Mike Trout Deserves The Money, But He’ll Have To Wait

He’s a humble, likable baseball prodigy. This could easily be the best season for the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, who is one of the most sensational players in baseball. But with Spring Training currently in progress, his agent, Craig Landis is upset over a contract dispute and feels that Trout hasn’t been earning what he’s worth.

Sooner than later, though, Trout’s payday will come. First, he would need another incredible season on the diamond, even though he’s done something rare that most players at his age can’t make happen. Along with that, the Angels renewed his contract for $510,000, and sense that he’s getting what he deserves.

Judging by Trout’s agent, he absolutely knows nothing about the economics of baseball and has no leverage, and therefore he’s mad at a ball club that is unwilling to give the best all-around player in baseball what he may have foreseen and demanded, too.

The Angels, whether he likes it or not, renewed his deal at a low salary. It’s fitting for an organization that has a reputation of being cheap and stingy when it comes to giving a player a mega-sized contract. Fans have seen it often over the years.

It is well-established that Trout, after producing monster numbers in a game obsessed with statistics, hasn’t met the criterion for baseball’s economic structure.

Given his marveled rookie season, couldn’t he have made massive bucks? Certainly, but he and his agent will have to wait until after a couple of seasons for the Angels to restructure Trout’s contract. There has, quite precisely, never been a one-of-a-kind player in baseball like Trout.

On the field, he was awesome — the best rookie the game’s seen in this era, maybe the best rookie ever. Trout, who was called up to the majors from Triple-A back in April 2012, hit .326 with 30 home runs, 49 steals, 129 runs, a .564 slugging average, .399 on-base percentage and .963 OPS.

Right away, he brought so much attention to the Angels last season, blossoming into a rookie sensation practically overnight. He amazed fans in Orange County and even nationwide. That’s pretty amazing for someone who is barely 21 years of age, wouldn’t you think?

Because he’s a player with less than three years of experience and that he’s done it for one year, Trout may be the most underpaid and unappreciated player, making less than most of his teammates, as he’s playing for a minimum.

He would need to hit the ball hard enough to advance base runners, and more importantly, he would need to play a full season in the big leagues to earn a raise from the Angels. His agent can be unhappy all he wants, but the Angels aren’t ready to pay him a raise when he’s just entering his sophomore season.

The time will come to pay the money he’s worth, and as an ultimate sign of respect, the only way to show somebody that they are welcome is by signing them to a hefty deal and locking them up for long term.

He’s still young, but he’s shown he’s a baseball phenom. Trout won Rookie of the Year last season, getting 248 at-bats and joinining the likes of Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton, Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols. It should be convenient that the side to blame is Major League Baseball Player Association, not the Angels. The criticism of the Angels sounds ignorant and irresponsible.

It couldn’t be worst timing, as the Angels are focused on more important things than to hear an agent whine about a player’s salary. It’s a shame Trout’s agent points the finger at Angels owner Arte Moreno, who is very cheap at times but also will overpay players just to buy talent. Jerry Dipoto, Angels general manager, is not culpable either.

What many in this age of baseball don’t quite take into account is pre-arbitration, in which players that can’t always get a large contract usually don’t luck up with one. Presumably because of the system, organizations have the right to pay a player less than the asking price, which means the Angels are the dictators.

As the team that has the lowest-rated form system in the game, the Angels might not have to worry about one of baseball’s prodigies coming from the club’s form system.

No matter a team’s policy, the best hitter and runner in baseball deserves the biggest raise. As much as any baseball team last season, the Angels embraced the notion of handing Trout the challenge of becoming an everyday starter in centerfield.

Had they made the move and called up Trout to play centerfield much sooner, the Angels might have won the AL West. So with that, Trout is the next Angel to earn big money, because in reality, he could have won AL MVP a season ago.

Considering that Miguel Cabrera won last year’s Triple Crown, it was appropriate for him to be named the MVP, as he finished the season by achieving something that hasn’t been captured in decades.

This week, the barrage of outcries initiated by a greedy agent is enough to set off an uproar. The ball club, again, spent massively, shielded that money from Trout and foolishly overpaid for Pujols and Hamilton, forking out $365 million over 15 years on a player whose numbers were in decline for the first year of his 10-year deal, and then another player who has a long history of injuries.

The day after Trout was given his 6.25-percent raise to $510,000, it created a media frenzy. More for the Angels’ sake than his own, he needs to be given the amount he’s due to make by the next couple of seasons. Wherever he goes, if the Angels don’t pay him soon, he’s this generation’s transcendent player.

For now, of course, he’s the generation of Tomorrowland, and he’s not a fantasy. He’s real. He’s good. He’s a hitter and runner. He drilled 30 homers and stole 49 bags.

The question here is not whether he will remain an Angel for a long time, but whether Trout is unhappy about moving to left field, a decision made by manager Mike Scioscia, as Peter Bourjos is expected to start in center field.

