Photo : Rob Carr ( Getty Images ) MLB czar Rob Manfred had a pretty short-sighted take to lob at Angels outfielder Mike Trout. Manfred said that Trout—the man who is on pace to beat Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle for the highest all-time WAR total before their age-27 season—had to “make a decision to engage” in order to be more marketable. The Angels felt compelled to defend baseball’s consensus best player from its own commissioner. Advertisement Here’s what Manfred said, from USA Today: “Mike has made decisions on what he wants to do, doesn’t want to do, how he wants to spend his free time or not spend his free time,” Manfred said in the hours before MLB’s All-Star Game at Nationals Park. “I think we could help him make his brand very big. “But he has to make a decision to engage. It takes time and effort.” Today the Angels released a not-very-subtle statement and defended Trout’s honor with an obvious reference to the commish’s comments: Manfred’s statement was dumb to begin with. Mike Trout might not be one of the top 50 most recognizable athletes, nor is he even remotely a leading figure in pop culture, but that’s a function of the sport that he plays, and the declining cultural cachet it inhabits. Also, the fact that one baseball player can’t lug a team to a championship means that sometimes the sport’s best players are stuck at home during October. Trout is toiling away on a team that has only made the playoffs once during his tenure, because the sport he plays doesn’t allow him to bat every time the game is in its highest-leverage situation. If a recent stretch—or almost any Trout stretch—is any indication, he’d kill if that were allowed. There are still ways to make Trout captivating, and it’s on Manfred to find out how. He’s the commissioner! This is part of his goddamn job. Mike Trout’s responsibility is to play baseball as well as he can, and he’s accomplishing that. That some study said he’s as recognizable as Kenneth Faried is not his problem. It’s on Manfred and MLB to make more people care about the most accomplished player of the decade. Update (11:48 p.m. ET): Mike Trout has weighed in, and his opinion is that he just wants to sock dingers and be left out of this, please.<doc-sep>Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is arguably the best player in Major League Baseball, and one of the biggest names in the sport. Though, according to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, his brand isn’t big enough. But it’s not the league’s fault for failing marketing its best player. It’s Trout’s. Manfred was asked on Tuesday ahead of the MLB All-Star Game about Trout and his lack of visibility outside of the sport. If he spent a little more time marketing himself, Manfred said, Trout’s brand — and the Angels’ brand — would be much, much bigger. “Mike is a great, great player and a really nice person, but he has made certain decisions about what he wants to do, and what he doesn’t want to do, and how he wants to spend his free time, and how he doesn’t want to spend his free time,” Manfred said. “That’s up to him. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout would be a bigger star if he marketed himself better. (Getty Images) “If he wants to engage and be more active in that area, I think we could help him make his brand really big. But he has to make a decision that he is prepared to engage in that area, and it takes time and effort.” Mike Trout’s visibility outside of baseball Trout certainly has proven himself on the field throughout his eight-year MLB career. He’s been an All-Star in seven of his seasons with the Angels, and is a favorite to win the American League MVP award this season — something he’s already done twice before. The 26-year-old is about the perfect player for MLB to market the game around. Now, Trout has done promotional things in the past — including a major shoe deal with Nike and advertisements for Subway. But according to Henry Schafer, the vice president of Q Scores, just more than one in five Americans even knows who Trout is. Q Scores, a firm that measures the consumer appeal of personalities, said that Trout scored a 22 in its awareness category, according to the Washington Post. His closest comparison in the NBA in terms of awareness, Schafer told the Washington Post, is Brooklyn Nets forward Kenneth Faried. Based on Schafer’s research, that means that someone on the street would be just as likely to recognize Faried — who averaged just 14.4 minutes over 32 games last season — as they would Trout, who is arguably the best player currently in professional baseball. Story continues “In general, baseball does not do as good a job as other major sports in the U.S. as far as promoting their stars nationwide, especially compared to NFL and NBA,” Schafer told the Washington Post. “[Trout is] basically not a well-known commodity among the general population.” The Angels back Trout, Trout responds The Angels backed Trout up on Wednesday afternoon, though, commending him for his work both on and off the field and applauded him for “prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion.” Today, the #Angels released the following statement on OF Mike Trout: pic.twitter.com/xFLURtZ4bT — Angels (@Angels) July 18, 2018 “Mike Trout is an exceptional ambassador for the game,” the Angels said in a statement. Combined with his talent, his solid character creates a perfect role model for young people everywhere. Each year, Mike devotes a tremendous amount of his time and effort contributing to our organization and marketing Major League Baseball. “He continually chooses to participate in the community, visiting hospitals, schools and countless other charities. One of Mike’s traits that people admire most is his humility. His brand is built upon generously spending his time engaging with fans, both at home and on the road, while remaining a remarkable baseball player and teammate … We applaud him for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion. That is rare in today’s society and stands out as much as his extraordinary talent.” Trout responded to Manfred’s comments late Wednesday night, too. “I have received lots of