Angels’ Mike Trout gets GOAT endorsement from Aaron Judge

When all is said and done in his MLB career, Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is headed for Cooperstown. His run from 2011 to 2020 was generational; he recorded a total of 73 fWAR for the first 10 years of his career, as it was borderline unprecedented how consistently elite he was in all facets of the game.

To start the second decade of his career, Trout began to suffer injury problems, but was still excellent — racking up a total of 8.1 fWAR in 155 games in 2021 and 2022. Never mind that the Angels have rarely achieved success as a ballclub with Trout as the main man — that is not his fault as baseball is as much of a team sport as there is.

However, the past three seasons have not been kind to Trout; while he’s still been productive and well worth the everyday lineup spot, his total of 5.6 fWAR over the past three campaigns, including just 1.8 fWAR in 2025 despite him suiting up in 130 games, made it clear that he’s in the middle of injury-hastened steep decline.

Be that as it may, Trout was the undisputed greatest player in all of baseball for quite some time, and Aaron Judge, after their historic home run duel on Monday night in a game where the New York Yankees won, 11-10, gave the Angels star his due props.

“He’s the greatest. He’s the greatest of all-time. He’s been fun to watch his whole career. Coming up at such a young age and instantly putting yourself on top of the list, it’s special,” Judge said, via SNY.

"He's the greatest. He's the greatest of all-time. He's been fun to watch his whole career"

– Aaron Judge on Mike Trout pic.twitter.com/sNTcDhO1Bz

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 14, 2026

Every now and then, Trout can still show that he has some gas left in the tank. He hit two home runs during the Angels’ loss on Monday, and on the season, he now has an OPS of .883. He’s still a great on-base magnet, even in his declined state. And who knows — perhaps Trout would find his second wind now that he’s approaching his mid-30s.

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