Mike Trout on rookie hazing and if the Angels are wasting his prime

The StewPod: Baseball, pop culture & more

Mike Trout is baseball’s drama-free superstar — the type of guy who still lives in his hometown, works out with his friends and still frequents the same haunts he did before he had two MVP awards. So when Trout agreed to come on this week’s StewPod, the Yahoo Sports’ baseball podcast, we quickly learned he was living another drama-free day: hunting in the morning, working out at night, spending the day doing a photoshoot in his hometown of Millville, N.J. (population 28,400) for Body Armor, the sports drink in which he’s a stakeholder. We peppered Trout with a number of questions, ranging from his recent MVP win to what he thinks about the people who say the Los Angeles Angles are “wasting his prime.” He also talked about MLB’s new rookie hazing rules that prohibit dressing up like women, his workout routine and his beloved Philadelphia Eagles. Oh, and you know we had to ask him about the weather, since that’s one of his top hobbies. You can listen to the whole conversation above. Here are some highlights: On rookie hazing: "That’s one of the things you do. That’s how the veteran guys welcome you. That’s how I looked at it. I had fun doing it … It didn’t bother me at all." On the idea that the Angles are “wasting his prime”: "It’s not like we don’t want to win. Our mentality going into spring training is we want to win a championship. When people say they’re wasting my years, I can’t control that. I just go out there and just try to do the best I can." On the Eagles: "Going into this season, obviously everybody wants to do go to the Super Bowl, but the reality was, it’s a year we had a rookie quarterback. Wentz has been unbelievable. He’s fun to watch. He’s got a great future. I keep telling everybody this, I go to a lot of games, they’re always in the game at the end of the game." This week on the show, we’re also joined by our friend Bad News Ramen for the return of the Three Strikes segment, plus Mike and Chris talk about hazing, the Braves GM’s comments about pay for front-office jobs and our view of the free-agent market. [Music: “Dusk 2 Dusk” — Smoke DZA & Pete Rock]