Stephen A. Smith Mike Trout First Take Screengrab: ESPN’s ‘First Take’
By Sam Neumann on

Stephen A. Smith has difficulty understanding why Major League Baseball players get injured so frequently. The First Take host struggled to wrap his head around that idea when discussing the news that Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout would be out for an extended period with a meniscus tear that requires surgery.

The 32-year-old Trout is heading to the injured list yet again, in what seems to become a common theme for one of the league’s faces. Since 2021, Trout has missed 139 days with a calf strain, 35 days with back inflammation, and most recently, 89 days with a broken hamate bone. Now, he’s injured his knee, and questions about his durability have been raised.

On Wednesday’s edition of First Take, Smith said that Trout’s recent injury history is “driving me crazy.”

“Let me tell you this: Mike Trout is a sensational player when he’s healthy — one of the greatest,” Smith said. “He really, really is. And I’m a huge, huge fan. But I’ve grown disgusted with his lack of availability. It makes me question — I know he looks the part — what the hell are you doing to take care of yourself? Always injured. I mean, damn, it’s baseball. I mean, what we talking about here? It’s not football. It’s not boxing. It’s not the UFC. You’re not running up and down the court 94 feet — basketball — for 82 nights a year. It’s baseball. Half the time, y’all are standing out in the outfield, chewing on pumpkin seeds or something, and waiting for a fly ball to come your way.

“How the hell is he always hurt? I don’t understand this. It drives me nuts when I see baseball players get hurt. What is it that you’re doing with yourself physically that you can’t stay healthy playing baseball? Now, you get hit by a pitch or something; that’s different; I get all of that. With these oblique injuries, you’re running around bases, catching one, then you’re running out for a fly ball, and all of a sudden, something gets tweaked. What the hell is going on?”

Somehow, Smith related it to “maybe it’s karma” for Trout staying with the Angels.

“Maybe he should’ve went someplace else where you’re gonna be relevant, and that way, you ‘re incentivized to stay healthy so you can play some compelling and interesting baseball that actually matters in September,” said Smith. “How about that?”

Naturally, his comments weren’t well received. And that saw longtime San Francisco Giants reliever George Kontos, who won a World Series with the team in 2012, call out Smith on X (formerly Twitter).

“I don’t give a damn where he’s at; I want to see him on the field,” Smith later added regarding Trout. “Damn it, ring chase rather than be at home. You know he shows up to games… He in the stands. That’s Mike Trout right there. That’s not where I want to see you.”

As great as Trout is, Smith wants to see him on the field.

[Awful Announcing on X]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann