Trout unstoppable with newfound Dad Power

It's just unfair now

August 12th, 2020
Art by Tom Forget

"Dad Strength," or "Dad Power." It's a real thing. There are fitness articles about it, there are Quora comments that look like dissertations with blown-out theses and equations, there's Marcus Stroman's father.

Look at that dude. There might not be anybody stronger.

And now, almost unfairly, the greatest baseball player in the world has it.

Mike Trout and his wife, Jessica, had a baby boy on July 30. His name is Beckham Aaron Trout (Yes, his initials are BAT).

Trout was having a good season before Beckham came into the picture, but pretty pedestrian if your name is Mike Trout: One homer, four RBIs and a .292/.357/.458 slash line through six games. That's an .815 OPS, that's unacceptable for a player who's a shoo-in Hall of Famer before the age of 30.

But then, once Beckham was born and Trout came back from paternity leave on Aug. 4, the Angels center fielder has been an unstoppable force. In eight games, he has an absurd six home runs, 10 RBIs and a .343/.373/.857 line. That's a 1.236 OPS. It's a tiny sample size, but it's the highest of his career. He hit two dingers on Monday night, including the game-winner.

He may, actually, once again, be better than he's ever been.

Sure, you may think it's just Trout being Trout on a hot streak and you may not believe in the idea of dad strength at all. But don't listen to me, listen to Papa Trout himself. Here's what he told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger after Monday's game.

"People ask me about this Dad Power, and I guess it's a thing," Trout said with a laugh. "But there's no better feeling than being a father."