Mike Trout has been a part of Major League Baseball since 2011, playing for the Los Angeles Angels.

In his 13-year career, he has witnessed numerous unforgettable moments, including Miguel Cabrera’s triple crown win, the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series win in over a century, and the rise of Shohei Ohtani, However, one incident that he doesn’t have fond memories of is the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal of 2017.

Trout has 11 All-Star nods, nine Silver Slugger awards, three MVPs, and a dream of winning a World Series ring before retiring from MLB. However, it was “tough” for the then-25-year-old to accept what the Astros did.

“It’s sad for baseball. It’s tough,” Trout said during an interview in 2020 (via Sports Illustrated). “They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys’ careers have been affected, a lot of people lost jobs. It was tough.”

The Angels didn’t qualify for the postseason that year, so Trout didn’t have to face the Astros in the offseason. However, being in the same division, he has to face the Astros nearly 20 times a season.

“I lost some respect for some guys” he added.

In 2017, the Houston Astros won 101 games. They had some of the best players during that period, including Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and Teoscar Hernandez.

Although six years have passed, fans, players, and pundits alike still talk about one of the worst scandals in MLB history.

Mike Trout’s future with the Los Angeles Angels

The times seem tough for Mike Trout right now. The 32-year-old lost the WBC final in 2023, the Angles didn’t make the postseason, and he had to witness Shohei Ohtani join city-rivals Dodgers.

While the Dodgers have already spent over a billion dollars to get Yoshonobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels have not made any major headlines yet.

Trout has a contract that runs until 2031, which means that he will remain an Angel entering his age-38 season. But the Angels need to start winning. They need to qualify for the postseason, at the very least.

If the Angels keep failing to make the postseason year after year, a Mike Trout trade won’t be impossible.