"I love hitting."

Mike Trout was just being honest during an interview on MLB Network Radio on Sunday, but if there's anything that goes without saying, it's that the three-time American League MVP loves to put the bat on the baseball. He's certainly showing it early on this season with a red-hot start.

Trout discussed his love of his craft, as well as how fatherhood -- his own, as well as his father's -- has impacted two generations of Trouts.

• The certain Hall of Famer hitting like a GOAT again

"It didn't matter where I was," Trout said of his singular focus while growing up in New Jersey. "At home, at the ballpark, whether it was Wiffle Ball in the front yard or BP at someone's house, I just always wanted to hit. I feel bad for my dad because I was all over him -- I was just like, 'We've gotta get to the field.'"

Now a father of a 3-year-old with another child on the way, Trout is starting to see it from the other side. It's his son, Beckham, who is now eager to get a bat in his hands. His initials, after all, are B.A.T. (Beckham Aaron Trout).

"I'm kind of feeling it now since I'm a father," Trout said. "With Beckham, I know he's still young, but when he's geared up to go somewhere -- the ballpark, especially -- he's always like, 'Dad, are we there yet?' or 'How much longer?' and this kind of stuff. So I'm getting the effects of that now, which I love."

Trout made it a point to credit his father for how he raised him, particularly with respect to baseball. It's surely a legacy that will be handed down to the next generation. It also gives us some insight into how Trout became one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

"He just let me be me," Trout said. "He didn't really push me to try to hit like him. He kind of just let me go, let me figure it out. I look back and now that I'm pitching to my son, it's the same thing: I've kind of just let him figure it out on his own. I think in the long run it'll help him, because there will be situations where I'm not there to help him with that swing."

But he's there now. And if you're going to learn the game from anyone, you couldn't ask for a better teacher than Trout.

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