Mike Trout nominated for New Jersey Hall of Fame

It takes 10 years in the major leagues to be eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and even though Mike Trout has already amassed a career worthy of Cooperstown — he has higher career Wins Above Replacement than scores of current Hall of Famers — he’s only played in nine seasons to date. But he’s still a nominee for the Hall of Fame.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame, that is.

There are more than 50 candidates in over five categories being considered for the state’s Hall of Fame, per the Asbury Press. Trout, who played high school baseball in Millville, New Jersey and was born in Vineland, NJ, is named in the sports category along with Eli Manning, Rick Barry, Craig Biggio, Gerry Cooney, Tim Howard, Monte Irvin, Robert Mulcahey, C. Vivian Stringer, and Sue Wicks.

Among the other nominees include actors John Amos and Danny Aiello, and writer Gay Talese.

“We have inducted heroes from all walks of life into the New Jersey Hall of Fame,” hall chairman Jon Hanson told the Associated Press. “This year’s class of nominees reflect the varied accomplishments and backgrounds that have characterized the hall of fame since its formation.”

Voting is open to the public on the New Jersey Hall of Fame website, with this year’s induction class announced by July 15.

Links

• The MLB Players Association submitted a counter offer to the owners, proposing an 89-game season with pro-rated pay and no further salary discounts, per Ronald Blum at the Associated Press. This came one day after the owners offered a 76-game season but with pay maxed out at 75 percent of pro-rated salaries.
• Will Leitch at MLB.com selected the hottest hitting months for each team this century. It’s no surprise he picked Mike Trout for the Angels, specifically his 12-homer July 2015, when Trout hit .367/.462/.861. “The thing that’s so great about Trout is that he doesn’t really have “hot” months. He’s just amazing, all the time, always,” Leitch wrote. “So pick any month. I just went with this one.”
• MLB.com’s all-time Angels team is picking the best relievers in franchise history. Rhett Bollinger offers his take on Bryan Harvey, Troy Percival, Francisco Rodriguez, and Scot Shields vying for the top spot.
• Longtime agent and current White Sox executive Dennis Gilbert blames the players for not negotiating in good faith in baseball’s ongoing morass of figuring out a 2020 season, in an interview with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.