Angels have best in U.S. and Japan

Even by his own high standards, Mike Trout is having a very good week. He and his fiancée, Jessica Tara Cox, are getting married Saturday. His beloved football team, the first-place Philadelphia Eagles, is training this week at his home ballpark in Anaheim, Calif. There are even unusual weather patterns whipping around the country and Trout, an amateur storm-tracker, must be fascinated.

Then, early Friday afternoon, Trout tweeted an eyes emoji — the modern equivalent of Mel Allen chirping, "How about that!" in wonder from the broadcast booth. Trout was reacting to the news that Shohei Ohtani had decided to join him on the Los Angeles Angels.

Quite a week, indeed.

Trout is baseball's ultimate five-tool player, but Ohtani — as a pitcher who slugs on the side — adds a tool even Trout doesn't have. His arrival essentially brings together the best player in Japan and the best player in the United States, on a team still trying to win its first playoff game of Trout's breathtaking career.

The Angels' last playoff victory came in 2009, the year they drafted Trout in the first round from Millville Senior High School in New Jersey. From his rookie season through 2017, Trout has made six All-Star teams in a row, won two Most Valuable Player Awards and three times finished as the runner-up. He broke his thumb last year and finished fourth.

To watch Trout play, with grace and abandon, is a joy for any fan. He delights statisticians, too — just 26, Trout has already compiled more career wins above replacement than Hall of Famers Tony Perez, Kirby Puckett and Sandy Koufax, among many others.

"The way Mike readies himself for competition and the amount of enjoyment he gets from playing this game, it rolls off him, and it's noticeable to teammates," General Manager Billy Eppler said last season. "This guy has more fun doing it than anyone. It's very refreshing to see a guy enjoying the game like a high school student would enjoy the game."

The Angels scrambled last season just to finish 80-82. While Albert Pujols drove in 101 runs, his career-low .672 OPS ranked 137th out of the 144 major league hitters who qualified for the batting title.

For that, the Angels paid Pujols $26 million. His salaries for the next four seasons climb by $1 million each year, to $30 million in 2021, when he will be 41 years old. Pujols made 142 starts as designated hitter last year (and just six at first base), so if the Angels want to use Ohtani as DH when he does not pitch, it will force Pujols from that spot.