Angels News: Mike Trout was the Key to Getting Players to Commit to Team USA in WBC
Team USA is absolutely stacked in the World Baseball Classic. Tons of the game’s top stars have committed to playing in the Games, and that’s in no small part due to Angels’ superstar Mike Trout.
Back in July, Trout stated his intent to play in the Games. He was named the Team USA captain, and opened the floodgates for the rest of the league's top stars to start making their commitments.
The general manager of Team USA, Tony Reagins, said Trout is the reason the team is so stacked heading into the WBC.
"The fact that he said 'I’m in' very early on, my conversations started to be easier and easier [with other players]," Reagins said. "He was definitely a catalyst to all this."
The team’s manager, former MLB infielder Mark DeRosa, furthered Reagins’ sentiment on the MLB Network.
"In my talks with Mike he made it pretty clear that the clock is ticking on his career," DeRosa said. "He felt like he missed out [on the WBC] in 2017 and he didn’t want to have any regrets. He was one of the first commitments. Tony Reagins did an unbelievable job getting him and there was a trickle-down effect with [Bryce] Harper and Mookie Betts."
Joining Trout on Team USA in the WBC will be superstars Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Trea Turner, Nolan Arenado, Pete Alonso and many, many more. Fans of the game should be very excited about the WBC, which will take place from March 8-21. And apparently, we have Trout to thank for all of it.
