Mike Trout has been with the Los Angeles Angels since 2011.
Shohei Ohtani, on the other hand, came to the team in 2018.
The last time the Angels went to the postseason was in 2014.
It’s been a long time: it’s actually the longest postseason drought, tied with the Detroit Tigers.
It’s sad to realize that the Angels haven’t played a single postseason game with Trout and Ohtani in the same lineup.
In fact, when both stars play, they have a losing record.
“The Angels have won 194 games and lost 212 games with both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the starting lineup,” Codify Baseball tweeted.
The Angels have won 194 games and lost 212 games with both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the starting lineup. pic.twitter.com/y1LQ52DBc2
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 7, 2023
You have to field a very bad roster and lineup to have these two monsters and still miss the postseason.
Sadly, the Angels are capable of pretty lousy roster management, as they have shown the world over the years.
Sure, Ohtani and Trout haven’t exactly been the poster boys of good health since 2018, but they have shared the same field and lineup for long stretches of play anyway.
For years, the Angels ignored pitching and their player development was not ideal.
That came back to haunt them, and now they are about to lose Ohtani for nothing more than a high draft pick if he decides to sign with another team after the World Series.
Trout, on the other hand, is signed for the long haul, and he could be facing the prospect of being on a rebuilding team for the foreseeable future depending on what the Angels decide to do.