Scioscia likes Bourjos' ability to hit and get on base, and since Torii Hunter fled the residents of Disneyland to play for the Detroit Tigers, Trout and Bourjos are Scioscia’s guys.

Yes, he’s unhappy with his contract, but the Angels will eventually buy out Trout’s arbitration years, and perhaps a year of free agency, and then he’ll get $100,000 back. The thing is, Trout won’t be eligible for two seasons, so in the meantime, the star outfielder will continue to amaze us with his baseball greatness.

Our fascination with Trout is growing, especially after what he’s done as a rookie. Being the good kid as he is, Trout will be an Angel for many years to come.

Adrian Peterson Worthy of MVP? All Day

Man, he’s fast.

Very.

At the moment all eyes are on Adrian Peterson, the NFL’s most dynamic running back. Against his opponents on the ground, Peterson bursts through the seam and races down the field, then drives into the end zone. The beauty of the Vikings’ resurgence in the Twin Cities, a town where fans haven’t had much to be excited about, is because of Peterson’s phenomenal season. The Vikings have an idea on what the future beholds, with an indomitable running back, which is amassing superhuman numbers.

Funny thing is, however, some would argue that he’s not worthy of MVP, when he continues his assault on the single-season rushing record. Funny thing is, it’s debatable as to whether he should be named NFL’s Most Valuable Player. It should be obvious that he’s deserving of an honorable award, especially when he’s making a case that he’s arguably the best running back in the league when he’s healthy and not inactive on the sideline. In most respects, he’s the only running back to threaten and come close to Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 yards. At this point, mind you, Peterson is optimistic he can break Dickerson’s record on Sunday, with one game remaining on the schedule.

I cannot see Peterson, proving to be the finest rusher since Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith, being devoid of MVP talk. Just like that, faster than he can race for a touchdown, he’s finally revealed he’s an elite running back and even an MVP candidate, and indeed he should win the award, without much argument. There’s enough evidence to see that he’s playing like an MVP, with the Vikings in a fight for a wild-card spot as they can mathematically still make the playoffs, amid a season when Peterson is respectfully dominating in every rushing category as he cannot be denied but only contained. The strategy of handing the ball off to Peterson in a sequence of plays, since he’s racked up some ridiculous numbers, is a boon to the Vikings impressive season.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the NFL is a pass-happy league, with the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — the greatest NFL quarterbacks of the modern era. There’s no doubt Brady and Manning are top candidates, and to say they both aren’t favorites to win MVP, is just irresponsible and imprudent. No disrespect to Brady and Manning, but to be fair, Peterson is the greatest rusher of the modern era and deserves consideration.

The numbers don’t lie. For Peterson, for those who are unaware, his 1,812 yards is a league’s best — standing on the NFL Mountaintop. By far, he’s stringing together one of the most individual campaigns, and simultaneously is on pursuit to shatter a record no running back has ever broken. This season alone, Peterson has 1,313 yards in the past eight games and rushed for 150 yards or more in six games, one shy of tying NFL record in that category.

Just recently, he became the fourth player in NFL history to rush for at least 8,500 yards and 75 touchdowns over the first six seasons of an NFL career, with currently 8,564 yards and 75 touchdowns to fall in the company of Dickerson (9,915 yards and 75 touchdowns), LaDainian Tomlinson (9,176 yards and 100 touchdowns), and Smith (8,956 yards and 96 touchdowns).

It’s just the truth, no matter what people say about Peterson, refusing to acknowledge that what he’s mastered this season is beyond incredible. With his nifty footwork, his quickness and explosiveness, his firmness and ability to make defenders hesitate and make it hard to read the play, he is on the threshold of validating his place among NFL running backs. Roughly on his way to attain eminence, Peterson is looking to become the seventh tailback to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

This, more than anything else, is the best season of his exceptional career. It’s a time when he can be placed on Mount Rushmore of running backs. The most exceptional running back is easily the most superlative performer in 2012, and has climbed the mountaintop in the National Football League. If you don’t think AD is highly commendable, you are clueless and blinded by the reality of Peterson’s dominance. There’s a great chance he will win the award — the Most Valuable Player award. Peterson, should the Vikings (8-6) make it to the playoffs, would likely earn MVP honors.

Yet he plays on an inferior team with a struggling quarterback in Christian Ponder. The Vikings also featured receiver Percy Harvin, who sustained an injury. But Peterson, meanwhile, has made defenses fret as he poses a threat. In all, judging by the standings, the Vikings can miss the postseason, and Peterson’s spectacular season would go to waste if Minnesota misses out on all the fun as individual achievements don’t matter as much as team deeds. Now it just comes down to him executing and having another 200-plus-yard effort, coming off a 212-yard performance in a 36-22 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

If that happens, needing 294 yards in his final two games to surpass Dickerson, he could set a new record as an NFL back. In a quarterback-driven league, rarely does a running back fit the description. The odds, as usual, strongly favor Manning and Brady in the age when quarterbacks are often recognized. There have been 37 quarterbacks selected, with a combined record of 470-102-4 (.819).

