Saturday’s 10-4 route of the Red Sox marked an auspicious moment for Angels’ superstar Mike Trout. The 28-year-old center fielder became the youngest player to reach the 200-200 club, a milestone he passed with his 200th career steal in the second inning.
With Brian Goodwin up to bat against Boston right-hander Marcus Walden, Trout seized the opportunity to nab second base as Goodwin swung through an 86-m.p.h. slider. He eventually struck out swinging, rendering the stolen base useless, but it still marked a significant moment for Trout.
Following the stolen base, Trout now has a staggering 283 career home runs and 200 stolen bases under his belt. Per MLB Stats, he’s managed double digits in both categories every season since 2012. He’s joined by Willie Mays (279 HR; 204 SB) and Darryl Strawberry (280 HR; 204 SB) as the only Major League players to produce at least 275 home runs and 200 stolen bases in nine straight seasons.
According to MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and Elias Sports, Trout also surpassed Barry Bonds to become the youngest MLB player to enter the 200-200 club. Bonds entered the club with his 200th home run at 28 years and 394 days old, while Trout did so with his 200th stolen base at 28 years and 24 days old. And though Trout’s stolen base totals have fluctuated much more than his home runs -- hitting a high of 49 in 2012 and a low of 11 in 2015 and 2019 (while he managed just four in 2011, he only played 40 games) -- his caught stealing rate has remained impressively low as well, usually hovering somewhere around the 8-23% mark.
It might be a while before Trout summons the stolen bases necessary to enter the 300-300 club, but he’s doing just fine: Through Saturday’s game, he’s batting .292/.438/.644 with a league-best 43 home runs, 11 stolen bases, a 1.082 OPS, and 8.5 fWAR through 580 plate appearances.