questions about commissioner Manfred’s recent statement,” Trout said in a statement. “I am not a petty guy and would really encourage everyone to just move forward. Everything is cool between the commissioner and myself. End of story. I am ready to just play some baseball!” Trout could certainly do more to promote both himself and the Angels nationally, as Manfred wants. After all, it would only be beneficial for the MLB to do so. Trout’s reasoning, at least in part, behind not doing more, though, is solid. He’s simply focused on playing the game. “I try to do as much as I can, but keep it to a point where I can still play baseball,” Trout told USA Today on Monday. “Obviously you want to get out there, but you’ve got to pick and choose for sure.” More from Yahoo Sports: • Shams Charania: Spurs deal Kawhi Leonard to Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, sources say • Jeff Passan: This was how Brewers’ Josh Hader apologized after racist, sexist tweets surfaced • Antonio Brown gets ‘Madden 19’ cover • Pat Forde: Florida’s Dan Mullen says he wants to fill The Swamp, not drain it<doc-sep>If you’re a baseball fan, chances are you know who Mike Trout is. The Los Angeles Angels outfielder has been one of the most dominant players in the league, and has an impressive résumé to prove it. He’s seven-time All Star, Rookie of the Year, four-time Silver Slugger and two-time MVP, so yeah, the 26-year-old has had quite an impressive career. But Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred believes if Trout marketed himself better, he’d be even more popular. “Player marketing requires one thing for sure — the player,” Manfred told the Associated Press. “You cannot market a player passively. You can’t market anything passively. You need people to engage with those to whom you are trying to market in order to have effective marketing. We are very interested in having our players more engaged and having higher profile players and helping our players develop their individual brand. But that involves the player being actively engaged. “Mike’s a great, great player and a really nice person, but he’s made certain decisions about what he wants to do and what he doesn’t want to do, and how he wants to spend his free time and how he doesn’t want to spend his free time,” Manfred continued. “That’s up to him. If he wants to engage and be more active in that area, I think we could help him make his brand really, really big. But he has to make a decision that he’s prepared to engage in that area. It takes time and effort.” Manfred’s comments certainly are interesting. For someone who doesn’t have a World Series championship in their long list of accomplishments, Trout easily is one of the most well-known players in the league. However, the Angels took note of the commissioner’s comments and responded with a statement of their own, stating they applaud the outfielder for putting his values over self-promotion. Today, the #Angels released the following statement on OF Mike Trout: pic.twitter.com/xFLURtZ4bT — Angels (@Angels) July 18, 2018 It’s really hard to argue with the Angels. Each season, Trout puts up tremendous numbers and this season is no exception. He’s batting .310 with 25 home runs and 50 RBIs to go along with a 1.060 OPS. Trout certainly doesn’t need any help promoting himself — his consistency in putting up big numbers each season will do that for him, including hitting at least 25 home runs in seven consecutive seasons. Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images<doc-sep>
Nice try, Rob Manfred. The MLB commissioner said Tuesday that Angels superstar Mike Trout would be an even bigger star if he would spend more time marketing himself. But it turns out not even the commissioner can bait him into a public media feud. Trout is known for largely avoiding the media spotlight, a rarity for a 26-year-old who has been an All-Star every season since he made it to the MLB. He said in a statement on Twitter Wednesday night that he has received “lots of questions” about Manfred’s comments. “I am not a petty guy and would really encourage everyone to just move forward,” he said in a statement issued by the team. “Everything is cool between the Commissioner and myself. End of story. I am ready to just play some baseball!” The Angels fired back at the commissioner in a statement on Wednesday, publicly praising Trout and congratulating the superstar on his performance in the All-Star Game in Washington — in which Trout homered off the Mets’ Jacob deGrom in the AL’s 8-6 win. The team also extolled the time Trout spends visiting hospitals, schools and charities and the quality time he spends with family. “We applaud him for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion,” the statement said. “That is rare in today’s society and stands out as much as his extraordinary talent.” A day earlier, Manfred said MLB was interested in having players more engaged and in helping players develop their individual brands. Manfred said Trout chooses not to spend his downtime marketing. “Mike’s a great, great player and a really nice person, but he’s made certain decisions about what he wants to do and what he doesn’t want to do, and how he wants to spend his free time and how he doesn’t want to spend his free time,” Manfred said. “That’s up to him. If he wants to engage and be more active in that area, I think we could help him make his brand really, really big. But he has to make a decision that he’s prepared to engage in that area. It takes time and effort.” At 26, Trout is a two-time AL MVP and a seven-time All-Star. Asked after the game about Manfred’s comments, Trout said: “I keep telling you guys, I do as much as I can. But it’s a long baseball season. I got to pick and choose when I want to do things and go from there.” Manfred’s remarks struck a sour note with fans, some of whom took to social media to say Trout was a great role model who should be left to live his life as he pleases. The Angels apparently concur. “His brand is built upon generously spending his time engaging with fans, both at home and on the road, while remaining a remarkable baseball player and teammate,” the team said. — With AP