Superstar outfielder Mike Trout has responded to statements by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred regarding his cautious marketing activities.
“I’ll do as much as I can. But it’s a long baseball season. But I can choose when to do these things myself,” said Trout on Tuesday after the All-Star Game.
On Wednesday, Trout made another statement after the topic had boiled up in the media: “I received many questions about Commissioner Manfred’s last statement. I am not petty and I would encourage everyone to move forward. Everything is cool between myself and the commissioner. The end. I’m ready to just play baseball!”
His team, the Los Angeles Angels, had also made a longer statement and defended their star player. The core statement was that Trout was an “extraordinary ambassador of our game”.
The trigger was an interview by Rob Manfred on the MLB Network in front of the All-Star Game in Washington/D.C. on Tuesday. Manfred said: “The marketing of players certainly requires one thing in particular – the player.”
Manfred continued: “You can’t passively market a player. Nothing can be marketed passively. […] We are very interested in our players becoming more involved and more prominent and helping them to develop their individual brands. But that means the player has to get actively involved.”
Trout is a two-time American League MVP and has now been an all-star seven times. He is also considered the best player in baseball.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.