33 games in 2010.
Are We Reeling In The Years?
For many 20 some things like myself, Mike Trout has been a human highlight reel for 10 plus years now. He has been the face of baseball until Shohei arrival and has been a down to earth humble guy. Trout like Griffey, in his age 25 season was sidelined for 39 games on a torn UCL in his left thumb while sliding into second, like Griffey both were fluke injuries on plays trying to go all out. This was the first time in his career Trout had not played over 130 games and was his lowest to that point besides his cup of coffee in 2011. In 2018, Trout was sidelined for 18 games with wrist inflammation, but still playing 140 games and was the runner-up for the AL MVP. In 2019, Trout missed 19 games because of foot surgery and won the MVP, leading the league in OBP (.438), SLG (.645), OPS (1.083), OPS+ (182), and IBB (14). In 2020, Trout played in 53 of the 60 games and had a 167 OPS+ winning his 8th Silver Slugger. Just when it looked like things were going to turn around, Trout played in only 36 games because of a calf strain and somehow managed to receive a Allstar selection. In those 36 games, however, Trout was slashing .333/466/.624 with a 1.090 OPS and a 194 OPS+In 2022 Trout, again only playing 119 games was sidelined with a back issue. In 2022 Trout slashed .283/.369/.630 with his OBP being the worst of his career to that point, not counting 2011. In 2023, Trout fractured his hamate bone playing exactly 1 more game than half a season. In 2023, he was still an above average hitter according to OPS+, but had seen career lows in Batting Average, OBP, SLG, OPS and OPS+. Trout is on the IL again because of a torn meniscus and there is no timetable for him yet.. He started the year off smashing Home Runs, but his Average, OBP, BAbip, Hard Hit% and many other stats lead us to believe this is the downward trend of Mike Trout.
Timing The Jump…
Just like Griffey, Trout is missing his prime years because of injury(s). There is no doubt in my mind he will be a Hall of Famer. With Trout being 32 (33 August 7), my only question is how much longer can he stay on the field at this rate? If Trout was to have a “career resurgence” how many games would that intel? I think the better question is can Mike Trout play over 130 games in a season? He has not been able to since 2019. Both Griffey and Trout are no doubt 2 of the best baseball players to ever pick up a baseball bat, but their bodies started breaking down on them during their mid to late prime years because of their willingness to play the game hard. I never got to watch Ken Griffey in person, but if I had to compare him to a player in todays generation, I guarantee it would be a lot like Mike Trout.