Miss games

A month ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, the host mentioned a team’s problem. A great hitter just missed games over the last few seasons and his health will be a serious concern in the future as well.

After listening to the podcast show, I began to think about two players, who used to be the MVP award winners.

 

Games Played (2018~2023)
Giancarlo Stanton	Year	Mike Trout
158	2018	140
18	2019	134
23	2020	53
139	2021	36
110	2022	119
101	2023	82

 

The first player that came to my mind is Giancarlo Stanton, who won the 2017 NL MVP award. In 2017, he hit .281/.376/.631 with 59 home runs and 132 RBI over 159 games. Not so long after Stanton was named the NL MVP, he was traded to the Yankees. So, let’s look at the stats since he joined the Yankees. In 2018, he played 158 games for the Yankees, slashing .266/.343/.509 with 38 home runs and 100 RBI. The numbers in 2018 might not be as good as those numbers in 2017. However, Stanton’s first season in pinstripes wasn’t a bad one. Nonetheless, in 2019, he only played 18 games and the next season, he played just 23 games.

 

In 2021, Stanton played 139 games and blasted 35 home runs. He finished the season with an OPS over .800. In 2022, Stanton crushed 31 home runs. But in the 2022 season, he only played 110 games and finished the season with an OPS below .800. This year, he played even fewer games. And what’s even worse? Stanton batted only .191/.275/.420. He could still smash at least 20 home runs in 2023, but his OPS dropped to below .700.

 

In addition, the other player who came to my mind is Mike Trout, who’s a 3-time MVP award winner. In 2018, Trout played 140 games for the Angels, slashing .312/.460/.628 with 39 home runs and 79 RBI. In the 2018 season, Trout’s OPS was over 1.000. In 2019, Trout hit .291/.438/.645 with 45 home runs and 104 RBI over 134 games. He finished the season with an OPS over 1.000 again and won the 2019 AL MVP award. In the shortened 2020 season, Trout played 53 games and blasted 17 home runs. Nevertheless, Trout only played 36 games in 2021.

 

Last year, Trout hit .283/.369/.630 with 40 home runs and 80 RBI across 119 games. In 2022, his OPS was .999. This year, he played 82 games, hitting .263/.367/.490 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI.

Without doubt, when being healthy, these 2 players can crush at least 30 home runs in a single season, easily. And they are certainly two dangerous hitters in the majors. Nevertheless, the health of these 2 players has become a serious concern. Stanton played 158 games in 2018 and at the same time, Trout played 140 games for the Angels. But since 2018, playing at least 140 games in a single season hasn’t been possible for these 2 players. From 2018 to 2023, Stanton played 549 games for the Yankees, in the meantime, Trout played 564 games for the Angels. Trout turned 32 in August and Stanton just turned 34 in November. Is it possible to see these 2 players play at least 140 games in a single season again?