The world’s biggest curiosity is Peterson, no matter what history says, no matter if the league’s most valuable player has rarely not led his team to the playoffs. There’s not enough promise to confirm he’s the winner, while leading the Vikings through a storybook season. And here’s guessing Manning is favored to prevail, playing for the hottest team in the league and turning the 11-3 Denver Broncos into Super Bowl hopefuls. The downside is, Peterson’s team isn’t nearly as flawless, let alone playoff bound.

Whether or not anyone thinks he merits the honors, which usually doesn’t happen for a running back, Peterson gets my vote. This is generally not a running backs league, known for satisfying quarterbacks and forgetting about every other player on the field. It would be a great accomplishment for Peterson. In recent memory, 55 winners have won an MVP in 55 years — only two of them were on teams that didn’t make it to the postseason.

It’s worth pointing out only four running backs have won MVP while playing for a wild-card team. Sanders’ name sounds familiar and Walter Payton’s as well, two winning backs who made it happen on 9-7 teams. The last we’ve seen a running back win MVP was when Tomlinson earned it on the account of fulgurous numbers. That year, he rushed for 1,815 yards and NFL-record 31 touchdowns, 28 on the ground.

All day, he’s the man of show business, a priceless specimen who overcame medical issues, after tearing his ACL and MCL less than a year ago. All day, he’s been tearing it up in the National Football League. Chances are he still won’t win MVP, although Peterson is the most astonishing athletes in the game today, bouncing back from injuries to likely also be NFL’s comeback kid. If he doesn’t win the award, it would be an insult to Peterson, when he’s convinced us that he’s not only the fastest man directing the greatest show on turf but also the man with otherworldly talent. So at this point, Peterson’s campaign is far more amazing to be ignored.

He’s amazed us with runs and created a compelling story every time he took a handoff this season and couldn’t be stopped. Now the most appreciated player in the game by far, Peterson is carrying out the unthinkable and certainly has been far more amazing than anyone else all season, with his size, a rare combination of speed and stamina. This year, it became apparent that Peterson has stated his case after putting in the hours and working diligently to recover from his health issues, rehabilitating with physical therapists and performing painstaking exercises to rejuvenate energy and motion.

There’s no doubt that he’s in good position to win. But don’t be surprised to see two-time winner Brady or four-time winner Manning win it again. We can only imagine what will happen — worthy of MVP status — now that Peterson is closing in on a record and could potentially carry the Vikings to the postseason. The MVP is an individual award, after all, not a team award.

My vote, however, goes to Peterson. All day.

Mature, Unselfish, Simply Amazing: LeBron Is The True Face of The NBA

LeBron James entered the podium as a very humbled man. Walking up to the stage, LeBron James accepted his second-ever MVP trophy, as it was also his second consecutive one as well.

LeBron, expressing tenderness, showed himself that he was a mature man. Even at a youthful age of 25, James acted as if he was a intelligent, courteous 30-year-old. James has yet to win a championship, but didn't it take Mr. Airness a while, too?

James shared his achievement with his friends and family. He thanked his mom, who had been raising him at the budding age of 16. Or he thanked his two uncles or his high school teammates.

He thanked his kids, who he talked about in front of the packed audience, all listening to what he says. The Cavaliers are the sports team of the city. And James has made it happen.

James brought up his teammates onto the stage towards the ending of his diffident speech. Many players fooled around, notably guard Delonte West; showing off his phone and record James' back. Center Shaquille O'Neal was probably the most prominent teammate there.

What James showed there showed how great of a guy he is. After answering the questions to the media, James brought his sons onto the stage. His son had a problem and James didn't care. He took care of him in front of the camera. It just shows how much of a family man he is.

Most guys would just do something so much more different to that. What I saw in that press conference, it just shows that the NBA needs more guys like him. A great player, great guy in person, great family man, and one hell of a human-being.

So unselfish, so mature, so amazing. LeBron James showed why he should be the face of the National Basketball Association. Many would disagree because of guys like Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, who have rings. But James will get his rings.

And no disrespect to Kobe and D-Wade, but if LeBron switched teams with any of them, he'll most probably make the most impact. Ask anybody. James shows character. Dwyane Wade does as well but LeBron is more of a better player.

Kobe has shown selfishness before. And you can't start making a fuss because many people know it is in fact true. He rattted out Shaq. And now Shaq is with a player just as good, or better. His name is LeBron James.

Since coming into the league, James has made more effect than any other player. Another reason of showing James' unselfishness is that he gave us a clue: He will be staying in Cleveland no matter what happens. He'll stay. He said Akron, Ohio will forever be his home.

So I guess this could make impact of this year's free agency. Get ready to pick Bosh or somebody else Knicks, Clippers, etc. James has so many qualities as a player and a normal human being. He's a fantastic person.

And the new, true face of the NBA.