Trout Joining List of Great Players Stuck on Bad Teams

Mike Trout is at again this season. The best player in baseball is hitting .320 with 19 home runs and 62 RBIs through 95 games and has a chance to finish top two in the MVP voting as he has done each of the past four seasons. Trout has been the best player since the day he stepped onto a big league field, but his talents have rarely been showcased in the postseason. This season will be more of the same.

While Trout thrives, the Los Angeles Angels flounder. Big contracts like Trout, Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson and Josh Hamilton have not translated to success and the big spending has handicapped what the Angels can do moving forward. Trout is signed through 2020 and it's unlikely the Angels will improve in that time. Currently sitting in fourth place in the AL West with a 43-52 record, the Angels are 11.5 games behind the Texas Rangers and aren't a factor in the Wild Card race.

Another year in which the MLB playoffs will go on without the game's best player.

Trout is not a complete stranger to the postseason. He got a small taste in 2014 as the Angels won 98 games and secured the number one seed in the American League. However, the Kansas City Royals won the Wild Card game and then embarrassed LA with a three-game sweep in the ALDS. Trout struggled mightily in the series, going 1-for-12 with a home run and three walks. He was a non-factor, but then again, so was his entire team.

As another year rolls on with Trout playing for a bad team, my question is this: if nothing changes will he go down as one of the most wasted talents in baseball? He is the game's best player, but has been stuck on a bad team. Fans have little hope of seeing Trout play on the game's biggest stage as long as he is in Anaheim. Baseball is different from basketball or hockey in the sense that one man can't influence the game as much. He is relegated to four at-bats per game and can help defensively when the ball is hit to him. For a pitcher, he can only impose his will on the game every fifth day, which means we might see him only once or twice in a postseason series.

Here are some more players with big talent that found themselves in less-than-ideal situations.

Felix Hernandez | P | Seattle Mariners | 147-105, 2197 SO, Cy Young, 6-time AS, 0 Playoff Apps.
Let's start with another star in today's game. King Felix has struck hitters out at an impressive rate since his debut in 2005, surpassing 200 strikeouts in six-straight seasons from 2009-14. Despite his ability to strike hitters out, Hernandez has been stuck in Seattle on some bad teams. The Mariners have not made the playoffs since 2001, but are in the hunt for a Wild Card spot this season. We could get our first look at Hernandez in postseason play and that would be must-see TV.

Ryne Sandberg | 2B | Chicago Cubs | .285 BA, MVP, 9-time Gold Glove, 10-time AS, 2 Playoff Apps.
Ryno played in two NLCS with the Chicago Cubs, but lost to the Padres in five games in 1984 and to the Giants in five games in 1989. It's a shame Sandberg didn't have the opportunity to play in more postseason games because he was incredible in the 10 he played in. He went 15-for-39 with five doubles, six RBIs and six walks. Sandberg played eight seasons as an All-Star, while not making the playoffs and did not make the postseason after he turned 30 years old.

Nolan Ryan | P | 324-292, 5714 SO, 8-time AS, 5 Playoff Apps., 1 World Series
Ryan is by far the most decorated postseason player on this list, but when you consider that he played 27 seasons you see that he spent much more time watching the postseason than playing in it. As a member of the 1969 New York Mets, he won a World Series at age 22, but he wouldn't see the postseason again for 10 years. Ryan pitched in the playoffs three-straight seasons from 1979-81 and then again in 1986. He never won another playoff series after the World Series win and he finished his career with a 2-2 record in the postseason.

Ken Griffey Jr. | CF | Seattle Mariners | .284 BA, 630 HR, 1836 RBIs, MVP, 13-time AS, 3 Playoff Apps.
Junior will enter the Hall of Fame this weekend after a stellar career in Seattle. For all the success he enjoyed, he was rarely on a playoff team, qualifying for October baseball in just three seasons. In 1995, Junior had 16 hits, six home runs, nine RBIs and stole three bases in a fantastic postseason run. His star would never shine brighter in October as he played in the playoffs two seasons later, going 2-for-15 in a series loss to the Baltimore Orioles. During his forgotten season with the Chicago White Sox in 2008, Junior played in three games in the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays and finished 2-for-10.

Rod Carew | IF | .328 BA, 3053 H, 353 SB, 18-time AS, MVP, 4 Playoff Apps.
Carew is one of the greatest hitters the game has seen, winning seven batting titles and finishing with over 3,000 hits. The 18-time All-Star enjoyed plenty of individual success, winning the Rookie of the Year in 1967 and the MVP in 1977. He never did win a postseason series though,  losing all four that he played in. Carew's Twins teams qualified for the postseason in both '69 and '70, but fell to the Orioles each time. Carew went a combined 1-for-16 in the series. As a member of the California Angels, Carew went to the postseason twice, enjoying a great run in 1979. He finished 7-for-17 with three doubles and four runs scored, but the Orioles bested him again. Carew's final trip to the playoffs was in 1982 when the Angels lost to the Brewers, while Carew finished 3-for-17.

Tony Gwynn | RF | San Diego Padres | .338 BA, 3141 H, 15-time AS, 3 Playoff Apps.
Another one of baseball's greatest hitters, Tony Gwynn made the postseason only three times in his 20 seasons as a Padre. However, Gwynn made the most of his time in October, making two trips to the World Series. Gwynn, unlike some others on this list, also produced in his postseason play and finished with a .306 postseason batting average. The Padres fell to the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series and then lost to the New York Yankees in the 1998 Fall Classic. Gwynn was stellar in the '98 World Series, finishing 8-for-16 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs.

Ted Williams | LF | Boston Red Sox | .344 BA, 2654 H, 17-time AS, 2-time MVP, 1 Playoff App.
The greatest hitter who ever lived put up such unbelievable hitting statistics that some of them may never be touched again. The Splendid Splinter hit .406 in 1941 and is the last MLB player to top the .400 mark. He won six batting titles and his numbers would be even better had he not missed three years to military service. Despite his hitting prowess, Williams played in just one World Series (that's all the playoffs were back in his day). The Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 Series and Williams finished 5-for-25 with an RBI and two runs.

There are plenty more great players who have rarely tasted the postseason. Contrast that with players like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio or Albert Pujols and it makes you wonder if the players on the list above would be held in an even higher regard had they won in the postseason. Trout is already behind his counterpart Bryce Harper in terms of postseason play, but there's also plenty of years left for both of them. The reality is that if Trout remains in Anaheim then we may rarely if ever see him play October baseball. That's a sad reality for baseball fans, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time we've seen it.