It’s safe to say that fans love Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout. The 22-year-old is leading the American League All-Star voting after the first update this week. Trout has rounded up 11 doubles, 4 triples, 10 home runs, and 34 RBIs this season and handed out one huge assist when he recently sent out a tweet asking a high school girl to the prom on behalf of her boyfriend. Turns out the man is an All-Star wingman, too.
But despite the kind of talent that made Trout the seventh youngest player in MLB history to make the All-Star Game last year at 21 years old, the kid is still human. So when the Angels held Trout out of the lineup last week because of a sore hamstring, Trout knew it was a smart precautionary move and it gave us the perfect opportunity to ask one of baseball’s premier players about recovery.
“It’s better taking one day now than having to take a month later,” Trout says. “It’s always smart to take care of your body.”
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Trout said one of his favorite ways to keep his legs fresh is sitting in an ice tub, but that it’s also important to know when your body needs a day off. “You don’t want to overdo it," says Trout. "Guys start busting it when they’re sore and then all of a sudden you pull a muscle and you’re out for two weeks. It’s no good, as opposed to taking a day.”
He says the biggest signal for him to know it’s time for a break is when your body starts to rebel. “If it’s changing your ability to do something then it’s something you should start worrying about. If you have to hold back or change your mechanics of do something then it’s smart to take a day off.”
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Trout was talking recovery while promoting the sports drink BODYARMOR, of which he is an endorser and shareholder. Kobe Bryant recently invested in the sports drink company as his first investment for Kobe, Inc., becoming the third largest stakeholder in BODYARMOR. Trout said he hasn’t had a chance to talk to the Mamba yet but relished in the chance to align himself with the basketball Hall of Famer. “When someone told me that he bought into the company, it’s one of those things where it’s pretty cool just being linked to him,” Trout said. “With everything he’s done… it’s pretty cool.”